I did a comparison between speed, instant fuel mileage, and horsepower the other night over flat stretches of my route. Being in the coastal plain of NC, we have many miles of flat land.
The car is a 1998 Ford Escort ZX2, Automatic, with these mods:
Keman intake w/ Spectre high-flow air filter
Tire air pressure set at 60f&r
95% grill block
4" Front air dam from Wally World
Double SV mirror deletion
Air line disconnect thingy
Weight removal (Rear seat, etc.)
Double 5.6K resistor in the IAT (for timing advance)
Spark plugs gapped @ 0.070 (stock is 0.050)
5w20 WalMart synthetic oil
Lighter weight Mazda Miata Aluminum rims
Upsized tires (185/70R14 BlackLion BH15)
- from bald 185/65s to these, I gained ~1.5" in diameter
Added Thrush Turbo muffler
Wheel covers
Wheel Skirts
These numbers are from my calibrated ScanGauge. FE numbers are typically 1-1.5% lower than reported.
Temperature - 73*
Humidity - unknown
Partly Cloudy
SSW wind of 6 mph
Traveling E-SE, smooth asphalt
Engine temp of 205-215
Results are from after 15+ minutes of driving time
40 mph: 45-47 mpg, 11-12 HRP, 1454 rpm
45 mph: 51-53 mpg, 14-15 HPR, 1636 rpm
50 mph: 47-48 mpg, 17-18 HPR, 1818 rpm
55 mph: 42-44 mpg, 20-21 HPR, 1999 rpm
60 mph: 40-42 mpg, 23-25 HPR, 2181 rpm
Here is a graph done to best of my abilities. 1=40, and so forth.
