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Old 01-12-2008, 10:42 PM   #6 (permalink)
Frank Lee
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
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Congrats on not getting another Suburban, may it Rust In Peace!

I know you asked about aero mods, but first I'd suggest making sure it is tuned up and running properly, and inflate the tires to at least max sidewall psi, if not more.

The aero stuff will net little at in-town speeds, in fact my preference is to have better visibility of surrounding traffic than the .001 Cd reduction taking a mirror off may get, and if you enjoy your radio you might end up missing it for a very dubious reason... but if it makes you feel good, do them anyway. You might find a deeper air dam to be of some benefit, but then if you encounter lots of not-so-smooth entrances to parking lots/driveways in your travels you won't want to overdo that. P.S. Same goes for lowering the whole car- known to improve aerodynamics. The grille block, however, should do good things for the engine warm-up times- while driving I mean- and that will help emissions too.

Biggest variable is operator technique. Don't let it sit there idling to "warm up". Don't sit there and idle through drive-throughs and whatnot either. Basically, no idling anywhere, anytime except at traffic lights. It is possible to accelerate too quickly and too slowly. When possible, try to get it into top gear as soon as you can without flooring it- use roughly 3/4 throttle. Stay closer to the minimum speed limit than the maximum, when you are in places that allow you to use top gear.
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Last edited by Frank Lee; 01-12-2008 at 10:55 PM..
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