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Originally Posted by Daschicken
Well, if you are going to continue to throw away real lab test results and only trust color...After those 10K miles and 19 months my oil was a dark amber color.
Oil is one of those things that people adopt the "If it works for me, that must be the ONLY way to do it" style of thinking. Try to expand that thinking a little, AT LEAST get an oil analysis and see what they say.
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The heads from my factory LT1 were as pitch black dirty as that in the image attached!
I was using a 1-year interval oil change, using an Amsoil oil filter and Signature series 0W-30 motor oil. Honestly, there is no way that an 18 month oil change interval can yield heads that look like they have at most a 6 month oil change interval. The motor oil I changed was pitch black after one year and it smelled of stale gasoline.
I change my motor oil every three-months and the color is dark brown, or that amber color you mention. So, lab data or not, I am reluctant to ruin another motor, even though this Jasper motor needs some additional refurbishing from how I received it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daschicken
Not sure if it is possible to add it or possible to have it on a manual car? Newer cars all have decel fuel cut off, but your car is of an age that it might not have it.
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Well, in the world of resto-modding, maybe I can have it added to my 6-speed,
IF it is possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daschicken
It really depends on the situation, but generally the moment you start touching the brakes (ASSUMING YOUR CAR HAS DFCO), you should have been in gear and cutting off fuel. I assume you have read the 100+ hypermiling tips link at the top of the page, and know how to ACTUALLY time traffic lights.
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I read this page a long while ago. My driving style developed from what I took away from it. I am always looking for ways to improve my motor based on the suggestions, and I even considered what type of aerodynamic modifications I could make to my car, but at some point I have to give up. I love the styling of my car and I refuse to ruin it for some very marginal gains. If anything, weight savings, drivetrain and the motor are the biggest areas to focus on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daschicken
I have looked into the gearing of your car, with 3.42 rear end gears and the six speed manual, and 235/55/16 tires it looks like you can do 1535 rpm at 70 mph in sixth. Is that right? If so, that's some seriously tall gearing, so use that to your advantage.
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I have the WS6 option with 275/40/17 wheels. I do have plans to throw on bigger wheels, 225/60/15 front, 295/50/15 rear. Yes, the wheels will be a smaller size but I like the look of having more tire surface area. The bigger rear tires should have my 3.42 gear ratio behaving like a 3.23.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daschicken
When I am stuck in traffic or have slowly accelerating people in front of me I will use high gears to get me around 900-1000 rpm when not accelerating. Do you do this? Especially since you've got a big(comparatively) honking V8, you should be able to run it between 1000-1500 rpm most of the time, excluding acceleration. I do that with my 3.0 V6. You should be shifting based on load, not necessarily rpm, so when you need to accelerate, feel free to rev it to 2500 rpm, but when you are cruising, feel free to shift up. When I am putting around in traffic, I rarely exceed 1200 rpm. When I do, it is only to accelerate because traffic is clearing up, or if I am at a speed/gear combination that would require lugging the engine to accelerate the slight amount that is needed. For example, in traffic I am in 3rd gear at 10, 4th at about 15, 5th at 20, and 6th at 27.
If you are going to run the engine at low rpms, it is important to establish where it would be lugging, or where it runs rough. This is where it is awesome to have a scangauge or equivalent that can tell you your engine's load percentage at that rpm. I have established that I can use up to around 45% load between idle and 1300 rpm, 50% load at 1400, and the full house 1500 or above. If I exceed those load limits at those rpms the engine will feel and sound rough. Try to go and find your load limits for your engine so you can find out how you can operate it safely at low rpms.
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The problem is, my motor is optimized for higher end RPM torque and while I can safely cruise around town at no less than 1500 RPM without the sensations of lugging the motor, on the expressway with very mild inclines, the motor needs to be downshifted from 6th gear into 5th gear. So, this is where I aim to improve low end grunt with a camshaft to address this issue, and using a tuned port injection intake manifold from the predecessor Firebird will allow me to have my fun with the torque peak it produces in the mid-RPM range. This is all fuel efficient since more torque production at lower RPM is less fuel consumed versus torque production at much higher RPM.