Quote:
Originally Posted by EcoCivic
-I haven't had any luck with EOC for my driving style despite trying it several times. About the best it *might* have done for me over letting the engine idle while coasting was increase my tank average from 47 MPG to 48 MPG, but due to variances in weather, that 1 MPG gain isn't even directly attributable to EOC. For me, the possible tiny gain isn't worth the hassle, safety risks, extra wear on the engine and entire drivetrain from constant bump starting, etc, but YMMV.
I'd personally bock the grill as much as I can get away with plus a decent safety margin in the winter and not block it at all in the summer if you are using AC regardless of engine temps. I would think the decreased AC efficiency and longer compressor cycles from the condenser not cooling as efficiently has a good chance of negating any aerodynamic benefits and will cause unnecessary stress on the AC system. But if you won't be using AC, this part isn't a concern.
You don't want the fans running excessively from the grill block either, this will cut into your savings since the engine to fan motor efficiency will be ridiculously low due to the ~50% alternator efficiency and ~75% efficiency of the fan motors. Both fans together draw around 16 amps, which is ~224 watts. When factoring in alternator efficiency, running the fans is about an extra 2/3 HP of load on the engine.
The fans on these cars are no fun to change either, so I wouldn't take the extra wear on the fan motors too lightly.
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Thanks for the heads up, 47-48mpg would be amazing for me, but since I'm almost exclusively short city drives, I feel that EOC would be a great method to squeeze extra efficiency out of my civic. I really want to wire a killswitch to the injectors, because I would love to have my SGII stay on while the car is off, and I hate fiddling with the key and having my radio shut off.
My civic sits right around 193-197 degrees Fahrenheit when warmed up and driving around. I will definitely need to figure out at which temperature my fans turn on, in order to ensure my fuel economy & fan efficiency don't counteract. Hopefully, I won't need to worry too much, as our weather isn't great most of the year, and I
rarely run A/C.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
You can wire an LED under your cowl to light up when your fan turns on. You might see improved fuel economy with 100% fan utilization, but what would your car do when it gets warmer than that?
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This is a great idea, I saw mention of this in another thread, and it definitely would be helpful to be able to watch my fans so precisely. Who knows if I end up doing it though, as mentioned, I hate messing with wires.