OG, most of what I am going to say is also what I "BELIEVE" or "THINK" is happening with this subject. So take it all with a grain of salt.
In the past year I have been constantly trying new driving techniques or testing new modifications to our cars. In order to get the fastest feedback on any change I "THINK" I need at least a 300 mile test and as much as possible around the same outside temps and wind conditions. This would be 3 round trip commutes for me. I have "found" that it is hard to get even 3 trips to all be close to the same and not have one be the outlier (rain, headwind in both directions, cold front, construction delays etc.) But some time I can feel like that all three trips are close and I can trust the results. If I fill up after 5 or 6 trips, I always have at least 2 of those trips that are way subpar as far as MPGs. So my experience is that the more miles you travel between fill ups, the more likely you will have a lower total MPG. But I also "think" over a 6 month or year time frame, all this washes out when you compare 90 day and same time last year numbers. Of course, this assumes all of your fill ups are as consistent as possible. All my fill ups are at the same pump with the car in the exact same spot, one click, and at about the same time of day.
Here are some other things I "think" I know:
When I did my alt delete, there was a discussion that not running at 13 or 14 volts at all times might effect the output or pressure of the fuel pump on our cars. I added a high quality digital fuel pressure gauge to monitor how the fuel pump reacted to changes in volts. What I found is that a voltage change had no effect on fuel pressure and the pressure only fluctuated based on throttle position. I saw no difference between the fuel pressure when the tank was full or if it was almost empty. But I can only say that about this one car. I am convinced enough that this is a non issue, I don't think I will install a fuel pressure gauge on any of our other cars.
So, to sum up this long and maybe useless post, I have never seen any evidence that causes me to"believe" that the amount of gas in the tank has anything to do with your long range MPG.
Thanks
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I "think" what you are seeing with your gas gauge moving slower in the top half of a tank of gas is due to the nature of how the gauge sender works. All cars I have ever owned exhibited this trait. Even the two identical Honda VX's do the same thing, except one stays on full for almost 150 miles.
I think the lip you reference would be OK as a start to an effective eco front end for your car. The lip only needs to go down far enough to be below the lowest point of all the undercar components. If you plan on doing a belly pan this would make a good transition to it.
Don't forget that blocking the air flow in to the engine compartment is also very important to improving your aero. But saying that, I would personally never block the front air intakes unless I had a good after market water temp gauge to monitor water temps.
Here is how I determine what speeds to use for EOC.
On the 30 miles of country roads of my commute are many low rolling hills. I use a different "pulse" or starting speed depending on how far I need to coast. Several are steep enough or the potential coasting distance is short enough that I start at only 45MPH and coast down to 30 MPH at the end if there is no one close behind me.
The longest coast on the country road is 1.4 miles and requires a starting speed of 53 MPH and coast down to 30 MPH. This starting speed will vary by 2 or 3 MPH depending on if there is a headwind or tailwind that day. Headwinds require higher speed in order to get to the end of the 1.4 miles and still be going at least 30 MPH. I prefer to end all my EOC at 30 MPH because that is the slowest speed I can bump start the car and still stay in 5th gear without lugging the engine.
On the 24 mile freeway portion of the commute, I have 4 hills were I can EOC. They are all over 1 mile long. On the fastest one I pulse from my usual 55 MPH up to 70 MPH and end the coast when I reach 55 MPH. Two of the other ones start at 60 MPH and the last starts at 66 MPH. They all end at 55 MPH, traffic permitting.
I am able to complete these EOC sessions without impeding other traffic because I commute at off peak times. This summer I go into Memphis at 4 AM and see very few other cars until I hit the freeway. I start home around 1 or 2 PM to light traffic and hardly any on the country roads.
Hope this helps
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Here are some pictures of the hand throttle in the white 94 VX
It serves several functions:
Most important to me is it allows me to rest my right leg and ankle by letting me perform the throttle duties with my right hand .
It also allows for manual cruise control on long trips, but allows better MPG by working almost the opposite of a regular cruise. When you are climbing a hill you want to feather back on the throttle in order to use as little fuel for climbing as possible and gain speed as you go down the hill when gravity allows you to gain speed while using less fuel. A regular cruise control will use more fuel to maintain your set speed as you climb and let off the throttle as you go down hill.
The last benefit of the hand throttle for me is that with practice, my hand is much more precise with feathering the throttle in all conditions and can net better MPGs.
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Hi Balto, All the parts were ordered from Speedway Motors. I need to measure the length of the threaded rod when I get to the shop Monday. I will also look up all the part numbers for the rest.
The black support and accelerator petal bracket are hand made from .090 inch thick aluminum sheet. You would need to make these 2 parts yourself.
Balto, The exact part number for the lever we have was a close-out item and is no longer available. But there is a new part number that looks exactly like it. Speedway Motors part #91021954 ($49.99). This new part has a 24 inch rod and ours is a 20 inch rod. I don't know if this will work for your car or not. You can buy a 20 inch rod separately as part #91021957-20 ($9.99)
Since we bought it as a close-out last year ours was only $30. Wish we had bought more than one.
Here are some detail pictures of the adjustable grill block on the White VX
The grill looks like a normal after market grill, but behind it are adjustable shutters
I cut out all the old plastic grill bars. That left a 5X24 inch opening into which I fit the shutters. It is made from .090 inch aluminum sheet. The frame is 5 inches deep.
Here are some details of the construction. All fasteners are 6/32 button head screws and nylock nuts.
The black cable pointing down attaches to the ball end on the control arm to open and close the shutters,
The black cable just to the right of the green E shows where the cable comes from the adjusting knob in the cabin of the car.
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