A few tips

[Ecky]

Arcosine, the octane of the fuel only needs to be high enough so as not to detonate with the engine's map. Running higher octane has no benefit and contains less energy per volume.

[arcosine]

Well smart guy, where are you going to buy it? Mexico? Your going to have to accelerate some times, and then ...

My Saturn gets better MPG with premium, That's my experience vs your theory.

You guys crack me up.

If you want to drive low octane and high compression get a diesel.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by arcosine

Well smart guy, where are you going to buy it? Mexico? Your going to have to accelerate some times, and then ...

My Saturn gets better MPG with premium, That's my experience vs your theory.

You guys crack me up.

If you want to drive low octane and high compression get a diesel.

My Insight does not detonate with 87. If you watch the ECU while driving, it does not advance timing at all with 93. Fuel economy is basically within margin of error with them. Putting 93 in the tank of most cars is just flushing money.

[arcosine]

I sold my insight , dint drive it enough to keep the battery charged. Fragile car, hard to find parts. Saturn shows ATDC spark with 87 octane. Hot exhaust valves with deposits.

[JohnnyJerry]

Arcosine - given that this is an eco drivers forum, the tips would apply just fine without any risk of damaging the engine. But of course without knowledge, they could be problematic. Maybe I live in a different environment, getting an eco optimized engine up to optimal temperature can be a challenge.

Low oil - as on min on the dipstick - would not cause any harm. Not even in a hard corner - unless you drive a car that are 3 decades old.

Also again given that this is an eco forum, contamination in the oil would take alot longer time than with a regular driver. I rather change more frequently anyway.

Going one grade hotter plugs wouldn't change much if any, most engines are specified hotter during generation shifts anyway. Colder however can be a mess.

[arcosine]

591639, Eco drivers forum should be under hypermilling and ecodriving not ecomod central.

Low oil will not increase gas mileage.

Hotter pugs will not warm your engine up faster.

low octane will not increase your gas mileage.

Any questions? Good, lets move on.

An engine blanket will keep your engine warmer. Has to be nonflammable type. I use fiberglass fabric. Engine warms up faster, since it is warmer to start with. Good for short trips. I use to drive home for lunch and and after 4 hours it still registered on the gauge.

Hot air intake will warm the engine up faster, Saturn gets to 220F intake air temp on the interstate.

I made a custom 205F thermostat for Saturn.I got them at Rock Auto, I bought several on clearance, for 80's GM car.

Plug in block heater will warm your engine up at home, but costs electricity.

Thinner oil will increase gas mileage, I use 0w20.

I use to gap the plugs larger, and jet it lean, but no need on modern engines with emission controls. This worked well for CVCC and Rotory engines.

Originally Posted by JohnnyJerry

Arcosine - given that this is an eco drivers forum, the tips would apply just fine without any risk of damaging the engine. But of course without knowledge, they could be problematic. Maybe I live in a different environment, getting an eco optimized engine up to optimal temperature can be a challenge.

Low oil - as on min on the dipstick - would not cause any harm. Not even in a hard corner - unless you drive a car that are 3 decades old.

Also again given that this is an eco forum, contamination in the oil would take alot longer time than with a regular driver. I rather change more frequently anyway.

Going one grade hotter plugs wouldn't change much if any, most engines are specified hotter during generation shifts anyway. Colder however can be a mess.

[ksa8907]

I didn't see the explanation here yet so I'll do what I can. The difference between a "hot" and "cold" spark plug is how far the plug reaches into the combustion chamber. Ideally you would always use a plug that puts the electrode at the center of the combustion chamber but that is not feasible or possible a lot of the time due to mechanical interference and (here is the hot/cold part) the further from the head the plug extends the more heat is retained which does and will contribute to knock/preignition/detonation.

High performance cars use colder plugs because they run higher compression, generate more heat (more power, duh?), thus need to use a plug that will dissipate heat into the head via the spark plug threads.

Unless you have modified your engine significantly, use the oem spec plug.

https://youtu.be/lS5XofKnros

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I remember a former teacher of mine telling it was better to use higher-grade when the specified fuel was not available, but never lower-grade.

[freebeard]

Low Octane fuel
Inspired by a thread about hot air instead of cold when for eco driving. A friend claimed he got a little extra distance/tank when running low Octane fuel. So the reaction might happen a bit faster getting more power from each stroke. Driving very economical, detonation might not be risky. Now, I have no idea weather it makes a positive effect. Also, high revs on a hot summer day might be a very bad idea on a moderne engine with higher octane requirements.

Low oil
Getting oil at minimum or even lower, will in some cases lower friction from crankshaft dipping in oil pan.
A side effect is also that the oil heats up faster.
Oil temp monitoring might be a good idea if also running on low viscosity, as low viscosity oil draw more heat.

Doesn't apply to the VW Beetle.

Clear Premium is equivalent to the fuel that was available in the 1970s. Your low octane mixes will contain ethanol, which lower the mileage and attacks fuel lines.

More oil (a 14-quart dry sump?) is better when you rely on it for cooling.

[Taylor95]

Here's a tip:
Wrap your exhaust header with exhaust wrap. That will improve the velocity of the gasses and improve scavenging.