Hello ALL!

[zxtuner]

I am new here. I've lerked once or twice in the past but never thought slow driving was for me


Well a few details later and I have a 99 SVT Contour and my heavy right foot and the need to go faster than the next guy, well make this thing drink gas like a fish drinking water. That lead me to my next thought was how much could I improve my mileage with just a scangauge II? So that is my goal is to attain 30mpg average whether or not its mixed or highway I will be happy.

I have been reading on hypermiling and going slow is alot let frantic and stressful just to stick to the right lane and putz along. One thing I have found is that my commute home is about 60% stop and go. No changing that so I enjoy getting behind semis because I can leave 3-4 car lenghts and no one cuts in front of me (because who wants to get stuck behind a semi ) I mostly started this because my car is a 5 speed and I hate clutching in and out in traffic so I avoid it by finding one of these guys.


Anyway that's enough rambeling for today. Happy to be here and look foward to seeing if I can attian my goal,



Happy Driving,

Jon

[Daox]

Welcome to the site.

The scangauge is really a huge help when learning to drive more efficiently. I have one in each of my vehicles.

What kind of mileage are you currently getting?

[zxtuner]

well poor milage....When my low fuel light comes on I fill up and that from what I have read leaves about 2 gallons in the tank. I put in about 10-11.5 gallons in each time. and I have been getting about 215-218 miles to a tank. highway..... in town less than 180miles to a tank.

by my guess 16 or less in town and around 20 highway...

[Sporty Modder]

Welcome. Itsounds like you have room for improvement. You can gain quite a bit by adjusting the nut behimd the wheel, sounds like you are on your way there already. I lusted after those cars 190 hp, 3000 lb curb weight, and a 5sd trans. Found some specs for you. STUFF.to Experience: 1998 Ford Contour SVT Specs

[zxtuner]

Oh yes the nut behind the wheel needs torquing LOL! My motto was left lane get out of my way this MY road and I WILL go AS FAST AS I WANT!!!

That needs to change with getting alittle older and getting a wife that insists there is no need to drive like that I am trying to change my thinking.

I just ordered up a scangauge II it will be here at the end of the month.

Thanks for the link I have come accossed that info before a few times. My 99 actually puts out
200hp and 165lbs/ft at the crank. I am excited to see how far a stock "performance" car can be pushed for MPG. I also want to see by just changing my habits what can I achieve?

Thanks for the warm welcome too. This is by far one of the nicer forums I have been on.

[Daox]

We have numerous 'performance' cars in the garage. Check it out to see what others have been able to do.

[zxtuner]

based on that looks like I have some work ahead of me to achive me goals

[Sporty Modder]

If you put your car in the garage, you can track milage, mods , Join a team( consider Sports Cars ) and keep track of consumption. Fuel price is included in the log as well as milage and gallons used.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by zxtuner

That lead me to my next thought was how much could I improve my mileage with just a scangauge II?

Nothing
It increases your awareness, and shows what works for the car and what is costing you extra fuel - that is what makes you save fuel.

The better you work with it, the more fuel you'll save.

I have been reading on hypermiling and going slow is alot let frantic and stressful just to stick to the right lane and putz along.

That alone will reduce your fuel consumption.
Twofold
- by driving slower
- by braking and accelerating less

No-one's really going much faster in a traffic jam.

One thing I have found is that my commute home is about 60% stop and go. No changing that so I enjoy getting behind semis because I can leave 3-4 car lenghts and no one cuts in front of me

These guys want to stop even less than you do, so they're trying to keep rolling, and you can benefit from that.

I mostly started this because my car is a 5 speed and I hate clutching in and out in traffic so I avoid it by finding one of these guys.

Do you stay in 2nd gear ?
Try to avoid 1st unless you're actually stopped, and shift into 2nd right away.

If you can't stay in 2nd (or 3rd) all the time, do a short burst in 2nd (pulse) (or 3rd, depending on speed) , then shift out of gear into neutral, and let it roll (glide) . Repeat when speed drops too much / the gap widens too much.

My mileage used to drop like a stone in traffic jams - now using the above technique, it's sometimes going up due to the lower speed


You could use that technique in town as well.
On short stretches of road, accelerate to a speed that'll allow you to roll the remaining distance to the next light / stop-sign / corner, then shift into neutral and coast.

On longer roads, maintain a speed up to a point where it'll allow you to roll the remaining distance to the next light / stop-sign / corner, then shift into neutral and coast.

Hard-core hypermilers even shut down the engine while they coast

[zxtuner]

I have tried that a few times last night. Nothing new to me I used to practice how to react if I ever lost all power and the engine quit. Sounds dorky but I like being prepared for the worst case, hope for the best case.

Thanks for the replies all,


Jon