Short Notice Cross Country Trip: Best Bang for Time?

[doviatt]

If you did the MPGuino you could turn it into a contest/game. MPGuino would keep score per driver and driving leg. I find it easier to drive focusing on the (analog needle position) vacuum gauge and verify the result with the MPGuino instant or trip average.
Also: added bonus is once you get used to this....then you can better measure results of your other mods when installed.

[Gealii]

Originally Posted by poomanchu

Belly pan in less than 24 hours that will be in one piece upon his return? I believe he has a time constraint.

if you dont count paint drying time ive done a belly pan smooth wheel covers and grill block in under 3 hours and the only reason my belly pan came off was due to snow piling up on top of it

belly pan was one option grouped with smooth wheel covers which is one of my fav ecomods anyone should do

[redneck]

.

Install the MPGuino. (you can't tell what works and what doesn't without it)

Duct tape the hub caps or rims. (simple)

Duct tape and or cardboard grill block. (simple)

Inflate tires to 50psi. (simple)

Pull the intake hose from the cold air intake and let it pull air from the warm engine compartment. (simple)

Screw the cruise control it is counter productive...

Fill gas tank with non ethanol. (simple)

Coast engine off on the down hills. (simple)

Keep speed to 60mph and below. (simple) Arrive alive...The person is dead and is not going anywhere.

I hope everything works out for you and your family.

Have a safe trip...

>

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by redneck

.

Install the MPGuino. (you can't tell what works and what doesn't without it)

Duct tape the hub caps or rims. (simple)

Duct tape and or cardboard grill block. (simple)

Inflate tires to 50psi. (simple)

Pull the intake hose from the cold air intake and let it pull air from the warm engine compartment. (simple)

Screw the cruise control it is counter productive...

Fill gas tank with non ethanol. (simple)

Coast engine off on the down hills. (simple)

Keep speed to 60mph and below. (simple) Arrive alive...The person is dead and is not going anywhere.

I hope everything works out for you and your family.

Have a safe trip...

>

cruise control is fine for a non-ecomodder. remember, OP has two other drivers with him. it is better to set the cruise to the speed limit than flying down the interstate at random speeds. my wife can use the control. she won't stare at a guino.

for an ecomodder, cruise control is not so good...

[steveo539]

"for ecomodder cruise control not so good"

I think we all agree on that, but for 12 hours in the saddle........

"cruise control good"

[Superfuelgero]

Thank you for the comments.

The fact I only have about 1 day to work on one is major constraint (darn constant overtime). But the day is over the weekend, so I have a few days to do minor tweaks/ adjustments/ pull off before I leave.

The other drivers have been warned of the cruise issue, but that doesn't make it any less of a pain after 33 hours each way behind the wheel. May look into a hand throttle (locking), quick and dirty.

The time for mpguino is due to the supporting mod to cleanly mount. Was thinking the contest would be good. Along with "He's asleep, I'm going to crank up the speed... Oh, crap, look at the Mpg! he's going to be pissed, I better slow down".

The discs would be nice, and I think I have the mounting sorted. The main problem has been the VX alloys. Not sure how the tape method would work with those.

The pan could be done quickly, but may catch fire if I don't spend the time clearancing.

Speed, I drive slow (55 in 65 normally), but I'm not sure if the can/will. On a long drive, slower driving does add up. I did think about removing/ replacing the speedo needle so it reads 15mph high...

Others suggested, but have already been done:
-Grill block.
-Tires at 50
-Intake flipped towards radiator
-Ethanol free, but harder to find on the open road.

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by xntrx

I need to leave shortly for a cross country trip due to a death in the family. I have one day to complete one of my pending modifications (not including the one day to just make sure its ready) on my Civic VX. My choices:
1) Install mpguino and vacuum gauge (perhaps hand throttle time allowing)
2) Install moon discs (gotta figure out a workable mounting) and smooth undertray
3) Warm air intake WAI (intercooler based)
4) Install cruise control
5) Other

I have everything except for the nickle-and-dime stuff for each.

Trip details:
3600 miles
All Highway
two other drivers, non-hypermilers
Will be some major hills

In my opinion, for just you would go:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

But if you take those 3600 miles, and imagine you are only driving 1200 of them (you mentioned 2 other drivers who would most likely not value it), would you prefer a mod that only helps for 1/3 the trip, or the whole trip?
I voted CC because it is easy to set a rule, and people will follow. They set it, and you are good. On down hills, tell them to turn it off and coast.
How good is an mpguino when the driver is doing 85? Are moon discs/belly pans/WAI at 85 mph better than straight cruising at 65?

I find CC is best for going up hill, then bleeding more speed at the crest to creep over, then EOC until I need to engine brake to get to a reasonable speed, then EOC again.

For this situation, I would go:
4,3,1,5,2.

I am not discrediting your build experience/quality, but do you trust your first draft build on a 3600 mile trip? Which is why 2 is last. I am not an expert, just trying to put myself in your shoes and how I would plan, based off what you mentioned. Hope it helps!

[vskid3]

3600 miles? Another vote for cruise. I drove my Insight 500 miles back home after buying it, no cruise. My right leg was not happy. For long trips, I personally set the cruise just below or at the speed limit and let mileage take a back seat. I don't know what the speed limits will be like on your route, but 75MPH would be 48 hours, 60MPH would be 60 hours. I'll gladly pay the extra to save 12 hours (helps that I would still be getting 40+MPG at 75MPH in either of my cars).
Slap a few easy mods on with whatever time you have left, grill block, try tape wheel covers, and pump up the tires to at least sidewall.

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by vskid3

3600 miles? Another vote for cruise. I drove my Insight 500 miles back home after buying it, no cruise. My right leg was not happy. For long trips, I personally set the cruise just below or at the speed limit and let mileage take a back seat. I don't know what the speed limits will be like on your route, but 75MPH would be 48 hours, 60MPH would be 60 hours. I'll gladly pay the extra to save 12 hours (helps that I would still be getting 40+MPG at 75MPH in either of my cars).
Slap a few easy mods on with whatever time you have left, grill block, try tape wheel covers, and pump up the tires to at least sidewall.

This is a valid argument. With this many miles, it would pay to go a little faster and sacrifice gas some mileage. Otherwise, you will be sacrificing you and your passengers' sanity!

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by sarguy01

This is a valid argument. With this many miles, it would pay to go a little faster and sacrifice gas some mileage. Otherwise, you will be sacrificing you and your passengers' sanity!

For me, if I was with two people I consider friendly, it would be no problem to travel at the speed limit. I hate to say my time is not worth a lot, but if I travel alone, I do push it more...I want to get there, so I get there a bit faster. With cruise, I can just sit back and relax compared to holding the exact throttle I want.

Plus, if one person is sleeping, and rotating out, 18-24 hour traveling is possible. I'd say time > money, but time well spent is valuable. I like having opportunities to utilize it. I think back to my road trips, and we calculated the time with extra travel time. Yes, we had to be somewhere in 8 days, but it was the journey over the destination. I know not the same for you in this case, but I would just plan to drive at the more reasonable speed.

Now, if I was losing someone close to me, the Mustang would be bouncing off the governor to get there.