2004 Focus ZX3 Commuter

[MisterMundane]

Haha this community is pretty tame compared to some I've been on!

I've wanted to bail on this car a few times, but I'm still sticking with it for now.

[MisterMundane]

Alright, got my coolant leak fixed! Commuting with the car once again! Will be interesting to see the effect all the new parts has on file economy.

Total list done the past week

Timing belt/tensioners (old belt was craaacked! Tensioners were a little more stiff than new ones)
Water pump (Old one was slightly dragging compared to new)
Thermostat+housing (197° tstat, OEM specs)
Valve cover gasket (won't have an effect on FE)

So we will see if there's any difference. I doubt it but you never know.

[BabyDiesel]

A dragging water pump should be worth at least 3.42 mpg

Hope you get a 35+!

[MisterMundane]

i was hoping to gain about 20 MPG lol.

jk

sad to see my average dropped substantially from all the idling and crap while i was doing all the wok on the car. now I have to work extra hard to get it back up. this next tank wont be very good.


also going to take home some aluminum sheets from work, to maybe start working on an underbelly. decrease some drag maybe.


oh, ill also add, i saw a few times 500 range of coasting in nuetral for instant MPG. thats awesome! average is around 280-350, but it has momemnts where it jumps up 400+

going to check my air pressure today when I fill up, as they seem a little low. If i bump that up a bit it will help

[MisterMundane]

quick question, does the fuel tank calibration have an effect on the MPG readouts? I keep forgetting to tell it i filled up after leaving the gas station, so even when im full it will yell at me that its almost empty. I'll try to get better at remembering, but does it affect the MPG numbers at all?

if it doesnt, ill just turn those stupid alarms off and ignore that feature.

[spacemanspif]

I've been wondering the same thing with my SGII. It doesn't have alarms but I worry if it throws off the MPG calibration. I've forgotten a couple times so I just tell it I fill up when I remember and then just go on faith that the gallons it estimates are correct. Can always adjust calibration after the next full/accurate tank...

[Fat Charlie]

It doesn't affect the mpg readings, as such, but it helps if you want your display to be relevant to the tank. My display shows instant and short trip mpg, mpg for the current tank, fuel level and DTE. None of this matters when you write your odometer reading on the pump receipt, but long trip (tank) mpg on the display tells me how my week is going overall and lets me know what the pump receipt is going to say.

All these numbers work in relation to the others (and the car's gas gauge and trip mpg display, if you have one) and lets you get a feel for how accurate all your numbers are: if you can't trust your gauges, what good are they? All of my numbers tell me different things that I want to know and the also help me confirm the other numbers.

So after you get back in your car you spend 30-40 seconds pressing buttons to zero out trip numbers and tell the gauge you filled up. Who cares? That's less time than you "waste" driving less than 80 mph everywhere.

[BabyDiesel]

Originally Posted by MisterMundane

i was hoping to gain about 20 MPG lol.

jk

sad to see my average dropped substantially from all the idling and crap while i was doing all the wok on the car. now I have to work extra hard to get it back up. this next tank wont be very good.


also going to take home some aluminum sheets from work, to maybe start working on an underbelly. decrease some drag maybe.


oh, ill also add, i saw a few times 500 range of coasting in nuetral for instant MPG. thats awesome! average is around 280-350, but it has momemnts where it jumps up 400+

going to check my air pressure today when I fill up, as they seem a little low. If i bump that up a bit it will help

You'll gain 20 mpg with the water pump fixed and three ecomodder stickers

Underbody panels are good, as the underside of our cars are usually aero-dirty. I did just the front and rear of my Escort and I saw a big improvement. I was actually able to gain MPG from P&G lol.

I think the IAC valves from ford are funky. I've had mine go from 100 to 600 in one drive

Pump them tires up! Try sidewall max and see what you think, I preferred that over placecard. And that is when I still pushed it hard at times I now run 60 psi, buutt I'm over the top!

Originally Posted by MisterMundane

quick question, does the fuel tank calibration have an effect on the MPG readouts? I keep forgetting to tell it i filled up after leaving the gas station, so even when im full it will yell at me that its almost empty. I'll try to get better at remembering, but does it affect the MPG numbers at all?

if it doesnt, ill just turn those stupid alarms off and ignore that feature.

Short answer, it does. Telling the UG that you added more fuel than you did will cause instant readouts to be lower than actual, and vice versa. The advice given to me on here is when you get the sorry thing calibrated, LEAVE IT BE! If you add 0.5 gallons more than the gauge says, but your mpg figures are spot on, don't tell it you added that fuel and throw off your readings.

I had this happen when I had an over fill at a different pump than I usually use, then drove with my SG telling me I was having a hard time breaking 40, when I know I was! Went back to "my" pump (YKYAEW...) and fixed the calibration, along with scoring about +2 mpg over what SG was telling me

[MisterMundane]

ok ill try and keep up on it then! thanks guys.

[MisterMundane]

so ive noticed that wind plays a huge role in economy. Some days I can get 40-45 MPG no problem, but add in even just a bit of wind, and i cant eek out more than 34 ish!

Need to work on my aero i guess.

side note, will be time for new tires soon. Thinking of going with LRR tires to help me out. any suggestions?