50 MPG Tercel, almost

[0xsergy]

Heya, just wanted to share what I've done to my car thus far. I bought it a few months ago as my first car(stick shift ofcourse) and just driving conservatively I've managed to get ~5.8L/100km 90% city. I didn't bother with mods because I rarely ever went on the highways as my job was in the city so mods wouldn't be worth the effort. However, a couple weeks ago I got word that I got the position at a job I had an interview for, a job 80km away. I decided that it was now or never to begin so I started with something easy, duct tape lower grille block . A few days after that came the rear skirts(left one was the first one and it's a bit shabby compared to the right, probably should remake it but lazy) and the smooth wheel covers.

Today I removed the ducttape lower grille block and made a proper one, as well as an upper grille block ziptied to the backside of the upper grille. I didn't do ABA tests for all of them, only the skirts which showed a ~0.3L/100km improvement at 80 km/h. Today I finished my first tank with all the mods attached except upper grille block, 4.87L/100km(48.5mpg or so, 90% highway). Mind you that even though those are technically mostly highway kms about 1/3 of them are sitting in stop and go traffic. I wonder what I could get out of it if it weren't for that. Maybe 4.6 or 4.5? Seems feasible. Not sure what else I can to improve the mileage, already running the tires at 44PSI when the sidewall claims 35 max and I try to keep highway speeds under 110, usually aim for 105 if it's possible regarding traffic/etc.

Oh, and the material used is coroplast. I just went out and bought a big 4x8 sheet and I've still got a bunch left, enough for front skirts.

imgur.com/a/ptKOn

[elhigh]

Slick, clean work. Your discs and skirts look great.

I wonder if you'd experience a greater improvement with your grille block on the outside?

I love the Tercel, especially the older, longitudinal-engine ones. It's the bottom line: mobility, no frills.

Regardless, looks fantastic. Congrats on the new job and excellent results.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the great mileage.

I have a 1993 Tercel I'm working on, and used to have a 1997 Paseo that I got some pretty great mileage with (72 mpg was my best tank). They're a good platform to start with for sure.

I can't access the imgur link at work. What year is your car? You should make a garage entry here to so you can track your mileage.

[0xsergy]

Originally Posted by elhigh

Slick, clean work. Your discs and skirts look great.

I wonder if you'd experience a greater improvement with your grille block on the outside?

I love the Tercel, especially the older, longitudinal-engine ones. It's the bottom line: mobility, no frills.

Regardless, looks fantastic. Congrats on the new job and excellent results.

Thanks.

I considered one on the outside but the coroplast is fairly thick, 0.16" iirc, so it would look funny on the outside and I happened to have a piece of scrap that almost perfect fit the inside so I used it.ill see how it reacts first then experiment a bit.

Originally Posted by Daox

Welcome to the site and congrats on the great mileage.

I have a 1993 Tercel I'm working on, and used to have a 1997 Paseo that I got some pretty great mileage with (72 mpg was my best tank). They're a good platform to start with for sure.

I can't access the imgur link at work. What year is your car? You should make a garage entry here to so you can track your mileage.

I've seen that thread. Been lurking for well over a year as this stuff interests me. Mine is a 99, last year they were made. It's also a bit high mileage, I'm looking for a replacement with less KM on it but also not rusted as ****, difficult find. I've got a Fuelly page set up which is convenient since I can text them to update with a fuel up.

[0xsergy]

So, quick bump. I've got a question to people who might have accounts on various autotechnician sites. I want to wire up an engine kill switch and I think the easiest way might be to disrupt the ground to the injectors but I can't find a wiring diagram for anything specific to my car that isn't for stereo units or something along those lines. Any idea of what I should look for?

EDIT: On possible thought, maybe the injector relay? According to a picture I found it's under the driver side footwell.

[dirtydave]

Just start pulling fuses and see what kills the engine. Probably labled IGN or INJ and get an add-a-fuse and a good quality switch.

[0xsergy]

Originally Posted by dirtydave

Just start pulling fuses and see what kills the engine. Probably labled IGN or INJ and get an add-a-fuse and a good quality switch.

But how would I link the switch to it..? I would need to isolate one side of the fuse from the other, yes? And connect the switch in between that.

Something with ends like this looks perfect, unless I can buy ends like that alone..?


EDIT: I went out and had a look this morning. Under the dash the only one that kills the engine is a mini fuse labeled as ignition(self explanatory). As having unused fuel in the cylinders isn't very good I looked under the hood and found another minifuse that kills it labeled as EFI(also self explanatory). Now the question is whether I can buy fuse spades to plug directly into the fuse slot, or something along those lines. Any ideas?

Also, another thing I'm concerned about is voltage drop if I run a wire from the engine bay to the stick and back again. I estimate this is about 10 feet/3m of wire.

[dirtydave]

Check this thread. http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...sti-26749.html

[JRMichler]

Definitely kill the injectors, not the ignition. Here's how I did my kill switch:

The kill switch was installed 12-7-2008. It breaks the connection through the fuel injector fuse to kill the engine. I cut the plastic off a spare fuse, removed the fuse element, and soldered wires to the fuse pins. These wires were connected to an automotive relay. The relay coil is energized through a pushbutton switch mounted on the shift lever. The relay is connected normally closed, so the circuit is opened when the relay coil is energized. The fuel injector circuit has an inline fuse, with another inline fuse in the wire to the pushbutton. I can bypass the kill switch any time by pulling the connectors from the fuse box and putting a fuse back in. All wires are protected by fuses. This is especially important when running wires through the firewall, under carpeting, and up the shift lever.

The kill switch works well, however I randomly get a CEL. The CEL is either a P0204 or P0461. I just reset using the Scangauge. Strangely, I always get a CEL at the first EOC after filling the tank. That CEL is also accompanied by the gas gauge moving to Empty. The gas gauge stays at empty until the CEL is reset. The BCM also relocks all the door locks every time at a bump start.

[0xsergy]

Originally Posted by JRMichler

Definitely kill the injectors, not the ignition. Here's how I did my kill switch:

The kill switch was installed 12-7-2008. It breaks the connection through the fuel injector fuse to kill the engine. I cut the plastic off a spare fuse, removed the fuse element, and soldered wires to the fuse pins. These wires were connected to an automotive relay. The relay coil is energized through a pushbutton switch mounted on the shift lever. The relay is connected normally closed, so the circuit is opened when the relay coil is energized. The fuel injector circuit has an inline fuse, with another inline fuse in the wire to the pushbutton. I can bypass the kill switch any time by pulling the connectors from the fuse box and putting a fuse back in. All wires are protected by fuses. This is especially important when running wires through the firewall, under carpeting, and up the shift lever.

The kill switch works well, however I randomly get a CEL. The CEL is either a P0204 or P0461. I just reset using the Scangauge. Strangely, I always get a CEL at the first EOC after filling the tank. That CEL is also accompanied by the gas gauge moving to Empty. The gas gauge stays at empty until the CEL is reset. The BCM also relocks all the door locks every time at a bump start.

I did something similar enough. I cut the fuse open, put 2 butt slices on the end, crimped, ran wire into the car through the fender/door and put an inline mini fuse holder for the 15a fuse. I then, for testing purposes, connected a switch rated for 6A to see how it worked. Works well, and I can see it being useful for when coasting to a light and wanting to use engine braking down to ~300 RPM(I have to guess at RPM though as the Tercel doesn't have a tachometer and my OBD2 port is occupied by insurance company tool(****ing insurance rates in Ontario are ridiculous, I'm 20 and paying over 270/mo)).

I now need to find a switch to permanently install. I'm leaning towards a normal throw switch because of the whole coasting to lights thing as opposed to a momentary switch. Any suggestions regarding switches?

Also, regarding relays. I don't have much experience with them but I assume you hooked up the switch to a hot wire you got from the cabin and ran that to the relay and from there to a ground?