94 VX 1000 mile tank @ 80 MPG

[user removed]

re post #84.

The fuel pressure is vacuum controlled. One way to check pump pressure is to clamp off the fuel return line, but only long enough to read the pressure, which is probably close to twice the operating pressure (engine not running or you will flood it). Check it with the battery fully charged and when the battery voltage is lowest.

As long as the pump pressure exceeds the 40 psi max operating pressure, you should be fine.

Oh yes, fabulous build.

regards
mech

[The donkey CRX]

Thanks Old Mechanic for the information. I will do this check of the fuel pump with a fully charged and a low battery voltage.

[The donkey CRX]

I looked on E-Bay and I was not able to find any of the Hot Start heaters either. Maybe as we get closer to the fall some will show up with decent prices.
If you can get one for less than $200 it will be a deal and this item actually works great as opposed to the ones without a pump.

[3304hl]

This has been a super interesting build thread; congrats on a really clean effort.

I do have some aero related questions.
I can't see enough of your belly pan to tell if you have air outlets for the radiator/engine heat.
If not, you might want to consider possibly installing a small opening with an electric fan to move the warm air out of the engine compartment. My thinking is that by pulling the hot air out of the engine bay, you will increase the efficiency of the radiator (passing air more efficiently) and thus be able to reduce the front inlet size. Keep in mind, wherever you have air moving, even internally, you have "aero".
Have a look at some of the really clean race cars out there, and you'll see attention paid to this.
What temps are you seeing in warm weather running?

cheers

[The donkey CRX]

Thanks for your comments 3304hl. This car has what I call a 3/4 belly pan. From just behind the front seats to about six inches forward of the rear wheel openings there is a gap in the belly pan. This section of the underneath of the car is already very flat and by not having the belly pan full length, it allows the engine compartment to vent out the back of the front portion of the belly pan.

Here are some pictures







Also note that the muffler has been relocated to the space where Honda places the catalytic converter on the civic CX and EX models of this car. This allowed me to make the rear belly pan and diffuser much smoother. This location already has a heat shield and I also added extra heat insulation for the "cherry bomb" type muffler. It seems to be just as quite as the original one.

My other car, the red mule 92 VX has a full belly pan that vents out the very back of the belly pan, but when you stop after a trip, heat is retained inside the pan and it radiates up into the cabin.




Also the white VX has adjustable shutters in the grill, which allows me to regulate the water temp of the engine. I adjust the shutters to maintain around a 190 degree water temp and oil temp at all times.

I have installed an air temp sensor inside the engine compartment just under the intake manifold between the firewall and the engine. So far this summer the highest temp I have seen in the engine bay is 142 degrees. To my surprise, the highest temps are seen when the shutters are fully opened. I guess this is because when more air goes through the radiator full of 200 degree water, it actually heats up the engine bay more than when less air is flowing through.

Also remember a lot of air is exhausted out the front wheel wells.

One other comment I would make is that most of the year I struggle to even get the oil and water up 190 degrees with the very cool running lean burn engine in the VX. So except in the summer, all these modifications are needed to retain heat and I am not concerned with exhausting heat.

Hope this answers your questions.

[ChewChewTrain]

[QUOTE=The donkey CRX;484283]We just got the White 94 VX back on the road this month and I wanted to let you see it's new look. Most of the aero and hyper mile work is done, but we still need to finish up the new black interior. I was anxious to see what kind of MPG numbers I could lay down with the good hot summer weather we have been having here in TN, The first tank was 1050 miles with a fill up of 13.10 gallons or 80.15 MPG.

Our goal with this car is to see how high we can get the MPG's while not making the car look like an all out, no compromise, aeromodded machine like the 92 red VX MULE.

Here are a few pictures and I will add more later.

Thanks


1,000+ miles per tankful?! Unfrickin' believable. Nice gameplay, Donkey!

[ecoTex]

Pop, I noticed you fell from 2nd place to 3rd on the top ten. So I looked at your fuel-log.
Wow! That is, in my opinion, the most impressive tank to date! 72mph on a relatively high speed road trip.
I'm amazed!

[The donkey CRX]

Thanks ecoTex, considering I had to turn the alternator back on for the whole trip and had almost no EOC miles on this trip, I was also pleased with the results.

One other data point was that even though the speed limit in Texas is mostly 75 MPH on the freeway, a lot of semi trucks still travel at my target speed of 65MPH. So I did a lot of "safe drafting" of the big trucks on this trip. I could improve my instant MPG by 4 or 5 MPG with this technique.

[ChewChewTrain]

Originally Posted by The donkey CRX

Thanks ecoTex, considering I had to turn the alternator back on for the whole trip and had almost no EOC miles on this trip, I was also pleased with the results.

One other data point was that even though the speed limit in Texas is mostly 75 MPH on the freeway, a lot of semi trucks still travel at my target speed of 65MPH. So I did a lot of "safe drafting" of the big trucks on this trip. I could improve my instant MPG by 4 or 5 MPG with this technique.

Donkey, could you describe your "safe drafting" technique in greater detail, please??

[The donkey CRX]

You don't need to be 20 feet from the rear of a semi trailer to gain the benefit of the truck parting the air for your vehicle. Even following many car lengths behind the trailer will still give you an MPG benefit. Only follow at a distance that you can stop faster than he can.