Another new member from Oregon
 

Hello all,
I have been looking around on here quite a bit lately as my work currently has me commuting 130 miles a day. My original goal was to be able to get a week worth of driving at these distances but that is in my opinion a lost cause without an auxiliary tank. So I figured I would take another approach. my goal is to be consistently over 52 mpg @ 60mph freeway speed. was averaging 36-38.5 before picking up new tires and doing some valve work (chasing an oil leak.) My most recent fill-up netted me in the high 40's which I am skeptical of, but I will give it a few tanks and see if it stays consistent. Really hope it does as my employer is paying me $0.565 per mile over 60 miles per day. So any increase in FE is literally money in my pocket.

Thank you for reading.
Pat

Don't be too skeptical, your car is really not much wider than mine, definitely shorter than mine, and only has 1/10th of a liter of displacement more than mine. The absolute biggest improvement you can make is getting a gauge of some sort. Yeah, the startup cost is high, but it's totally worth it.

No chance of moving closer to work? That could help a lot too, you know!

Cheers

~Matt

My normal commute is 60 miles per day, however the company I work for has me traveling to different locations. Last few weeks it's Woodstock area in Portland, next week it is Eugene, following week it is Sherwood. During a normal week I'm only spending $28-$35 in fuel. So my additional distance is really just a bonus for me. I know the $.565 per mile also covers ware and tare, but I got the car for $500 and was in great shape minus bad tires and a bad plug wire. I'm trying to decide on what kind of gauge I want to pick up. I know that the scan gauge is out as I am running an OBD1 car. Maybe just a vacuum gauge for now.

Ah, that's some extra clarity, makes a lot more sense now. You might look into the MPGuino (which my mind always reads as "MPGuido," and I think of some Jersey-Shores guy who loves the gym, tanning, and MPGs), I think that works with OBD1 cars. A vacuum gauge would definitely be a good start---if you haven't, look into the instrumentation section. Lots of good suggestions there.

Welcome!

Looking in your Garage I see you already pumped up the tires, deleted power steering, and added a kill switch for P&G. Don't be skeptical about your most recent tank. It sounds right to me.

What driving techniques do you use on your commute? P&G seems to be the most effective technique for insane MPG numbers. If you aren't P&G'ing I would recommend keeping the speed at or under 60 mph (assuming your on a highway).

cbaber- I set my cruise on flat roadway at 59 when there is traffic, which is 95% of the time for me. I spend almost all of my time on I-5, main north south highway on the west coast. I feel bad causing too much of an interruption in commercial traffic. Whenever able to I do P&G.

Flakbadger- MPGuino is definitely in the future, honestly after removing the CAI that was on the car and hacking it up for a warm air I can hear throttle position (funny that it is said warm air nets better FE) I cut up the cold before looking on here. The filter was a pita to get to. Some kid is going to be pissed I cut up his $300 Cold Air kit.

interested in video advocacy for fuel efficiency
 

Hello Pat,
I see you are in Salem, OR. I am a doc maker and I produce an on-going video series you can watch through the road / stories tab of our site at RespectfulRevolution - dot - org. I am looking for someone to interview about changing driving behaviors towards greater fuel efficiency. Would you be interested ?
Thank you,
- Gerard

If you are on the Interstate most of the time and trying to not hold up traffic, pick up a draft from a truck or bus. It will allow you to go with the flow of traffic and get the same or better mileage than at 10 MPH slower, if you are not doing this already. I like to keep 2 stripes separation, about 130 feet.

regards
Mech