Arragonis' Fabia Mod Thread - Page 2 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Arragonis · 11-08-2010, 04:11 AM

It is being rained on heavily today so we shall see if the tape / board construction (Tapoboard (TM)) will be as weatherproof as I hope.

I'm off down the DIY place later this week to see if I can find some more permanent fixing or I may ask Santa for one of those full blocks from Superskoda.

320touring · 11-08-2010, 08:35 AM

Ouch- looks sturdy, but not the prettiest!

Lets hope it makes a difference..

If you need somewhere to do modding thats dry with a kettle, then i'd be happy for you to pop over to my Unit when I'm over..

Got a WAI and grille block to do for the Scab..

Reckon Gaff tape will be the right colour to match the paintwork

ShadeTreeMech · 11-09-2010, 09:43 AM

I think a warm air intake would be considered a severe bad idea on a diesel. It would be bad to get the exhaust gas temps up too high and fry the engine. Besides, the idea behind WAI on a gasser is to reduce pumping losses, which are nearly nonexistant on a diesel (or a throttleless gas injection engine for that matter.)

You might play with blocking/partially blocking the intercooler to see the results. Read a thread on a diesel forum where a guy discovered better economy by blocking off the intercooler in the colder seasons.

Arragonis · 11-09-2010, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320touring

If you need somewhere to do modding thats dry with a kettle, then i'd be happy for you to pop over to my Unit when I'm over.

he he - I chose silver 5 years ago strictly so I could fix it with tape...

The block seems to be standing up to the weather (i.e. water) just now - may replace it with a plastic version I have made from some plexiglass at the weekend as long as the Mrs doesn't make a list of jobs first. It will still have the Gaffotape (tm) sealing unless I get a chance to find some flat fixings down at B&Q.

If I get round to doing something underneath I may take you up on that dry place idea. I have jacks, stands and ramps but my driveway areas are about as flat as the trossachs and Helga is a little lardy. The garage is flat but there is a non-moving rusty MGB in the way.

I'm going to get bit for my next mod hopefully tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadeTreeMech

You might play with blocking/partially blocking the intercooler to see the results. Read a thread on a diesel forum where a guy discovered better economy by blocking off the intercooler in the colder seasons.

I seem to recall Piwoslaw looking at bypassing his for faster warm ups. A faster warm up is one thing I have noticed but the engine temp has remained the same since the change - 81-83 Deg C. The intake temp can go up at standstill, but goes rapidly back down on the move. I didn't note what it did before though to make a comparison so that could be just the intercooller.

euromodder · 11-09-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arragonis

The intake temp can go up at standstill, but goes rapidly back down on the move. I didn't note what it did before

Very likely the same.

Arragonis · 11-24-2010, 07:21 AM

Well, that hasn't made any positive difference on economy.

Latest tank is 457.2 miles for 47.56 litres - 43 MPG (Imp) which is very much lower than the previous 3 tank average of over 52. I'm kind of disappointed as I have had some good trip computer averages, 67 on one trip to the other side of Scotland and back.

Its going to stay for now though as winter is here (snow forecast for later this week) for the quicker warm up, and I would also like to see the average once the gas people have stopped digging up the local roads around here - roughly 60% of my commute timewise at least at the moment is crawling in heavy traffic.

The lack of improvement means the good cover from SuperSkoda is not on the agenda. I also need to check if my tyres are still as pumped up as they were - the tyre thing was busy this morning when I filled up so I didn't get a chance.

Anyway, next mod - some weight reduction - planned for the weekend if I can get a chance...

320touring · 11-24-2010, 07:42 AM

shame the grill block hasnt improved mpg- i get the feeling that the cold air isnt helping.

what weight removal you going to do?

euromodder · 11-24-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320touring

shame the grill block hasnt improved mpg- i get the feeling that the cold air isnt helping.

It certainly isn't.
The grill block can't do much wrong either.

I've managed to keep above 48mpg (US) so far, but I guess the next tank isn't going to be as good.

Arragonis · 11-24-2010, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320touring

shame the grill block hasnt improved mpg- i get the feeling that the cold air isnt helping.

what weight removal you going to do?

It will be in two stages. The first will be to remove the spare and toolkit, and go with a can of blow up and an RAC card - the former I have to buy, the latter I have (it came for free

).

Second stage will be to remove some seatage. At most I have two people in the car usually, me and Jnr when I pick him up / take him to school so the back ones could probably come out. Having tapped that the seats themselves when folding do not weigh very much. I also need to consider the ability to conceal stuff when parked.

I may then look at some more aero to tidy up the front bumper. I may go for a full block but as tapped elsewhere its not as cold as Continental Europe here (just wetter

) so I'm wondering about that. There is also the (extreme) option of a smoothed front end - e.g.

But that is very spendy.

For info what should my intake temp be, does anyone have numbers with a grill block in Deg C, or indeed recommendations ? Wondering if I need to put in some ducting to route the cooller air from my small opening in the grill. I'm also looking out for a PD160 intake which is larger. Some people report this improves power / FE by freeing up the breathing - I'm not so sure but if I can get one cheap enough I may try it as an experiment.

So I have many plans, little time and zero skill. Sounds like a winner.