First MPG concious vehicle...and Im LOVIN it!!!

[Homesplat]

Good stuff man. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I am getting a new car soon and I keep wanting to get the bigger faster vehicles lol. I just gotta suck it up and get a gas sipper like you did.

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Homesplat

Good stuff man. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I am getting a new car soon and I keep wanting to get the bigger faster vehicles lol. I just gotta suck it up and get a gas sipper like you did.

Compare 10 MPG to 40 MPG. 2500 gallons versus 10,000 gallons per 100 k miles. At $3.50 per gallon in 100k miles you have $3.50X7500. $26,500 in 100k miles is sucking up money! I know the example is extreme but it gives you a real idea of how you might reconsider even the idea of sucking up anything but cash.

Now consider that the average wage earner loses 30% of their pay to taxes, social security, etc. Also consider that if you can write off the mileage you can deduct 50 cents a mile from your taxes.

This means you can survive on less income, and or you can get a tax subsidy for sacrificing the urge to buy a gas hog.

Also consider that most efficient vehicles (like a Hyundai Elantra) do not carry a price penalty that offsets the savings, another plus for changing your priority to conservation. More savings.

There are many more reasons but these should help you understand that the real fun is sticking it to OPEC, at least for me.

regards
Mech

[66sprint6]

That...or you could use your savings to buy a gas hog hotrod that you only drive on the weekends or (like me) to the track and back. Ive got a 66 Mustang with a turbocharged inline six, 90 Mustang LX soon to have a 393 stroker and the 88 F150 4x4. I LOVE not having to drive those suckers everyday now for a couple reasons.

1) I can work on them anytime and if I dont finish in 1 day, oh well I dont need it to get to work
2) I dont get tired of the car/truck, I only drive it when I need it and the love and enjoyment is renewed again each and every time I take em out.
3) I only fill em up when Im out and using them, so instead of lookin at it as a weekly fuel cost, I look at it as $20-$40 towards entertainment or utility

Matt

[66sprint6]

Just finished up the tuneup and doin a few small ecomods. I swapped out the thermostat housing cause the plastic failsafe was def. melted out causing my warmup issue. She runs like a champ now and heats up like a normal car should. Im hoping that alone will be worth a bit of MPG. I also took some insulation strips and sealed the hood to headlight/grill gap, the headlight/grill to bumper gap and the gap between the headlights and the corner lights. I also removed the front license plate bracket and mudflaps. Hopefully I will see some changes without changing my driving which I will do for the next little bit, then I will look into a little more aggressive driving MPG wise. I also noticed that the odometer and trip odometer came up with the same distance on the last tank which means my 2nd tank actually may have been closer to 37mpg than 34. Im gonna confirm this over the next couple tanks and better fine-tune my calculations. Hopefully I wont have to keep editing anything from here on and I can start getting consistent feedback lol. I will post pics of the minor mods when I get a chance! Oh, this tank I got 34.8mpg all city which Im very happy with!
Matt

[Ladogaboy]

That sounds good, those numbers are starting to come up!

[66sprint6]

Here are a couple pics of the minor mods I made...not sure they are even that big of a deal but figured, why not!!!

Removed garbage



Gap between grill/headlights and the hood sealed up



Same stuff eventually put around the entire headlight and between headlight and corner light.



Again, the car now has HEAT which is awesome and she warms up pretty quick, but I might try a small grill block and work my way up till Im comfortable with the heat. I also noticed last night that I can shift at 1500 rpm and the next gear doesnt bog like it used to. I love driving this car now, super smooth.
Matt

[66sprint6]

Finally got some time to mess with V2 of the chin spoiler after aborting V1. This time I went with yalls suggestions on using lawn edging and after a bit of fighting, trimming, screwing and cussing I got it on the car close to how I want it. It was cooooold so she didnt wanna work with me much but I got it well enough to see if its worth keepin.





I dont like how the ends by the tires are sitting so I might fab a small straight bracket to flatten them out. I also dont care for how rough it looks where its mounted, but this particular lawn edging had to be trimmed and the top bent over to get the look I wanted. Good enough for now at least.

I grabbed a roll of garage door insulation while I was at it, but decided it was much too small for a good chin spoiler. Instead of takin it back I tried to make a windshield wiper spoiler out of it. This stuff ended up bein the sucky stuff the import guys complain about not stickin to double sided tape so alot of shoegoo and some clamping later I was ready to go. Its a very small spoiler, barely noticeable unless your lookin for it which keeps with what I want for this car...dunno if itll be effective at all but its worth tryin.





One thing I noticed drivin it around after the mods is road noise...or lack of it actually. I thought it was the old crappy tires makin all the noise but after these small mods I can actually hear a VERY noticeable drop in noise. I also swear I can coast further to lights and turns than before, Ive had to start re-learning my coast points on my way to work lol. What do you guys think, any feedback would be appreciated!!!
Matt

[Tygen1]

Yep, decreased "road" noise and increase coast distances are all by products of the work you have been doing

[66sprint6]

Thanks...I was pleasantly surprised to tell the truth. Ive learned from modding my Mustangs and even my truck that most individual mods may not add much by themselves, but add up when put with other mods. Sometimes I will work all day and not be able to tell a danged thing, but these simple little mods really made a difference in the sound and a noticeable difference in coasting.

OH...I forgot about this little mod, doesnt look like much but this sucker has already got the car into the mid 30's and Im hopin itll continue to add improvement as times goes on!!! I recommend this mod to ANYone I meet thats lookin for better efficiency and MPG.



Matt

[66sprint6]

Another observation I forgot to post up is the lack of hood movement on the interstate with the front gaps sealed. When I first bought the car I noticed on the way home how the hood would bounce pretty violently towards the front. I even pulled over and checked that it was latched properly lol. Now it barely, if at all moves, and when it does it so minute that I can almost not tell. Before it was enough that it would catch my eye even when I wasnt lookin for it. Gotta be worth somethin!
Matt