Ford Escort MPG advice needed

[radioranger]

Great milage, I get around 40 41 with my 98 5 speed lx, I do have bigger wheels that came with it , custom, I also recently diagnosed a bad front wheel bearing, I drive pretty slow also and coast whenever possible, Ive got to try the higher tire pressure like you did, any other mods beside tire pressure, I''m running the synth oil from walmart 5 w 30 also, just put in new plugs , had a close one there the last guy really over tourgued one, but luckily it came out, may try the disc wheel covers next 45 50 dsounds good when your commute is 130 miles,

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by radioranger

Great milage, I get around 40 41 with my 98 5 speed lx, I do have bigger wheels that came with it , custom, I also recently diagnosed a bad front wheel bearing, I drive pretty slow also and coast whenever possible, Ive got to try the higher tire pressure like you did, any other mods beside tire pressure, I''m running the synth oil from walmart 5 w 30 also, just put in new plugs , had a close one there the last guy really over tourgued one, but luckily it came out, may try the disc wheel covers next 45 50 dsounds good when your commute is 130 miles,

You might be doing better than you think. Have you calibrated your odometer readings for the taller wheel/tire combination? Those taller wheels/tires will cause an undercount in your odometer readings and therefore give you inaccurately lower FE readings. The difference can be noticeable.

[laserwizard]

Over the past week I have worked on streamlining the front of my 1997 Escort.

First, I used foam and filled in the places where most cars have their fog lights (my car doesn't have them) and then I used duct tape (body color) and carefully masked over the tape so that there were no ripples. As this is a test, this isn't intended to be permanent but I want it to look good anyway! Used a good tape and it cost $3 and change at Walmart.

Second, I went to Dollar Tree and got a firm weather stripping with one sided tape backing and used this to fill in the crack for the hood sides and over the headlights and grill area to close off the gap between that and the hood. Cost $1 Thankfully my car is white and the tape and weatherstripping are also white so it doesn't really stand out.

Over this past weekend I averaged 49.8 mpgs (via scanguage II) over a round trip of 90% highway and 10% mixed driving - total distance 120 miles. This is roughly 2 mpgs better than it got before the mods - I was averaging about 47 mpgs on the highway before - and the pickup in mileage also had me driving in more traffic than usual so I was really watching not to impede traffic with too much coasting down hills and light acceleration up them. I am sure I can hit 50 mpgs on average.

Next road trip I'll bump up the pressure in tires from 40 to 42 though I will watch pressure since the temps are now warming up and I don't want to overdo it.

[mikeyjd]

Welcome! I recommend going for the cheapest/free mods to start with. Added tire pressure, weight reductions, dirty aero deletions are free ways to pick up a couple extra m'spg. Things like spark plugs and tires can make a small difference but aren't usually worth replacing for a more fuel efficient version unless you need to do it anyways. Make sure you read these 2 threads to get the most out of what you already have.
100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com
65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

[mcrews]

If you are looking at new tires, go a size up.
example: 2002 Q45 stock 245/45/28 upsized to 245/50/18.
Kia Sportage 235-60/16 stock 235/70/16 size up

lowers rpm at highway speeds and is worth 2-3mpgs.

[laserwizard]

I've done what I want to do right now - I have been using scangauge for years and have altered my driving style so that now I just wanted to tweak the car to remove easy to fix drag issues. I will monitor this site to learn other techniques. To me tire pressure is such a big deal - I check weekly and of course adjust for change in seasons/temperatures.

Look forward to reading what others are doing and will report back if I do something that makes sense operationally without compromising the way the care drives and performs.

[radioranger]

I think my biggest problem ow is the new tires, I lost about 4 mpg by going to the softer yokohamas but teh old ones were shot and one had a bad belt in it, so now averageing around 38 with 34 pounds pressure, tire sidewall says 50 max so may try going to 40, I filled in the brake vent area on the bumper cover with some plastic so that should help a bit not flush mounted but recessed area is nnow blocked off, also think i need the other front wheel bearing also , not too bad once youve done one and I paint and clean everything up. I am using the new hammered finish from rustoleum , holds up very very well and paints right over firm rust nicely, painted the anchor chain on my boat and it was on the deck all winter in the slip and still seems pretty goodpainted up the spindle on the car and looks good also ,

[mikeyjd]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tire-2721.html

[radioranger]

Just aired up the tires from 35 to 40 cold and seems much livelier, first long 140 mile run to work and back tomorrow so we will maybe tell the difference but really seemed to help in the seat of the pants first test, psyched to go .

[Levi]

Originally Posted by SubSonic

Just to give you a little eye candy to think things over re: rear airfoils.
No real data here just a made up run, but you can see how even the smallest addition to a profile can have dramatic effects.



Enjoy

Kind regards

Subsonic

like !