free/cheap beneficial to car eco mods actually worth doing

[wmjinman]

Originally Posted by YeahPete

1.)You all forgot the nut behind the wheel! Best mod ever!
2.) Lower the vehicle.
3.) Underbody tray.
4.) Wheel Covers.
5.) Tire Spatz

Yes, I should have mentioned driving style. 2 things I've found in the couple months since I've been doing this:

1) If you (and the other traffic) can stand it, for my car at least, 40 mph yields SEVERAL miles per gallon more than 70, 75, or 80. It gets worse at 35 mph though - yes I tested it, and yes, it WAS painfully slow. There are threads on the site about speed vs. mpg with actual plots done by different people. I don't know how to post my own plots, but it was very similar to most of them. What I found (and was a bit surprised by) was the decrease in gas mileage with increasing speed was fairly linear. Increasing speed from 40 to 45 dropped mileage a bit. From 45 to 50 dropped it about the same amount. And so on, all the way up to 80 mph. I was expecting to see my mileage "fall off a cliff" at 70 or 75 - 80, for sure. Nope - just kept dropping at the same rate. On the other end of the spectrum, I thought the gains would start to "level off" as I got slow enough. Again, nope.... kept increasing steadily down to 40, then suddenly dropped at 35.

So what I took away from this was if you want to get max mileage, go as slow as you can down to 40. On the freeway, where 40 would be insane, I try driving 55 instead of the speed limit. I'm only 10 to 20 mph under, and I know I'm improving my mileage by 2 to 4 of those "increments" I tested.

2) With the ScanGauge, I became VERY intrigued by watching either the "trip", "day", or "tank" average as I coast up to a stop in either neutral or "engine off". For "engine off", I have to quickly flip the key back to "run" as soon as I shut it off so the odometer keeps recording, but as I coast, I love to see the mpg for the tank (or "day" or "current trip") tick up a tenth. Then if the coast is long enough, another tenth, etc. I "play" it almost like a "game" - trying to kick up my average as much as I can during every upcoming stop. In the process, I'm teaching myself to get better at the coasting, and developing that driving habit.

So for me, I think those were the two biggest "adjustments" to the "nut behind the wheel"

I should also add a discaimer on my comment about tire inflation gains: I keep forgetting I added the air at the same time I "calibrated" my ScanGauge. Everything changed at that point, including reported mileage. I did get about 1.5 mpg better on that tank, using actuall fill-up numbers, but I was also doing the grille block & experimenting with a lot of other stuff, too. So I want to RETRACT my claim of 1.5 mpg more with the extra tire pressure. The truth is, I don't actually know what it did, because I didn't actually do a rigorous "A-B-A" test of the tire pressure alone.

Thanx,
Bill

[bestclimb]

Originally Posted by Daox

Plenty of users have made bellypans out of plastic and have had zero problems.

I have not done one yet but I can't see how a bellypan would be anything but helpful in deep snow, I know not a common issue, but I end up plowing through bumper deep (or deeper) snow at least a couple times each winter.

[johnathanf1lm]

Anywhere to get ultra gauge can't find one on eBay or amazon

[ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by johnathanf1lm

Anywhere to get ultra gauge can't find one on eBay or amazon

UltraGauge Automotive Information Center and OBDII Scan Tool

[radioranger]

I'm doing a rear differential oil change to redline non limited slip oil next week or so and will compare on my 3 mile hill , seems pretty reliable test place as when i I use it there is no wind or traffic, 5 AM, I think a smaller engined vehicle like my 88 HP ranger it is more noticeable perhaps, used it before in another life and seemed to feel much better right off idle , which is where you would expect to feel the difference most, the initial roll, so may take some stress of the other parts involved, someone posted a link to a forum on Maximas which my computer didn't allow me to follow, on using two stroke oil ln the gas , any conclusions, my initial first test has been very good,, much smoother running, just worried about coking up the o 2 and converter.

[radioranger]

I must concur on the speed issue, I travel at around 53 and try to stay out of every ones way , currently getting around 27 mpg with just the grille blocked on snow tires pumped to 35 , up almost 1.5 to 2 with the grille block and tire pump from 30 to 35

[F8L]

Originally Posted by mcrews

the wheel covers are iffy. need steel rims for a good fit, then gotta find a round item size that fits.
I was never willing to drill into my alloys.

Prius owners have it easy. The OE wheels comes with snap fit plastic covers. It's easy to attach smooth pans to the wheel covers and then snap them onto the wheels. I never liked the look though. I figure my Plug In Prius wheels are aero enough.

[johnathanf1lm]

What about warm air intakes? Anyone have actually gains with them (no Honda owners replying to the wait please I all ready know it works great on your lean burn engine