Friendly Wager: 60 mpg 95 Mercury Tracer
 

For some reason :rolleyes: I made a bet with some friends I could get 60 mpg highway (55 mph, or speed limit) with my newly acquired 95 Mercury Tracer. Some requirements have been made, but not everything has been agreed upon.

Biggest restriction is that it must be done by January 13th. The first day of spring semester.

This may not be very feasible, but I am definitely going to try my best.

The car:

• 95 Mercury Tracer
• 1.9l I4 SOHC
• Automatic Transmission
• 4 Door sedan
• Moderate rust, self tapping screws welcome
• Does have alloy wheels (pictured below)
• Speedometer/Odometer doesn't work
• Tank has a leak above a certain level

Not the actual car:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...474-tracer.jpg

I have only driven the car for 2 days, so I don't know a whole lot about it. So far I have left it on empty with only 1-3 gallons in the tank. I have a GPS speedometer app on an old phone. It has an ODO function, but I haven't used it yet.

Stipulations that have been set already:

• Car will be warm for the test
• Let the car run out of gas
• Add 1 gal of gas
• Drive until it dies
• Coasting only allowed when car dies at end of run
• Must follow speed limit or faster
• No alternate fuels
• Fuel grade up to me
• Will repeat test in other direction
• Testing will be agreed upon the week before the test
• No drafting

I know I will need a lot to get there. Mods I will be looking at mainly:
Boat tail
Belly pan
Wheel skirts and smooth covers
Mirror delete for test runs
Wiper delete (maybe)
Hood height (think Aerohead's truck)
5th wheel or powering a single rear wheel

So, what do you guys think? Is this possible?

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...te-applied.png


I've used the template before, but is this applied correctly?

Fuelly indicates 25-30 mpg average.

My Civic was rated at 30 (29-34 real world according to Fuelly) and the max I got was 60 mpg on the highway at 55 mph with a slight tailwind. P&G was 50s around town.

IMO you'll need a boattail and a manual swap (since the older automatics will be dreadfully inefficient) in order to do engine off coasting, unless you swapped in something like the Insight's 1.0L drivetrain and manual transmission.

I personally don't see the possibility of doing it but look forward to see what you do with it. Maybe I'm wrong, I'd love to be wrong in this case! Your largest enemy besides drag is probably the automatic transmission.

If you let it run to empty, you'll start having fuel pump failures as fuel is lube and coolant.

I don't do very much driving and so I have been keeping track of mileage and adding a gallon or two as needed. I only plan on letting it run out when testing. I am thinking about an alternate option though.

At 55 MPH, you're definitely going to have to attack more than just aero. And I doubt the small bits of aero stuff will be worth it. Since it's a one time deal, how about 4 mini spares to lower the rolling resistance. Should be nearly free and maybe net some decent gains?

I'd plug some numbers in to the Aerodynamic & rolling resistance, power & MPG calculator here at Ecomodder. It'll show you just where the power is going rolling down the road at 55 MPH.

I wouldn't bother with the hood height. Wipers probably won't matter either, but they're easy enough to remove. If the tires are in good shape with no cracks, I'd pump them way up for the test. Maybe 70-80 PSI? Mini spares usually have higher rolling resistance and smaller diameter. Taller LRR tires would help gearing. Getting the engine to run lean will help. Full belly pan and get the rear to match the template. Front end is probably OK, but I'd do spats in front of the tires. Can you remove accessory belts? You only need the water pump to drive 60 miles if you have a good, fully-charged battery. Weight reduction if there will be any stop-and-go or hills. Mobil 1 Advance Fuel Economy oil (0w-30, 0w-20, 0w-16). Fill it to the lower mark on the dipstick. Ethanol free regular octane if you can find it. Make sure there's no brake drag. MPGuino to test mods (if you have a good VSS). Trade it for a Geo Metro! :D

Pick a warm day! And try to run out of gas as you crest a big hill for a long coast! :)

donuts
 

https://forkenswift.com/album/8-spar...angles-800.jpg

Just for fun, I tested 4 space-savers at 70 PSI (above the rating), and they still performed HORRIBLY in terms of rolling resistance. Worse than any other tire I tested that day:

Thread: Testing rolling resistance of the Various Tires of the Suzukiclone Fleet (RE92 wins)

Obviously I'm not saying the same thing will happen with every brand of space-saver tire, but it does show it's not safe to assume a happy & efficient improvement.

IIRC these are quite lightweight, which would render it easier to achieve some high MPG without too much effort, but the old-school AT might become an issue.

I used to own a 90s 1.9L sohc auto trans as well. Mostly stock it would do around 50mpg @ 45mph, and 43mpg @ 55 mph according to a scangauge
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post327783
That car was rated 33 hwy, the tracer appears to be rated 31hwy, so I’m guessing in stock form you could pull roughly 40mpg @ 55mph. Looking like you’ll need a 50% improvement over stock to hit your original goal. 50mpg @ 50mph might be a good first goal

Tracer owner here, except mine is a '99.

60 mpg @ 55 mph ain't gonna happen. It simply ain't.

60 mpg could happen at well under 55 mph. Even with the a/t. And no boattail or such.

Re: fuel pump: a couple runs to dry shouldn't hurt anything. As proof I give you my F150 that has dual tanks. I run one tank dry as in the engine sputters and bucks and the CEL comes on, then I switch to the other tank and continue on my merry way. I've been doing this since 1994. Still have factory pumps and tanks.

Re: spares: been covered. Fail.

the spare tire needs to have more grip it's narrower that is why


but i'd go with tall tires to lower the gear ratio you will need a GPS to calculate the miles you driven though...

Weight reduction, thinner oil, PS delete, A/C delete, tires at 60 PSI (more hardly helps but could cause trouble), alternator delete?

I've got a '94 Escort which is the same car but with the Ford badge. I've had tanks as high as 40 MPG out of it in stock configuration and of course that included several cold starts over the duration of the tank. Are you saying you can't coast at all even with the engine running? If so that's going to be a big disadvantage. I don't do P&G or EOC but I do lots of coasting on downhill grades where I can maintain my speed. The big advantage to being able to do this is this car is equipped with DFCO so if you have a 1/2 mile downhill grade you can travel that 1/2 mile using no fuel. Being the time of year you've got to do this it's going to be colder temperatures I'd suggest testing a WAI. Anytime I've broke 40 MPG on my '94 has been in really warm summer weather. I also agree you'll need to get those tires pumped up. I've not done any aero mods so I can't help you there.

I changed the spark plugs and wires. Plugs definitely needed it and the wires were at a higher resistance than I expected given their length. Total was $28.52

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...park-plugs.jpg

Cripple Rooster: Stock weight is 2404 lbs curb weight

2000mc: Thank you for the chart, 40 mpg @ 55 in stock form I think I have a decent chance. Atleast of getting above 50mpg.

Frank: The best loophole I've found so far is that I need to go the speed limit (not necessarily 55), but 60 mpg in town is going to be harder to get. I need to find the best route that includes lower speed limits and little to no stop signs.

Tahoe_Hybrid: The current tires are in pretty good shape so I don't have plans of changing tires or rims right now.

RedDevil: The ecomodder in me wants to see what I can do with just aeromods and then given time I can remove systems. Definitely weight reduction and thinner oil though.

2016 Versa: I think the reason they said no coasting was because of the speed limit and not slowing down traffic. Which means if I P&G while maintaining a 55+ avg mph I think I've cleared the rules.

In the thread "5th generation civic hatchback improving aerodynamics"post #258 AndrewJ (OP) says that he can coast for a good 10-15 seconds and only drop 5mph. So I am thinking at least test, but maybe final method, P&G 50-65 mph.

Well, it ain't gonna happen. Not to be a naysayer because I dig your gumption, but there's way too many stumbling blocks preventing this from working out.

1) Indiana + winter = fuel mileage falls off. I hate how much my mileage fades in winter and I'm just in TN where we sometimes hit mid-50 daytime highs in winter, your conditions are going to be worse.

2) Automatic. Yipes. I found a PDF that goes pretty in-depth into the F-4EAT in your car but I'm typing on a Kindle right now and the idiot thing won't let me paste the link. I'll come back later and patch that in. I'm thinking about a TC lockup switch that would command lockups at will, pick up a few efficiency points earlier as you're pulling away from lights. Say, get it up to 2nd and command the lockup. I'm wondering if you could also jigger the shift points at all. I don't know, I just found the doc; I haven't read it yet.

I think your best chance of winning the wager is the lowest speed you can find that will satisfy the conditions of the bet, and try to run it all with the prevailing winds. Aero mods will help. But since it's a friendly wager, I think you're going to wind up owing your friend a pizza (or whatever).

I will go out on a limb here and say YES you can attain that goal, BUT you wont by the time constraints unless you have a ton of free time and $$$ for tuning everything.

Buy them a pizza, but continue. Many times I proved people wrong, it's kinda what I do in life but sometimes it's really hard.

Who put four spares on his Insight?

As an ultimate if-all-else-fails resort and considering you bought the car just for the attempt, you could pop and lock one drive shaft to use the diff as a 2:1 overdrive gear to the single remaining driven wheel. So you can pootle along at ultra low revs.

Even if you don't reach the 60MPG goal within the timeframe scheduled for this bet, would be cool if you still tried it after. Maybe you can learn from this experience, and see where you could apply some improvements which you won't do for this first attempt.

The car is actually my commuter until I fix my van. The mercury is on winter beater duty until further notice.

I did pull about half the interior out this weekend and found a hole in the trunk. I also found where the tank is leaking and why the speedometer doesn't work. If I can get both of those fixed I can install my mpguino from the van. Once I weigh the parts I will post the details as well.

Great challenge! You should have agreed to neutral coasting even with engine on! It seems like a mighty challenge my friend! maybe you can barter with 0.9gallons on the downhill side? Test with GPS and act a fool. :p add a massive cardboard/ducttape Aero shell past the back windows, per the template, add an aero nose similar to Aero Civic , remove all seats, doors and extra weight and replace with cardboard, Inflate the tires to 80psi, remove the back brakes except the hand brake, experiment with cylinder deactivation and get a MPGuino asap.

No cylinder deactivation. Don't go there without valve deactivation or else IT'S A FAIL.

WHY remove back brakes? :confused:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...025-182903.jpg

I had to buy a scale, so hopefully it is accurate, but -100 lbs from the spare and interior parts (including back seat). Also working on a boat tail, but ran out of time. Probably won't be able to finish it until next weekend.

Progress pictures? :)

I think it could be better. Given the amount of planning though I think it is turning out pretty good.


https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...027-210223.jpg

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...027-205746.jpg

So it snowed in Indiana today. A little early if you ask me. Anyway I had to rush to get it put together enough to drive it to work. I finished the upper half and left the lower sides open. I would say its closest to a large kammback rather than a full boat tail. I did take the trunk and taillights out so its still open in the back. Some water sprayed up and came inside the trunk area (had some bare steel and there is now dots of rust). I could definitely tell it was there, a lot better coasting. Also very different handling in cross winds.

Doing some research I think I might have lean burn, (https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...urn-10941.html) When driving on the highway I notice that after cruising if I give it more gas it has no power then all of a sudden it comes back. I felt it a little before the "boat tail". Now with it, it's very obvious.

Is that how lean burn feels in other cars?

Yes, you have lean burn.

From a random site on the internet:

"The EPA required Ethyl to conduct significant further testing surrounding their concerns with the Escorts, which Ethyl did. (Looking forward in time to 8 June 1998, we learn that the EPA reprimanded Ford over emission problems with 1991-1995 Escorts, noting that Ford had failed to report changes it made to 1991-1995 model year Escorts to improve fuel efficiency. The EPA alleged that Ford used an inappropriate-managed fuel-air “enleanment” strategy that caused an increase in smog-producing emissions. Ford was required to purchase and permanently retire 2,500 tons of NOx credits as part of the settlement package making up the consent order."

It was called "MFA mode" inside Ford. This quote agrees with my memory, managed fuel-air being MFA of course.

Is it easy to take the tail off? Did you go do a trial run, see how much better you need to get? I could get 40 MPG on the highway (at 70) with my old manual wagon. Would have done better at 55, but probably not 60 MPG....

14 bolts hold it on. I used the pigtails from the brake lights so the lights can just be unplugged as well. However, I would have to wire the brake lights back in (I cut the plug off the housing) also the trunk might be a pain. I think it would be fine without the tension rods though.

I can't actually check my mpg right now. The speedo/odo doesn't work and I can't fill the tank up. I have a mpguino I want to put in, but I can't calibrate the fuel because of the tank. I have plans to fix both (hopefully) this weekend though.

I didn't fix the speedo, or the tank. I spent the weekend fixing the front brakes. They were dragging and getting worse. Holy cow! It was worse than I thought. It feels like its gliding down the road now.

I changed the pads and while servicing the caliper I couldn't push the piston back in because of the hose collapsing. It was terrible. I also did some productive (but not mpg adding) activities. Like cleaning the garage.

I also got a deep cycle battery, roughly 88 Ah. If I have time I will wire it up this week and do the tank and speedo next weekend.

Battery: https://www.autozone.com/miscellaneo...tery/95824_0_0

Edit: It says 65 ah, but based on the reserve capacity I get 88. Based on other 29 series batteries its higher than 65. A lot closer to the 88 I got.

I was not aware to what lengths you would go in pursuit of this goal when I gave my original assessment. I'm still not sure you can do it, but unlike before I'm no longer certain that you won't.

Having lean burn is a huge advantage. That's big.

Is the deep cycle batt so you can remove the alternator for your attempt at the goal?

Yes, delete alternator hopefully. I think I need to shift my focus for a moment though. I need to get the tank and speedo fixed. If I can't tell what mpg I am getting how do I know if I've made it? I might wire up the deep cycle and not mess with the alternator, just because putting 2 wires in isn't very time consuming.

I attempted to fix the tank this weekend, I couldn't find the exact spot it was leaking. So after 2 attempts I just re-patched it like the PO did. The jb weld is supposed to be good for gasoline so hopefully this fix will last for a few years atleast.

Before:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...109-153608.jpg

I don't have a finished picture, but here is an in progress shot just before I put the jb weld on.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-m...109-200147.jpg


I also did a "rough" mpg check before I fixed the leaking tank. I stumbled to the gas station and put 2 gallons in it. I then drove until I ran out again and tracked my mileage by using google maps. It was about 50/50 city and highway and I got ~28 mpg.

EPA ratings:
City 23 mpg
Highway 31 mpg
Combined 26 mpg

Considering I was leaking fuel I think I did pretty good. I got the pinout for the ecu so I should be able to put the mpguino in soon. I haven't finished the tail or the alt delete yet though. I also have a source of 90 octane ethanol free gas, (haven't used it yet though) so hopefully that will raise my mpg some.

Jb weld is Ok, but body filler is better and cheaper for gas tanks.

I used the "plastic tank repair" JB weld, it was like $14 though. Are you talking about bondo you could buy at the autoparts store or something more specific?

Common name bondo, yes. Anything like that is lying about in a garage situation that is fuel resistant.

I'm also a fan of red silicon seal and fiberglass sheetrock patches

Dealing with fiberglass for a fuel tank repair, I would be more concerned about the resin. Vynillic resin is better than orthophtalic resin for that matter.

I had a busy weekend, installed the deep cycle and wired it up, then unhooked the belt. Put an airdam on, hopefully it helps. I also installed the mpguino that I used to have in the van. I started with the values that gascort had posted on the mpguino wiki. He had the 5 spd though, so I adjusted the vss value until it was close to matching my speed and then filled up the tank. I still need to do some testing to find out what my range is with the single battery. Hopefully next weekend I will have a mpg value for the car! :thumbup:

Any guesses as to what I get with roughly 50/50 city and highway (@55mph)?

I think you're effed if you're trying to get 60 MPG at 55 MPH in that thing even with the boat tail unless you go to a really warm climate for the test run and swap in a manual transmission. I guess it could be an excuse for a weekend beach trip.

I have a 50% underdrive crank pulley for that car, if you are interested. Doesn’t allow alternator to charge at idle but once over 1500rpm it charges. Used it for over 100k miles on my 96 1.9 escort wagon. I picked up almost 3mpg with it. You can see my mpg for it in my signature.

AC, power steering run just fine with it. Drop me a message if you are interested.