Guess who's a teenager now: Happy 13th birthday to EcoModder! (Win a ScanGauge!)

[conehead433]

Years ago I did a few mods to my 1999 1.0L Metro. Lower air dam under the front bumper and a belly pan hanging from the front stabilizer bar to the rear bumper. The belly pan was a bit of a challenge in that it had to be hung with brackets to lower it enough to clear the exhaust. I never really did any scientific types of testing but could safely say that these mods only provided about a 2% gain in MPG. So then I created a partial camback which resulted in over a 10% gain in MPG. I regret that I used fiberglass to attach it to the car, and now that I have removed it I have a mess to clean up. It sits parked now and I failed to crank and drive it often enough so now I've got to drop the tank and replace the fuel pump. My regular driver now is a 2000 Insight, a much more pleasurable car to drive. The Metro is a keeper though. No IMA to deal with, cheap parts available, and great MPG also. My Insight has 286K miles on it so no telling about how long it will last.

[Planecrazy]

Hiya, Ecomodders!

This year I didn't do any modding to my vehicles, but I did wind up with a new vehicle in the family - a 2010 Audi A4 that was gifted to my kids by their grandfather. The car requires premium to run its best, so, unlike my other two hybrid vehicles, it is costlier to fuel up. On the plus side, it DOES get reasonably good mileage, as is.

I will investigate ways to improve its economy as time goes by but, for now, I have to concentrate on regular maintenance on all three of my aging cars. the good news is that both hybrids continue to perform well, despite their advancing age. I just replaced the 12V battery in my 2010 Milan, that I upgraded five years ago. That mod turned out to be an excellent upgrade!

Happy 13th! ;-)

[fbov]

I joined in 2013 when I inherited a nearly new Ford C-Max. Ecomodder was a great place to start learning about aerodynamics, drivetrain efficiency, pulse-n-glide, and just how cold was too cold keep the heat turned off. The C-Max, being a hybrid, was capable of very good mileage, and so able to show real improvements as energy content and parasitic losses were addressed. It was an oddball car introduced as fuel prices dropped, and with two EPA mileage estimate reductions, nobody bought them after the first 6 months. Did I mention the early trannys broke?

As a result, the community of early adopters became the only "enthusiasts" and, as here, they tried things. Front grill blocks became common, given their virtually guarantee benefit. I did a tuft test on the car from the highest point, back, and came away with a lot of respect for the designers. All the issues were below the beltline, with the best results coming from covered wheels and fairings. Vortex generators gave mixed results. Good fuel was a clear winner. Winter weather a clear loser; Southerners got much better mileage.

But, as you all know, the biggest factor is the driver. It took me over a year to learn how to drive. I replaced C-Max with the 2020 Escape Hybrid and the lessons transferred. I won't be modding this one, but I am very grateful for the lessons learned from Ecomodder.

This is still a great place to start!
Frank

[chisight]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

PS: Aero FTW!

LOL, true but the missing windshield and other glass kinda overwhelms the aero improvement of the wheels.

[ncsteve]

My projects have included a "freshening" of the engine in my 1999 Saturn SW2 and a "restoration" of a 1965 Honda CA102. The Saturn was burning lots of oil, so I took the engine apart, deglazed the cylinder walls, drilled drainback holes behind the oil control rings, and reassembled with new rings. So far it's running great and uses no oil! I bought the Honda in terrible condition, but finally I have gotten it running! It won't be a showroom restoration, but the rattle can paint job looks pretty good.

[Whitey]

Howdy, folks.

For the first time EVER (for my main wheels), my oil next oil change (in February) will be based on time rather than mileage. I haven't been thinking much about ecomodding lately since I haven't been driving much. In fact, I've been driving so little that I've switched to using "sport" mode in town instead of driving my Alltrack in "eco" mode. I don't know when I'll see what impact the change has on fuel efficiency; a tank of gas lasts for months!

When Winter's gone, my 1979 Coupe DeVille will start splitting time with my Alltrack. I had done some mods to the Caddy long ago when it was my daily driver, and it might be fun to tweak it again if I have reason to drive it somewhat regularly 2021.

With my first '79 Coupe DeVille, I swapped the 425 for a 512 (and some other goodies). My MPGs went *UP* by almost 3--even though I wasn't exactly shy with the throttle. I still have that engine, but I'm not up to swapping it into my current Caddy at this time. Any ecomodding suggestions you may have for the 425 set-up will be welcome. If I start ecomodding with it again, I'll log everything in my garage here.


-Doug "Whitey" Jackson

[triangles]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

PS: anybody else notice the race car in the above pic has a custom front air dam and smooth wheel disc on the back? Aero FTW!

I hate to burst your bubble but that isn't for aero cover on the rear wheel it's to keep the mud out of the rear wheel so you don't have to deal with a bunch of mud caked up around the lug nuts.

[xplorer91]

Still check out the monthly email top 5 each month. I do less modding now as time has been tight with the new job (it was a bad idea to take it, but oh well) I'm hoping 2021 will have me back to my old job and more time to tinker.

[xplorer91]

I didn't realize how old I've gotten. Apparently I've been on here 10 years and this is only my second post. I guess I really lived up to my self awarded MASTER lurker title. Also, I no longer live in Iowa and haven't in years, I should change that in case I post again some time in 2030.

[GnasherNF]

I’ve always liked the idea of small diesel engines for mileage gains over gas versions of the same vehicle. Had the opportunity to put some kilometers on the diesel versions of 2006 2.8L Jeep Liberty and a 2007 3.0L Jeep Grand Cherokee. Both vehicles had new tires and wheel bearings and brakes installed, front and rear, but the gains were only slight. Having driven both gas and diesel Volkswagens, I was quite disappointed by the Jeeps and had expected more.