Having fun with a tuning forum

[wagonef8]

I am into cars if its into building them for MPG or just for fast my CRX gets like 20 MPG while my DelSol got 48MPG at its best and my insight just got it cause I like the look of it really don't care what other people think I did get asked a lot about my grill block of all the time when I went to car meets but for the most part they liked my car





And what the insight looks like now 2 mile commute yes it get ****ty millage

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by jedi_sol

Having fun with a tuning forum

So my girlfriend got a new dslr camera and I've been tinkering with it and taking "car magazine" pictures of my car. I posted a few pictures in a "subaru tuning centric forum" under a photography thread.




Then someone with a keen eye spots my grill blocks, side skirts and rear boat tails. Knowing that members of the forum are speed freak meat heads, I kept my answers short and sweet to avoid a flame war....this is what ensues

Masthead 1
1) What did you do to the front lower grille?
2) What happened to the passenger side mirror?
3) What rear spats and side skirts are those?

Meathead 2
^^^ Thats got to be one off hand made skirts and rear spats and front grill lol +1 for trying to be creative but -1 for looks unless you are rallying or doing something crazy with the car

Meathead 3
Agreed. An STi shouldn't have gardening hardware on it. Looks horrible

Me
1) lower front is a grill cover I made out of fiberglass.
2) I took the side mirrors off and replaced them with smaller mirrors
3) the rear spats are a temporary skeleton to build rear boat tails (similar to a gen 2 prius), to eventually fiberglass/smooth over into the rear diffuser I'm making out of fiberglass.
4) side skirts are abs plastic
5) the whole underside of my car is smooth paneling that I made out of a combination of abs plastic and aluminum.

I drive lots of freeway, so these aero mods help me keep the rpms down while cruising on the freeway. I'm getting about 35mpg cruising at 60mph. I'm averaging combined hwy/city of around 27.9 tank mpg.

Meathead 4
Are you serious? I can't tell

Me
Of course I'm serious

Here's the theoretical math.

20mpg steady state cruising for 20 sec = 20 average mpg.

If I get 15mpg to speed up to 70mph for 5 sec, then I shift to neutral and get 120mpg for the remaining 15 seconds that it takes me to coast back down to 60mph. Then my average mpg will be higher. Of course I have to be sure that when I speed back up to 70mph, I don't put too much load on the engine that I'll put the engine into fuel enrichment.

Meathead 6
...or you could've bought an Impreza. I was sure you were joking until I looked at the image of the back of your car, and sure enough...a sheet of ABS plastic underneath it.

If you wanna hyper-mile...you're doing it wrong.

Meathead 7
Well....I live in california....I would get pulled over by the POPO for driving that slow in a fast car lol Its 80 all da time or bust!! VROOOOOOOM!!!

Meathead 8
These are the people everyone on the road hates because they don't know how to drive. Wasn't sure if serious or trying to act young ricer boy but now he sounds serious. The more I learn about some people the more I love my dog

Meathead 9
This is the guy I want to kick his ass when I'm stuck behind him, I'm like why is he accelerating then slowing constantly.... Seriously though can I buy your STI side mirrors!

Meathead 10
you guys realize that if you're in neutral, you're using more gas, right? anyone with a wideband gauge can verify.

when you're in neutral, the injectors have to spray gas so your engine doesn't stall.

This Meathead kinda gets it:
He means compared to leaving it in gear. The movement of the car keeps the engine turning so it can shut off fuel delivery. However, for hypermiling, this is detrimental because (theoretically) the amount of kinetic energy lost from engine braking the car is larger than the amount of energy spent using gas to keep the engine turning when you're doing highway speeds in neutral.

However, I too think that hypermiling a WRX/STi is a bit retarded. Maybe start with something that already gets decent mileage and doesn't have huge mechanical losses from a full-time AWD system.

Meathead 11
100% will tell you how much gas you're using if you read it right. It'll tell you AFR, which is air fuel ratio. How much fuel you're putting into the motor. No it won't tell you zomg you're getting 35 mpg, but it'll tell you how much fuel you're using. I can tell you if I stay out of the car (keep it in high green, yellow) I will get a few more MPG. But seriously who the hell bought this car to hyper mile? Or even for MPG in general.

Now they start to turn on each other:
Meathead 12
Some cars stop fuel delivery entirely when you're in gear and you let off the throttle, allowing the turning gearbox to keep the motor spinning instead of using gas to idle the car. I haven't checked whether the GR's ECU does this or not, but it's entirely possible.

Meathead 13
Pretty sure the subaru doesn't do that lol. It's not like the EJ is new technology

Meathead 14
Injectors are off while you are coasting in gear and off the throttle. The wheels are turning over the engine. Pretty much any car made in the last 20 years does this.

Meathead 15
furthermore being on the road with the car in neutral is just retarded.

Meathead 16
this is exactly the point we're trying to make. why is the dude with the STI w/ the plastic undercarriage and homemade body kit speeding up to 70MPH then shifting to neutral to coast to 60MPH? is this some fuel saving technique we don't know about? because our wideband gauges don't agree with it.

Now they start to regroup
Meat head 17
guess it's more of a confusion of terminology.

Nothing, he's an idiot. Hypermiling in an STI is stupid.

Also I call complete bull**** on 30+ mpg

MY FAVORITE RESPONSE
Meathead 20
or he can be a complete genius and is somehow getting 30+ MPG with an STI with these advanced driving techniques. LOL[

Meathead 21
Lol he's an idiot for screwing garden divider for side skirts

Meathead 22
You are the reason people want to kill some one on the road. You drive like an idiot and piss everyone off. Oh and you bought the wrong car go buy a prius

Meathead 23
y GAHD I just wish you'd drive your car off a cliff!! I swear I will throw a banana peel at you if I ever see you driving down the I15 lol You're the reason why there's traffic when there's no reason there should be!! And how the hell to you drive 5-10 miles UNDER the freaking speed limit!!? Douchebag

How many of these guys do you think are 16 year olds that have failed math class?

[jedi_sol]

I bet all of them

[California98Civic]

Some of those guys are trying some of your ideas RIGHT NOW but they don't want to admit it in the locker room (I mean forum). Did anyone ever make an intelligent response to your great explanation of the differences between DFCO and neutral cruising? I recently began using DFCO in some situations, where I will not be allowed to coast for a long time or will end up with excessive speed and just need braking. In those situations I turn on the alternator and drop into an appropriate gear. I generate power for "free" and if I get a long hill it will cool the engine a few degrees, bringing 195 down to 188 on the coolant temp gauge.

[vskid3]

My preferred measure of efficiency is how much it costs to drive a distance. You can spout off MPG numbers all day and not many will care, but you say "It'll cost me $X to go 1000 miles vs your $Y to go 1000 miles", and a few will start listening. People were amazed when I told them it cost me $65 in gas to drive 900 miles home from TX to UT in the Prius. That was doing at least the speed limit on cruise the whole way. A more powerful/less efficient car would have only hurt my wallet, both in gas and the temptation to go even faster and risk a ticket.

Now I'm not against having a fun car. The problem is, a "less fun" car will get you from point A to point B in almost exactly the same time (provided you obey applicable traffic laws) and that's what 99% of drivers do 99% of the time. The track is really the only place the fun car has any real advantage.

[user removed]

Long term averages.

4 cents a mile on the bike.
7 cents a mile in the Fiesta.
10 cents a mile in the Ranger.

regards
Mech

[redpoint5]

I had a similar response from the troglodytes in a Jeep forum when I attempted to correct misinformation about CAI, driving at higher elevation, and in warmer temperatures.

Originally Posted by vskid3

...a "less fun" car will get you from point A to point B in almost exactly the same time (provided you obey applicable traffic laws) and that's what 99% of drivers do 99% of the time. The track is really the only place the fun car has any real advantage.

From what I can tell, California drivers believe there is a prize for passing the most people. On my trip a couple days ago, I was cruising in the far right lane of a 3 lane highway doing +10 over the speed limit, and the guy behind whacks open the throttle, whips around me with just barely enough time to exit the highway while stomping on the brakes for a stop sign.

Throughout my trip, I noticed most everyone employing the same strategy; to get in front of 1 more vehicle regardless of the amount of fuel it takes, only to stop again. I wonder if this phenomenon is found only in CA, or if other parts of the country are similar. Sure, there are bad drivers everywhere, but they tend to be the exception instead of the norm where I live.

[tvbd56]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I had a similar response from the troglodytes in a Jeep forum when I attempted to correct misinformation about CAI, driving at higher elevation, and in warmer temperatures.



From what I can tell, California drivers believe there is a prize for passing the most people. On my trip a couple days ago, I was cruising in the far right lane of a 3 lane highway doing +10 over the speed limit, and the guy behind whacks open the throttle, whips around me with just barely enough time to exit the highway while stomping on the brakes for a stop sign.

Throughout my trip, I noticed most everyone employing the same strategy; to get in front of 1 more vehicle regardless of the amount of fuel it takes, only to stop again. I wonder if this phenomenon is found only in CA, or if other parts of the country are similar. Sure, there are bad drivers everywhere, but they tend to be the exception instead of the norm where I live.

I don't know about other states but here in Kali-fornia that happens EVERYWHERE. I will have people pass me at WOT on the freeway and even on city streets just to stop at the next red light. In the city I will coast up to the red light without hitting the brakes and it'll change to green and I'll be able to pass him while still coasting, then he will pass me again at WOT and the process will repeat.

There's an off ramp here in Sacramento where I can Kill the engine and EOC for 0.5 to 1 mile until i reach traffic and I have to stop. I kill the engine @ 60mph and by the time I need to hit the brakes I'll be @ 45mph-50mph. Countless times there have been people behind me that ride my ass when I kill the engine, they'll hit the gas (while going uphill), go around me, and either cut me off or just get in front of me so they can stop at the red light and be one car ahead.

It's mind boggling to me that they don't realize the way they are driving is the reason they have to fill up their tank every day.

[user removed]

I hear them go WOT and pass when the light ahead is red and they have to slam on the brakes. I just coast along and either match their speed leaving the light or pass them stopped or barely moving. I know the lights and when most of them will change green. I know within 2 MPH how fast my average speed needs to be to hit a left turn only signal 10 miles from my house. Usually I can drive 40 milesthrough 46 traffic lights and miss all but an average of 6 or less. No matter how fast you drive you are not going to get there any more than a few seconds faster. Around here the sutpidity seems to be a flock of tailgaiting, passing, brainless idiots who are two lengths apart at 55-70 MPH, WITH A HALF A MILE GAP BEHIND THEM. Watched one pair of flocking idiots swap places for 7 miles then the idiot behind slams into the idiot in front and totals both SUVs. I still was right behind them when they wrecked.
.



regards
Mech

[tvbd56]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I had a similar response from the troglodytes in a Jeep forum when I attempted to correct misinformation about CAI, driving at higher elevation, and in warmer temperatures.

That was a comical read

Every time you would attempt to prove a point, I imagined this guy responding in this wayhttps://