How much $$$ has your ecomodding cost you?
 

I know you get paid back with increased gas mileage, but just looking at
expenditures, how much money have you put into your ecomodding?

So far, I've got $67 in a homemade tonneau cover (just standard flat
style), $73 for smooth hubcaps, and $98 in an electric fan (plus temp controller & mounting kit) for my Colorado. Total: $238

In my Trailblazer SS, I have an electric-fan conversion which cost $135 and
an eco-power tuner which cost me $210 (used) and $100 for 3.42 gear set
(not yet installed...stock is 4.10). Total: $445 (but I still have to pay to have the gears installed).

That's quite a bit, so far. It's going to take a while to get that $683 back in
gas money savings. FWIW, I'd do the electric-fan conversion even if it didn't give more power or fuel economy (but it does, in fact, give both). I simply can't stand the roar of a mechanical fan or the fact that they make the engine bay look cluttered and also make it harder to work on anything in the front of the engine bay. So that's $233 that I'm not worried about getting back. I think all the other mods I'm going to do are going to be relatively cheap mods (tape, plastic, etc.)
-Tim

Man that's a great question. I wished I would of tracked it. Really the only thing I bought was moon hub caps. The belly pan grill block were political signs they let me have after elections.

I pretty much just scrounged parts but I know there would be plenty of small things that would add up. Now if you put an hourly wage to the mods it would be pretty high :)

Is there a place in the garage to track expenses??

So far my camo van is an easy one to figure. I moved the rear mud flaps to the front and made a grill cover from materials that I had around my shop. Although not free they were already paid for. A couple of yards of $1/yard polyester fabric, 1 yard of carbon fabric $20, a pint of epoxy $10, duct tape $5.

So probably so far 37 dollars in material.

I am may spend another $50-75 on aero mods. And will spend another 20 on spray paint, sand paper. I doubt if I will tamper with my drivetrain. It is running normal right now and is fairly high mileage. I have some composite repairs in the rocker panels, covering rust through areas under the left sliding door.

I saw 26.7 mpg on my last fill and the conditions were not ideal. I am hoping to average 27 or higher, particularly with straight highway driving. I am wondering if my engine computer will improve its tuning as it adjusts to my new driving style.

Add 75 dollars for an Ultrascan gauge.

I have the following mods and costs associated

- both side mirrors delete: free
- single windscreen whiper delete:free
- wheel mud guards delete:free
- flat wheel hub covers:$1 (used coroplast from realestate signs left on streets and some cheap spray paint and free bolts from work)
- removed air con which removes a drive belt: free
- some weight removed, all air con parts, some carpets, power steering:free
- Changed power steering to manual steering (disconnected hydrolic lines which makes turning harder but still drivable):$68 / free (I stuffed up on this one, i went to wreckers and bought a manual steering rack but i realized part way through i only needed to remove the hydraulic lines on the power steering rack and it gave me the same effect so this one could have been free)
- reduced idle and placed switch in cabin to put ECU into diagnostic mode which stops it from compensating for low idle: free (switch and wires from work / laying around the house)
- Wheel PSI increase: free
- cold idle speed reduction: free (cost of a coke can if you dont have one around)
- front grill cover: Free (Coroplast from work, palettes often come with coroplast on the bottom and it usually gets thrown out so i grabbed some)
- Torque converter control: Free (switch from work)

the following are planned mods and costs
- radio antenna delete (Would be free)
- cover up gaps for aerodynamics (Would be free or maybe $5 for gap material)
- automatic transmission gear manual control (Free will get switches and wire from work)
- Improved wheel well aerodynamics: Free, coroplast from realestate signs

So all of mine are fairly cheap, i probably wouldnt' have done them if they were too expensive due to the pay back time

Regarding your mods you possibly could have done them cheaper
- Tonneau cover: could have been just cheap wood as the cover, the wood would cost less than $10 for size of a truck bed. For the method of fixing to the side of the truck bed it might get a bit costly if you want to attach and detach.

Smooth hub caps: could have been coroplast, doesn't look great but its cheap and you can spray paint it make it look better

Electric fan: could have gotten from a wrecker maybe even if you couldn't find one for your particular truck could have made up mounting brackets. Regarding the controller a cheap thermo switch would have done the job and wouldn't cost very much (i haven't looked into this so can say for sure)

Regear: unless you can find a wrecker that has a car that matches yours with better gearing then your stuck paying lots for this mod.

So there are ways to do the mods cheaper and if your thinking of a mod that you think will cost a lot of money you can post on here and you might get cheaper suggestions. I guess at the end of the day if you want a professional finish and good looking car you are likely to have to pay more than the average ecomodder.

Yeah, I made mine with wood from Home Depot (had to buy two 4x8 sheets of 5 mm plywood, $10 each, plus some 1x2 for a frame, $4 for all). The expensive stuff was the stain, spar urethane, and good-quality weather stripping, then screws, caulk. There's still lots of the wood left over, so
that will be free for any future mods.

Yeah, my Colorado was nice enough looking that I wanted to keep it that
way. If I'd still had my '98 Metro, the coroplast or pizza pans would have
been my choice.

All the cheap ones I found were for hotrods which turned on at 170 or 180 and turned off at 160. My fans would have been running non-stop. I ended up getting an adjustable one for each truck. I'm pretty happy with them.

Yes, that's definitely the case for my Trailblazer and somewhat the case for
my Colorado.

55 for an mpguino (or 95 if you count the spiffie kit that never came)
and 10 for an injector kill switch.
and another 10 for a bicycle gear shifter to use as a hand throttle.

So really I have only 75 dollars worth of gear on my rig.
Total saved over EPA is at ~450 over 6 months.

tire pressure increase: free
filter kit/oil for service: free/would have had to service it anyway

erm


erm


thats it ........................so far!

$150 Scangauge
$25 for a set of fairly smooth hubcaps
$20 for foam floor mat for lower grille block. (only used 1/8 of it, though)
$10 for plexi upper grille block
$7 for battery float charger (too much eoc and the alternator isn't running, so it needs a topup)

Total: $212
Saved: $1175 over 3.5 years

The most expensive, and the most worthwhile, has been the scangauge. Adjusting the nut behind the wheel makes a HUGE difference.

Here are my rough guesses:

155/80/13 Tires @ 55 psi - free, had them on my Tercel
190°F thermostat - $10
TRD springs (1.5" drop) - $150
Shaved head - $25
Sealed air gaps around radiator - $5
Full grill block - $15
Removed mud flaps - free
Royal Purple 75W-90 transmission oil - $25
MPGuino - $45
Radiator fan indicator light - free
Alternator disable switch with deep cycle battery - $70 kinda, got my first battery for free, 2nd battery was $70 new
Kill switch - free
Onboard 7A Soneil battery charger - $70
scangauge - $150

Total: $565
Total Saved: $1110 over 2.5 years
Joy of modding: priceless :)

...so far, only $280, which I'm real close to fully recouping:

1) $80 for AutoMark ecometer
2) $150 for ScanGauge-II
3) $50 for Ultra-Gauge

Rough estimate of my ecomodding costs:

$65 smooth hubcaps
$0 leftover lexan and stainless
$50 switches, wires, anderson connectors
$1 stainless EOC tank from garage sale
$45 block heater
$20 coroplast
$25 aluminium flat bar
$30 tachometer
$30 MPGuino
$50 misc bits and pieces.

Investment: $316

Saved so far: $741
Bonus dollars: $425

I now spend the equivalent of $26 less per fill.

$25 for grill blocks
$25 for wheel covers
$25 for wheel skirts
$25 for kammback

I spent about $100 + a free ScanGauge (Christmas present) :)

I made up the cost of the SG since Christmas (or what was paid for it).

On my van:
pressure to 50 psi=free
engine replacement=$500 (but it was that or buy another vehicle for more money; the old engine died)
partial grill block=$1 (had the vinyl siding lying around, paid a bit of money for the zip ties)
easing up on the gas pedal=priceless.

really, not much money in the van, the car is a bit different. And I don't put a lot of miles on the van either. But I've saved nearly $170 in gas over epa estimates anyways.

The Max

$50 for a used glass pack installed (mainly for acoustic benefit; it sound AWESOME now! But it also helps to hear the engine. When the rumbling reaches a cerain volume, it's about to downshift. And you can tell the gear by listening to the rpms vs the speed, so it's an eco mod :D )

$130 scanguage. (THANK YOU EBAY!) it was practically new, and has taught so much about how to drive economically. Were it not for this site I wouldn't have ever bought it though.

50 psi in the tires=free
partial grill block=free
lower viscosity oil=basically free, had 10k miles on the old oil

learning how to drive a 200hp 4 door sports car economically=priceless

according to the fuel log I've saved $160 in gas in this rig, but she sometimes is driven with the spurs in her (ok, we love the acceleration and soundtrack the exhaust gives us a bit too much) so I think we're doing better. This tank we hope to get 30 mpg with a bunch of short trips, so that would be an accomplishment.

Should we consider the cost of replacement parts in the cost ?

If you need new tires and you replace with LRR tires should that be included or if the engine or tranny blows and you replace with a more eco friendly version should you include that?

update......

$3 for duck tape!

Not in my book.

While replacing parts with more efficient parts is a modification of the original car design and equipment, replacing worn parts and repairs when needed are normal expenses that come with owning a car.

$50 in coroplast
At least $50 in Gorilla tape
Around $200 in shop fees during the manual steering conversion

Everything else was upgraded replacement parts.

Only if it costs more to upgrade to better FE parts, say buying LLR tires costs $300 and comparable tires run $250. Then the cost for better FE is $50.

Let me see
$3.75 for two sheets thin plexyglas for a picture frame to create a upper grill block still have one sheet and hope I can use the rest of the first one (I cracked it) to do the other half of my upper grill block.
$10 for foam weather stripping to seal the front of the car and lights still have one full roll since I could not use it to seal the sides since it would take 4-5 layers to get close.
$25 CAI actually open to under hood temps
$50 Ultra-Gauge

Other mods were more for performance
$50 Aluminum Upper intake with rounded intake track and self ported Lower Intake manifold
$30 Larger Throttle body self ported to match intake
(The above improved two VE of the engine verified by another car before I performed the mod.)
$650 HPtuner with data logging allows me to scan and reprogram cars PCM I hope to be able to make some money doing that eventually, and it s fun.

...so, a new acronym for EM, instead of "Return-on-Investment" (ROI), it's "Return-on-Modding" (ROM)?!!?

Zero

$15 for a small air compressor
Free coroplast from a discarded roadside ad-haven't used that yet.
Behavioral mods are free

$394.07 saved, but where'd it go?

so far 60$ for one racing seat
about 120$ for the tune up

and it boosted me from 320 miles to a tank
to 410 miles to a tank

Please, how did the racing seat help your mileage. What did you get for your tuneup.

Racing seats are generally much lighter than OEM seats. AND more supportive in high lateral acceleration maneuvers, so the brakes see less use. I'm considering some racing seats for my Mustang to reduce its weight.

That said, I just spent about $25 on some pizza pans to (eventually) make some aerodynamic wheel covers for my Mustang.

easy, my OEM seats weigh about 60lbs passenger, 80lbs driver
and I removed all the crap in the trunk which was a LOT of carpeting and tools and spare tire with a steel rim

my tune up is as follows:
new spark plugs those really high combustion ones
K&N High Flo Air Filter
Synthetic Oil
Oil Filter
Synthetic tranny fluid

Scangauge: $169
OBDuino: $85
4x8 ABS sheet: $80
Hubcaps: $20
Mirrors: $50

It has also cost me quite a bit of fuel and maintenance on my car, driving to events and to meet fellow ecomoders.

Soubi

How about a photo of your one seat car?
Thanks

MPGuino related stuff ~$100+ (for 3)
Coroplast, Acrylic, Duct Tape for Aeromodding ~$10
Wink Mirror (5 pannel) $0.50 (rummage sale!!!, allows passenger's mirror to be folded in)
Supplies for future aero modding ~$70 (so far, will need more to actually do the build)
Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles by Hucho ~$100
Gas used in testing ~$10
Total invested ~$300
Total saved $190 (assuming I got about 42mpg before, my assumption) or $520 (assuming EPA 34mpg).
Everything has paid for it's self (MPGuino in behavior modification, AeroMods in FE increase), except the "Future AreoMods" and the Hucho book, which kind of go hand in hand. Another year, and I should break even (provided I don't invest more in stuff that doesn't improve my gas mileage and I don't do anything to further improve my FE).

Just spend $7.50 more I bought some open cell foam to go around window AC units and stuffed that in the side channel of the hood to finally seal the engine bay better. It worked as the car was about 13-15F hotter than normal when I got to work.

A man with few words...

"It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt...."

:D

This might be thread that a poll would be good for. It looks like the big expense is fuel instrumentation (SG etc). Which pretty much pays for itself. Although not a direct correlation It would be interesting to see how much over EPA those with instrumentation and those without.

Roof rail removal - free
Tires @ max sidewall - free
Scan Gauge II - $130
Kammback + rear skirts + paint - $70
LED DRLs - $60
Grille block (plastic was free, only for 2 power lock motors + random screws, wires) - $12
Box o' goodies (electrical stuff in cockpit - wiring, switches, LEDs, etc) - priceless (probably $25)
Block (coolant) heater - $125
EGR/coolant heat exchanger - $80
Installing the above two (estimate, done with other engine work) - $100
Folded passenger side mirror - free
internal passenger side mirror - $8
Removing rear seats when not needed - lower back pain (free)
Fuel burned to test mods - $10

Looks like $620, doesn't want to be less:(
EM's fuel log says I've saved $255

Why so little? Well, people are always asking me "With such a cool modded car, why do always ride your bike and public transport?" I don't have a regular daily commute, so the car often doesn't get fired up for 2-3 weeks at a time. But once it does, it's a pleasure to know that how much less fuel I am using than anyone else on the road.

SGII= $160
Misc. parts for lower radiator block=$5
mudflaps delete= $0
lower radiator hose heater=$50 (still not installed)

Fuel savings Since October 1 = $150

The best ROI is definitely the SGII. I'm saving about $50-75/month mostly through modified driving technique. That little sucker challenges my every thought while in the car. It keeps me in check and teaches me something every day. The one week it wasn't working right was my worst tank since I started hypermiling.

One roll of Gaffer tape - used for other things too so I already had that, so £0.

Foamboard (not paper type) was £5 from one of those end-of-line stockist places.

Ecomodder stickers (now arrived, yay :D) ~£10

Money currently saved is running at £20 per tank. Each tank costs me about £62 and I used to get about 430 miles. Now I get about 600 before the panic beeper kicks in. I've also gone from roughly 2 tanks a month to about 2.5 every 2 months.

Arragonis, going off topic for a second.

...almost 8 dollars for a US gallon of diesel, Ouch... I grumble when I see diesel at $3.20 on my commuting route. Is the difference tax? Where does the money go?

This is based 120.9 pence per litre cost for Diesel which is the lowest cost near to me at the moment -from here.

http://www.petrolprices.com/images/d...ces-140410.jpg.

This is the one for petrol at the same price.

http://www.petrolprices.com/images/p...ces-140410.jpg

Scion xB

Ultragauge - $40
WAI - $23.50
Coroplast grill blocks - free
Fuel savings over 16,650 miles - $641
--------------------------------
Net cost - +$577.50 in savings

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V

Scangauge - $160
Coroplast grill blocks - free
Fuel savings over 20,090 miles - $1074
--------------------------------
Net cost - +$914 in savings

Probably around $50 for gorilla tape, and the various screws, nuts, and washers I've used. My coroplast, aluminum, and plexiglass were all free/taken from the mountains of random building supplies in my garage.

I think I'll get a mpgguino for xmas, so that's about $40 last time I checked.
I've saved at least $300 in gas though, and that's probably a very low estimate.

Passenger side mirror deletion. ~$3 for cover screws and spacers
Antenna always retracted. free
K&N style air intake filter. free- came with car
Synthetic transmission oil. ~$5 (time to replace, $5 is over the cost of regular)
155/80R15 tires. (taller for gearing, still skinny) $150 (time to replace, $150 is cost over cheapy walmart tires.)
Tire pressure set to 45psi (55 max) free with purchase of high dollar tires
A/C compressor removed in cooler weather. free
Windshield wipers in trunk when not raining. free
DLR Lights Disabled. free
Shifter mounted FI kill switch. ~$15
375w coolant heater. ~$15

Total of $188. Not bad since I've had most mods for a year or so and I've saved $80 in 2months.