What's up everybody! - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

ChillyBear · 02-02-2010, 07:10 PM

Hey, Im Nick. With college coming up along with longer daily drives, ive decided to take the plunge. Heres a backround on the cars ive owned- 1. 1994 geo tracker which was passed down from my brother, to my sister, to me...It had NO A/C, and I sweat alot, sold it after 3 months. -24 mpg average.
2. 1979 El Camino-267 carbed v8, cool, slow, impractical. had A/C.-18 mpg.

3. 1997 Dodge ram-5.9l FI, sold due to rough shape. -13mpg

4. 1973 VW Thing-2.2l stroked, bored, cammed. BAD A$$, sold because it wouldn't start in the cold (NO CHOKES AGHH).-15 mpg
5. 2001 Oldsmobile intrigue- possibly the best car ever! Comfy, fast-215hp-235 tourque, epa 19/29 mpg, but i beat it to death and averaged 21 mpg and it landed me a 97mph in a 55 zone ticket, I rode the bus to school for a year.

6. 1996 Slaab 900s-I HATED THIS CAR! Traded the olds with my brother so he could have a baby seat. This car was a lemon, After a $1500 stereo system, $1,000 in paint touch up, and other little things it was a nice car....Until I threw a rod..$4500! I sold it to my dad for his daily driver. Then I mowed lawns and sold pizzas to buy my next car cash.

7. 2003 Dodge ram-HEMI 5.7l-345hp-what a fun truck, chicks loved it. It was immaculate! Sold it and drove the saab AGAIN!!!!!-10.5mpg on premium.

8. (CURRENT)-2004 ford focus zx3-After I hit a deer and totalled my Slaab (thank god), I decided that a 4 cyl and a 5 speed was the way to go. Now I just want to mod the car alittle so I can average 40mpg when Im not driving fast, which I have a history of doing.

I hope that I can rid myself of my bad driving habits, but its so tempting to squeal my tires around the turns on the country roads I drive to school and work on. Trust me, this road is like a race course..It is sooo much fun, I may post a video of me taking the keaneu reeves speed challenge on it. They call it that because you try to go down this 5 mile long stretch of corners without going below 55mph. I did it at 63 mph in the hemi ram once to prove to somebody in a wrx that I could beat them on any stretch of road. He chose that road. What an idiot, I won and my girlfriend broke up with me because of it.

Anyway. Thats my story.

Johnny Mullet · 02-02-2010, 09:13 PM

Great story! Welcome to ecomodder.

rgathright · 02-03-2010, 09:44 AM

Welcome to the site.

You seem conflicted, like me, about which vehicle to drive. You are not alone, many of us wish we could drive a Jeep TJ with 35" super swampers and still get 40MPG.

Domman56 · 02-05-2010, 05:29 PM

Haha welcome man I've got a camino and it actually gets great mileage for what it is I love it It does everything i need it to

And the speed thing I feel ya good thing you've got a 4 cylinder that means you can still drive quick aand get good mileage

SentraSE-R · 02-06-2010, 01:00 AM

Your Focus can get you 40 mpg with no mods. All you have to do is keep your foot out of the gas pedal. Yes, it's fun to mash the go pedal, but that doesn't require much skill.

Think of hypermilng as a precise video game. The better you play the game, the higher your mileage. On a good run on a warm Summer day, I can pull 60 mpg with my SE-R. That's more fun than 7.1 sec 0-60.

El Duende · 02-08-2010, 10:03 PM

Love your story lol! Those are a lot of cars for only being 18! I've only owned two cars up until now and neither of them are as fast as anything you've got on that list.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

Your Focus can get you 40 mpg with no mods. All you have to do is keep your foot out of the gas pedal. Yes, it's fun to mash the go pedal, but that doesn't require much skill.

Think of hypermilng as a precise video game. The better you play the game, the higher your mileage. On a good run on a warm Summer day, I can pull 60 mpg with my SE-R. That's more fun than 7.1 sec 0-60.

Is it really?! I could only dream of mine going anywhere near that fast.

SentraSE-R · 02-09-2010, 09:49 AM

There's almost no limit to how fast you can go, and how much money you can spend doing it. Get a WRX or a first generation Eclipse turbo, crank up the boost, and you're in the mid 5s 0-60. The Mustangs, Camaros, and Vettes will still beat you. Get a 1000 cc sports bike, and you're in the high 2s 0-60, faster than any streetable car. But no matter how fast you go, someone else will be faster. I like the mileage game, because I'm only competing against myself. AFAIK, no one gets better mpg driving an SE-R or an xB.