Introducing George

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Sykomor

Glad to see you back

How is your Aygoness doing ? Warmer weather is a win for me

[Arragonis]

So, before I rudely interrupted myself...

What has been happening ? Well I had to take off the nostril and radiator blocks for the servicing at Mr Toyota as mentioned on the previous page. I kind of got distracted into the real world for a while and I haven't refitted them since, but I have continued to try and hypermile when possible - its like an addiction, I even do it when in other people's cars including a Range Rover Sport. My technique is coming better but it is harder over a longer journey.

Mr T's servicing was good but now that dealer has moved to a really inconvenient place so I need to find another alternative. I also need to get them to look at the brakes as the previous dealer decided to "skim" the disks (aka. rotors) due to corrosion on the inside, but the result is that they now "snatch" at low speeds. George has a 5 year warranty so hopefully they will fix it, plus they caused it in the first place.

Other than that the only mods to George have been a K&N Panel filter (basically a K&N replacement for the standard one) which was very cheap (<£10) at a car show I went to. I planned some performance tests for a CityBug website including a "snorkel" type induction kit but I haven't had time yet - I may not bother as the result will be no change except for more noise - and these cars are noisy already.

I also added some weight in the form of soundproofing to the insides of the doors. Why add weight ? These "bugs" are about as basic as they come, and the road noise is quite loud. I also have some under-carpet stuff to add but the weather hasn't been good enough to strip out the carpets and fit it.

My tyres have been maintained at 45 which helps a lot with RR, the fronts are still about 50% worn (based on the legal tread depth here in the UK) and the rears about 10% at 11.5K miles. I'll get Michelins to replace the worn ones when they go below minimum and swap the new ones to the back - which is recommended here.

George is due another service in the next couple of weeks and after that the nostril and radiator grill blocks will be back in place for a faster warm up. I would service (basically oil change for this one) myself but I need the stamps for the warranty for when/if the clutch goes - its a weak point.

On the downside, A-Junior started a new school in September which means my suburban journey has now become more urban, including (shudder) into Edinburgh city. I'll do some videos so you can share the pain, but it is an FE killer which will get worse with time and temp I think.

Other than that George is still saving me money, tax was £20 this year compared to £165 for Helga, insurance is due and quotes are about £220 compared to £400+ for Helga.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

I'll get Michelins to replace the worn ones when they go below minimum and swap the new ones to the back - which is recommended here.

For those small tyres, the new Continental EcoContact 5 is the tyre to beat for fuel economy (see Kraftstoffverbrauch - lower numbers are better).

ADAC Test - Sommerreifen 2012 - 165/70 R14

Good wear too (see Verschleiß)

Michelin's Energy Savers are getting long in the teeth - they go back to 2008, so they'll probably come up with something new in a while.

[Arragonis]

Thanks for that, will take a look. The only reason for Michelin is that they sell them at Costco and I have a card

[Arragonis]

Just found this about the EcoContact 5's

Not happy to stop there, the engineers also looked at the sidewall lettering on the tyre. A flatter, more smooth design now reduces the drag on the car helping to improve the aerodynamics of the overall vehicle.

Now that is extreme...

[Arragonis]

Posted from another thread so I don't lose it

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

say your tires are sized 225-65-16

sidewall height = 225 * .65 = 146.25 mm
top and bottom sidewall = 2 * 146.25 = 292.5 mm
both sidewalls in inches = 292.5 * 25.4 = 11.52 in
total tire diameter = 11.52 + 16 (rim) = 27.52 in
tire radius (ft) = 3.14 * 27.52 / 12 = 7.2 ft
revs / mile = 5280 / 7.2 = 733.33

rpm is more useful for mpg than revs/mile.
rpm @ 60 mph = 733.33 * top gear ratio * final drive

Going to have a play with Excel over the weekend.

[gone-ot]

...but, don't forget that all those equations converting tyre (yes, I've been in Scotland) diameters to revolutions do NOT account for tyre "flattening" due to sidewall flexibility and load!

...FWIW, the flattening number I've found is ≈0.97 compiled from a listing of Michelin tyres.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...but, don't forget that all those equations converting tyre (yes, I've been in Scotland) diameters to revolutions do NOT account for tyre "flattening" due to sidewall flexibility and load!

...FWIW, the flattening number I've found is ≈0.97 compiled from a listing of Michelin tyres.

Do you have a figure for Continental EcoContacts, and because I am thick - where I plug it into the equations ? Does a high PSI reduce the effect - I run 45+, but I do need to top it up this weekend as temps have dropped here in Caledonia ready for winter.

I suspect snow, and I'm ready

[Arragonis]

Winterising - start to get the blocks out again. I took them off thinking it might be a very warm summer, well its been warmer than winter but that was it. Anyway time to re-apply the winter covers.

Pre-cover nose


Correx (Coroplast uk name) cutouts.


Applied, with some logo or other added.


Would like to start considering wheel covers soon - suggestions welcome on reversable covers for wheels like these :

[COcyclist]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Would like to start considering wheel covers soon - suggestions welcome on reversable covers for wheels like these :

I made covers out of coroplast political signs. I used an old yardstick (meter stick) to make a compass with a hole for a bolt at 1" and a hole for a sharpie marker at half the desired diameter +1". I find offset metal snips cut the coroplast nicely. I secured them with plastic wire ties looped around behind the wheel spokes. From the photo it apears that your wheels may not be totally flat? With a little experimentation one could make a larger diameter flat cover and make a pie slice to make it slightly cone shaped. I did use some blue painter's tape on my alloy rims to protect them where the covers may contact them. (I have not scientifically tested them but my tank averages with them on have not been encouraging)