Long distance driver.

[Keller]

Hello names Keller. Been playing around hear for 6 months..

Not so much of a hyper mile driver. As I just have to long of a drive. Most of my time is spent on the hwy at 75+

round trip to work is 173 miles. No I can't move closer. I do constrution. Cranes mostly. And I work all over the state. This is my longest drive ever. Most of the Time it's right at 50m.

Neons getting 32-33 I'm interested in areo mods. Have deleted the antena and wipers. And some weight redux. Working on more. But I don't have alot of time. This job is killing me.

[RobertSmalls]

Hello, Keller.

I can imagine you don't have much time, with the 2.5+hr you spend a day commuting.

You should do a quick and dirty grille block out of shipping tape and see if it buys you a few more mpg. You'd be surprised how much of the grille you can block without even the radiator fan coming on.

Also look at your tires. Inflate them to sidewall max pressure, and when it's time to replace them, get something with low rolling resistance.

[Keller]

Tires are at 50 front 40rear

grill block and pizza wheels are on the way. Need to ditch the rear wing.

[Daox]

Have you considered just staying in a motel during the week? 2.5hrs per day of commuting would be worth the extra $ IMO. Share the place with a coworker to save a bit of $ if ya need to.

[Keller]

Originally Posted by Daox

Have you considered just staying in a motel during the week? 2.5hrs per day of commuting would be worth the extra $ IMO. Share the place with a coworker to save a bit of $ if ya need to.

Cheapest place I can find is 50a night on a 7 day lease. So that's a no go. It's only costing me 15$ a day to drive and my codriver is paying that LOL so don't feal to sorry for me yet. But come summer time he going back to riding his bike.

But main reson I drive home is my wife and 2 year old boy. Kinda like seeing him every night

and my drive is 1.5 in morning and 1.7 afternoon


The real ***** of it is. I'm working on a gas refinery

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by Keller

Need to ditch the rear wing.

Maybe, but probably not. If the rear wing brings your car closer to the ideal teardrop shape, keep it. Ideally, what you want to do is fill in the gap between the roof and the wing:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tom-12942.html

[brucepick]

You can coast on downgrades. If it's a 5-speed you can really get an increase from that. You will gradually lose some speed depending on the grade but it's a good technique on the highway as well as small roads.

Grill block: I use bits of foam pipe insulation for grill block. I duct tape several sections together to make the size chunks I need. I putthem in and out of the grill as needed to match the outside temp. A ScanGauge will tell you if you've installed too much grill block, by using the engine coolant temp readout. Or you could wire an indicator bulb that runs off the radiator fan terminals - that's a bit more time consuming. Also not as much info as you get from a real temperature readout.

The '96 Neon should be OBDII. If so, you can install a ScanGauge. It's a very quick installation - plugs into the OBDII connector, usually under the dash somewhere. Will read out mpg as well as other info. Costs about $145-150 or so.

[Keller]

Originally Posted by brucepick

The '96 Neon should be OBDII. If so, you can install a ScanGauge. It's a very quick installation - plugs into the OBDII connector, usually under the dash somewhere. Will read out mpg as well as other info. Costs about $145-150 or so.

Yea I just dont see that helping me...

I accelerate to about 80 down hill then let it coast back up hill helping a little along the way. never dipping below 65mph...

wouldent make sence to coast down the hill just to power back up... would love to slow down but im allready waking up at 4 in the morning LOL

[busypaws]

With your high speed driving aero is where to concentrate. Concentrate on weight when you are in stop/go traffic all day.

Don't forget passenger side mirror. Get a bigger rear view or fasten a small mirror on the passenger "Jesus bar" (ie move the passenger mirror inside the car).
I'm using shrink wrap plastic on grill block. The kind you buy in the winter to put over your house windows with double sidded tape.
Check for any loose or missing underbody panels. The black plastic kind that might be missing or flapping in the breeze.
Next oil change use lightest weight you can get away with. I switch to 0W20.
Sounds like your on your way to getting the best you can with the limited time you have.
There are alot more things to do if you had the time to turn the car into a real "Project" car.