MPGuino Benefits

[streamfisher]

I have a 95 Civic with the 1.6 SOHC engine and 5 speed transmission. I am thinking about building a MPGuino but I am wondering what the average fuel savings are with it? I suppose it would depend on how a person already drives but with seeing the numbers as you are driving do you get a 5, 10, 15, mpg increase? I don't have the $40 or $50 to spend if it isn't going to help me much. Thanks for your help!

[some_other_dave]

It all depends upon your ability to use the information the MPGuino shows you. That's all it does, BTW--showing your current instantaneous MPG and a cumulative MPG reading.

I was able to take my CRX from 30 MPG to about 45 MPG over the course of several years by changing my driving style without any instrumentation. I calculated my MPGs per tank only, using the trip odometer and the amount of gas it took to fill the tank. That's over 160% of EPA combined--and there are people who regularly get over 200% of EPA by driving for economy.

I think the main thing that instrumentation will give you is a much shorter learning curve. I'm up to 150% EPA in my MINI in only 6 months in part by paying attention to the numbers on my ScanGauge.

-soD

[turbovr41991]

the unit by itself will not give you better gas mileage, but it should make you aware of how your habits impact your real time gas mileage. So in short, if you have the ability to take the information and try to optimize it (typically slow down, brake less, and cancel slow) then it might make sense for you. You could also just spend alot of time reading on driving tips on here and cheaper mods to save gas/money immediately.

[streamfisher]

Thanks for your replies. I have been reading a lot of the info on this website and trying to drive more efficiently. I think I might build one just for the fun of making it if nothing else!

[JellyBeanDriver]

What it taught me, and it was obvious when I realized it, was that drafting works!

I used to be the first car in a pack. Now I'm never (if I can help it). Get there just as fast but save fuel. In fact driving slower on the freeway but not being behind someone is worse than driving faster and being behind several vehicles. Don't need to tailgate either to reap the benefits.

Now I love traffic - not gridlock when you're not moving, but a full freeway is wonderful for gas mileage.

[Ecky]

I just replaced my homebuilt MPGuino with one of JellyBeanDriver's (much more compact) units.

Some of the information it provided me I might never have picked up on without instrumentation - things such as quantitatively measuring the difference in efficiency between pulse and glide, EOC, and steady-speed, as well as mileage differences between routes. I learned that my car is basically gear-ratio limited to not get much better than 36 without pulse and glide, and that my mileage drops very little between 35 and 65, but above 65 it declines sharply. In my car, drafting does very little.

[meelis11]

MPGuino is not so expensive to buy or build, that you must think when it will pay for itself.
It is an nice gadget for a hypermiler and gives you good feedback.