New member from central PA
 

Hello modders! I've been perusing this site for the past 2 months or so getting tips about saving gas, and I'm ready to start taking more drastic steps to start saving some money, and help the environment out too.

I commute about 61 miles to work one way, and 60 of those are on the interstate. Right now my '08 Pontiac G5 is getting 36.7 mpg, and I'd really like to be around 45 or more. My main goal is saving money, and I've done some math that shows me that (with gas at $4/gallon) a 1 mpg increase saves me about 70 dollars in a year.

I do have a few questions for anyone willing to answer:

- I've seen that the Scanguage II can have some pretty intense savings, but would it have as big of an effect on the interstate? I do drive over quite a few of hills, if anything I think it could help in that regard.

- Does anyone know of wheel skirts that are rigid, secure and easily removed?

- Would removing my mudflaps be more effective than cutting them into a tire spoiler?

- The undercarriage of my car is still a bumpy undercarriage, but it does seem smoother than many other cars. Would the added surface area of an air dam be possibly detrimental?

- Has anyone had any luck taking their car to a custom car shop?

Welcome! I live near central PA myself, and have a 67 mile commute! I'd like to think that I am in good shape to answer your questions.

Would a ScanGauge help on the interstate during cruising? YES! The difference between a TPS (throttle position sensor) value of say 14 compared to 15 is about as much as a toe-wiggle, but the difference in MPG can be as much as 8-9 MPG!

Rigid and secure wheel skirts? You'd have to build them; there's really no pre-fab market.

Mudflaps are touch-and-go; one may work better than the other. No, I don't know which would work best for you, sorry. :)

Airdam - While it would increase frontal area, it would make less air go under the car. That's a good thing. If you make it semi-permanent, you can try it for a couple tanks and see how it works out. If it's good, make it a permanent mod. If not, scrap it.

No idea about custom shops.

Where about in central PA are you? Feel free to add yourself to the member map!

EcoModder.com - Googlemap ME

Thank you for the helpful reply!

I'll have to look into the Scangauge. While I feel I'm already driving conservatively, but I'm sure I can do better and there has got to be a way to make the hills of PA work for me instead of against me.

Thank you for the responses on my other questions! Even though you might not have answered them directly, I feel like it pushed me in the right direction to hear someone else's thoughts on them.

I live in Mechanicsburg, and most of my driving is right down I-81.

welcome to em roe

Hi Roe,

I'm new here also. Same deal: been lurking for several months, learning what EM is all about and just now getting up the courage to try doing some stuff to the FuguMobile to get more MPGs out of it.

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as the other guys in here. But I can speak to your Scanguage question. I purchased one a couple of months ago and it made a HUGE difference in the way I drive. It took me a little time to understand some of the guages and stats...and their relationship as to how it affects my driving style. But once I "got it", it helped me jump my MPGs up from the low-20s to a near 30MPG on a pretty consistent basis now.

As Nevyn mentioned, TPS is useful for getting your throttle position just right. I also like to use that along with the instantaneous MPG to see how feathering the throttle can make a big difference in my fuel consumption. (Nice to see the always satisfying *9999*, too!) And being able to track the current trip and tank MPGs gives me something to shoot for between tank fill-ups.

I know the $150 price tag scares some people off, but I'm sure it will pay for itself many times over in my case.

Hope that helps a little.

John

hello.. i am Mark from USA ,Ak,Anchorage,nice to meet you,im just new here..i'll hope that i can have new friend here..