Go Back   EcoModder Forum > Introductions
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 10-09-2008, 12:03 PM   #1 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 5
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
new member-vintage ecomodder

hi-my name is Charlie and i am a car guy. i used to like fast cars that made tons of noise and burn high-octane fuel. well i'm 27 now and i still love cars but i tend to focus on reliablilty {fast cars break just as fast!} and fuel enonomy. well my newest car is a 1977 Datsun B210 "plus" {means 5-speed}.
it is kinda like the prius of the seventies. here is an old ad to help you see what i mean.

so lets just say i am not getting 50 mpg! i think testing was different in those days. i am only getting somewhere between 20-30 but i am still figuring out how carbs work and i am always adjusting it, which drasticly changes the mpg ratios. i am interesting in learning all your techniques as well as maybe talking to some folks with older cars about things to check out and maybe replace. i hope you guys don't mind pictures because i love posting them. here is my car and it's 1.4 liter a14 engine.


this post is getting quite large, but i have a lot to ask you guys. i also have a 1998 Nissan Frontier pick-up, 4cyl, 5speed. i supplement income by delivering pizza sometimes 2-3 nights a week. i use the pick-up, and i get dreadful milage. i'm talking like 12-13 miles a gallon. now pizza delivery is horrible for economy with stops and starts and since your always rushing, but would you guys say thats normal? the turck is rated at 22mpg city i believe, so i thought i'd get close to that. thanks, i look foward to searching all your post and learning everything i can.

  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 10-09-2008, 12:30 PM   #2 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Funny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 409

Eco-Fit - '13 Honda Fit Base
90 day: 37.06 mpg (US)
Thanks: 30
Thanked 18 Times in 18 Posts
Nice car, man. I'm a fan of the old styling on cars, they just looked "cooler" back then, in my opinion. Does your car have a catalytic converter? you could be damaging it with the adjustments to the carb, try and find a mechanic that has an exhaust gas analyzer, that way you can balance the emissions.

If you want to increase your economy, you may want to try to locate an electric fan for the radiator, they are much more efficient than their belt-driven kin. Also, you may wish to increase the size of the air filter, she looks a bit too small, I may be wrong.

Also, when you are driving the Pizza delivery truck, try some engine off coasting if you can, that will bring you up to the EPA amount, even with the starts and stops.

Good luck and welcome to ecomodder!

p.s. Check out this thread, it has a very similar car to yours
__________________
American by right
Ecomodder by choice
Hypermiler by necessity


Last edited by Funny; 10-09-2008 at 12:35 PM.. Reason: Added link
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2008, 12:30 PM   #3 (permalink)
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 11,203

CM400E - '81 Honda CM400E
90 day: 51.49 mpg (US)

Daox's Grey Prius - '04 Toyota Prius
Team Toyota
90 day: 49.53 mpg (US)

Daox's Insight - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 64.33 mpg (US)

Swarthy - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage DE
Mitsubishi
90 day: 56.69 mpg (US)

Daox's Volt - '13 Chevrolet Volt
Thanks: 2,501
Thanked 2,585 Times in 1,553 Posts
Welcome to the site. The car looks like its in great shape considering the age! BTW, we love pictures here. Post all you want.

As for the truck, thats seems awfully low mileage. I'd definitly look at the 100+ hypermiling tips. They'll give you driving techniques to learn to drive more efficiently. This is normally where you will see your largest gains in fuel economy.
__________________
Current project: A better alternator delete
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2008, 02:48 PM   #4 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 5
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
wow you guys alreay had a chat about b210's. some of the comments where off compared to my experiance with the car. concerning some things ya'll pointed out, i already have an electric fan, so that is covered. i have a cat convertor, is it helping my mpg or not? i am going to replace the whole exhaust system and wasn't sure about getting a new convertor. my first thought is to throw on a larger pipe with with a flowmaster style muffler, but i don't want to lose milage. seems to me better flow equals better milage. true?
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2008, 10:38 PM   #5 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Funny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 409

Eco-Fit - '13 Honda Fit Base
90 day: 37.06 mpg (US)
Thanks: 30
Thanked 18 Times in 18 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlieBucket View Post
wow you guys alreay had a chat about b210's. some of the comments where off compared to my experiance with the car. concerning some things ya'll pointed out, i already have an electric fan, so that is covered. i have a cat convertor, is it helping my mpg or not? i am going to replace the whole exhaust system and wasn't sure about getting a new convertor. my first thought is to throw on a larger pipe with with a flowmaster style muffler, but i don't want to lose milage. seems to me better flow equals better milage. true?
Good to know about the fan, try to make sure to switch to all synthetic oils, if the tires are still in good shape, pump them to the maximum, and in general follow the 100 tips and tricks on the home page.

About the pipes, better flow is not necessarily bigger pipes, you need to find optimum sized pipes for the flow that your car is going to produce. To big, and the car is gutless at low speed, to small and the car overheats and bogs and sometimes chokes itself out There are some complicated formulas that I can find for you to accurately calculate the ID of the pipe you need.
__________________
American by right
Ecomodder by choice
Hypermiler by necessity

  Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2008, 10:56 PM   #6 (permalink)
(:
 
Frank Lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
"There are some complicated formulas that I can find for you to accurately calculate the ID of the pipe you need."

Didn't the factory do that already?
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2008, 12:13 AM   #7 (permalink)
Pokémoderator
 
cfg83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,864

1999 Saturn SW2 - '99 Saturn SW2 Wagon
Team Saturn
90 day: 40.49 mpg (US)
Thanks: 439
Thanked 530 Times in 356 Posts
CharlieBucket -

Welcome to EM! I inherited my sister's Datsun B210 Honeybee back in the 1980's. It looked egg-zactly like this :



I was a churlish oaf back then. Ran her into the ground. I didn't deserve that car!

CarloSW2
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	honeybee.jpg
Views:	91
Size:	54.1 KB
ID:	1903  
__________________

What's your EPA MPG? Go Here and find out!
American Solar Energy Society
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2008, 08:22 AM   #8 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Funny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 409

Eco-Fit - '13 Honda Fit Base
90 day: 37.06 mpg (US)
Thanks: 30
Thanked 18 Times in 18 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee View Post
"There are some complicated formulas that I can find for you to accurately calculate the ID of the pipe you need."

Didn't the factory do that already?
Within the constraints of cost they did, Frank, but if one was to spend money on a slightly better exhaust than stock, you would see improved performance and economy, depending on the economy modifications made to the car.
__________________
American by right
Ecomodder by choice
Hypermiler by necessity

  Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2008, 10:23 AM   #9 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Posts: 49

Bucket - '94 Ford Escort Wagon
90 day: 36.46 mpg (US)
Thanks: 3
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Charlie, that is a beautiful car. Have you considered converting her to Megasquirt EFI?
__________________
  Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2008, 12:02 PM   #10 (permalink)
amateur mech. engineer
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: New York City
Posts: 112

Sporty Accord - '88 Honda Accord LX-i
90 day: 23.25 mpg (US)

Dad's Camry - '01 Toyota Camry CE
90 day: 22.81 mpg (US)

Artie's Camry - '98 Toyota Camry
90 day: 37.3 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 17 Times in 4 Posts
I borrowed one of those from a friend about 1982. I think it had a five speed transmission. It got about 35 MPG on the highway.

Be sure to check the ignition timing, including centrifugal and vacuum advance mechanisms.

  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Official EcoModder ScanGauge II group buy info MetroMPG Instrumentation 71 03-30-2010 07:48 PM
Can TeamSwift Member Help Me Out? SirKeats The Lounge 4 05-18-2008 07:03 PM
New ecomodder member cmittle Introductions 7 04-27-2008 11:39 PM
New ecomodder member Buddhamanjb Introductions 4 04-26-2008 08:28 PM
Hybridfest guy now at ecomodder ericbecky Introductions 9 03-21-2008 11:43 AM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com