Noobie from Montana
 

Hey all! My name is Tony. I live with my family in Missoula, MT. After averaging 15mpg over the winter in our minivan, I decided we needed something a little cheaper to run, so I picked up an 86 Ford Escort 5-speed. Right now I'm in the process of getting caught up on maintenance, but I'm averaging about 27 mpg over the last couple of tanks. After I get the valve gasket changed and stop the oil dumping onto the spark plugs, I hope to be hitting over 30 without any aeromods.

I just installed a vacuum gauge, but I'm worried something might be wrong. I have been shifting pretty early to keep rpms down low, but the gauge seems to like it better if I shift quite a bit later. Is that normal? I haven't had it on long enough to know how it's effecting FE, so I guess I'll see. Which would benefit FE more, low rpms or high engine vacuum?

my plans for aeromods include a grill block, mirror delete, bellypan and possibly rear wheel skirts. I would love to do a kamback as well, but I do mostly in-town driving, so I don't know how much it would actually help? Someone also told another Escort owner to change the angle on the front windshield, how would I manage to do that?

Thanks for all the amazing resources and inspiration this site already has given me!

Tony-Bobs

Take a look at our wiki:
Car MPG Efficiency Modifications Main - EcoModder

And Welcome to EM