Not so Eco Friendly: '03 Subaru Forester X 2.5L Auto

[NoD~]

Thanks again guys.

Glad to hear about the needle. It definitely dove since about 1/2 way and now nearly E, but it's hanging in there.

Coroplast wise, I'll evaluate. If I can do it in such a way that it seems it won't allow things under it, but will keep stability and reliability, I'll execute. Otherwise, I'll see what options I have for reducing drag. After all, this is also going to be used to get me to trail heads for backpacking trips, which can be a lot of highway miles! So trying to find the best of all worlds in one, as much as possible.

I got my OBDII bluetooth adapter in yesterday (would have used my SGII, but it's mounted up in my Insight these days) and got it all programmed. With the car starting at around 35*F and it being around 10*F this morning, my short ~4 mile trip to work got me 26.7MPG. I wasn't going too extreme with the hypermile abilities this morning. Otherwise, if those numbers hold true, I think I can definitely find some wiggle room for improvement!

(For reference, my insight, even in these temps, can get ~70MPG and best I've done in the summer is I think ~130MPG... lol)

[kafer65]

Fuel gauges are generally non linear with senders that have floats that have arms that follow an arc. Look, for example, at a Beetle gauge from like '63 and they have 2/3 of the gauge dedicated to the bottom half of the tank. My Mazda has a digital readout but I can put over 200 miles on a tank before I get a hash mark removed and the tank is nearly done by the time I get to half tank on the readout.

[bhazard]

I had a 2002 5 speed and usually managed in the 28-30 range.

Gearing is the killer. The 5 speed has 4.11 diffs and the autos have 4.44's.

You could look for a 5 speed setup from an early Impreza or base model Legacy. They had 3.90 diffs. WRX's had a taller .71 5th gear too I think. vs .8 or so in the Forester.

[kafer65]

Originally Posted by bhazard

I had a 2002 5 speed and usually managed in the 28-30 range.

Gearing is the killer. The 5 speed has 4.11 diffs and the autos have 4.44's.

You could look for a 5 speed setup from an early Impreza or base model Legacy. They had 3.90 diffs. WRX's had a taller .71 5th gear too I think. vs .8 or so in the Forester.

Yes, that is the compromise right there in the diff ratios. I'm wanting less gearing in my Mazda at 3.70, for efficiency, but I really enjoyed the launches with the 4.44 in the Forester!

We had two Legacys before the Forester and all of them automatics. They would get 26 mpg on highway in normal non-ecomodder setups. Not bad for what they were and how they were driven.

[bhazard]

Originally Posted by kafer65

Yes, that is the compromise right there in the diff ratios. I'm wanting less gearing in my Mazda at 3.70, for efficiency, but I really enjoyed the launches with the 4.44 in the Forester!

We had two Legacys before the Forester and all of them automatics. They would get 26 mpg on highway in normal non-ecomodder setups. Not bad for what they were and how they were driven.

Oh yeah, FXT's got 4.44 manuals! Nutty gearing!

My 5EAT OBXT thankfully got 3.55's or thereabouts with a nice short 1st gear. Good compromise but I think they even dropped to 3.27 or so in 07.

[kafer65]

Originally Posted by bhazard

My 5EAT OBXT thankfully got 3.55's or thereabouts with a nice short 1st gear. Good compromise but I think they even dropped to 3.27 or so in 07.

Much better! Nice. They are a lot bigger too, though.

[bhazard]

Originally Posted by kafer65

Much better! Nice. They are a lot bigger too, though.

Oh yeah, I'm definitely not holding my breath for "good" mpg's. It's replacing my TDI though and I paid less than three TDI car payments for it so...

[Hersbird]

4.44 is one thing on a Jeep with 36" or bigger tires, quite another on a car with 26" tall tires.

[NoD~]

Did 26.5MPG on the way home, so if this Torque app is accurate, I should have an idea of a baseline. Though, this is short trips (but on familiar turf) in the depths of winter and NO pre-heating.

I think if I can get some mid-30's out of this thing upon the arrival of spring, I'll be pretty content with that.

I looked at the link redpoint5 listed, noticed he tackled something I've been curious about: the bottom opening in the bumper. It doesn't go to anything... it lets air go below the car, basically. No radiator behind it! So, I'll be finding a tasteful way to block that up soon. Wouldn't mind trying to come up with some fancy fog light covers to flush them up (right now, I'm lacking 1x fog light anyways... though it's on order).

I think some lower weight wheels would help for city driving, too. These beasts are something to the tune of 22lbs each! Rotational mass is a wicked beast... if I can find some WRX wheels, seems they are 16.5lbs per. I'd also like to go with a lighter-weight crank pulley, which I've had success with in the past (though not sure on MPG gains, sure makes a car more driveable!)

And, of course, taking off those roof bars. I'll be doing that after this first tank.

[ThermionicScott]

It may be unscientific, but why not take off the crossbars now? It's just a couple of torx bolts, and easy to do. There is plenty of evidence that it works.