Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread - Page 22 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Piwoslaw · 09-08-2011, 05:18 PM

Thanks for the info Euro

I checked that all of those oils are more expensive than the Total 5w30 I'm using (~27€ for 4 liters vs 20€ for 5 liters). But I'll keep hunting.

While driving today I noticed the following:

After the coolant temperature settled around 79°C the idle consumption was 0.62-0.65 LPH. Other than the DRLs I also had radio, position lights, and windshield wipers on lowest setting.
I stopped and killed the engine after ~6-8km (phone call). The engine started quite easily.
Idle consumption dropped to 0.52-0.56 after 14km.
After that, starting the engine after killing it takes 4-6 turnovers before it catches
Turning the position lights off raised idle consumption from 0.55 to 0.62 Turning the position lights on adds 6x5W=30 watts, plus dashboard lighting. At the same time, the on-board computer's backlight dims. It's hard for me to believe that the OBC's dimming backlight saves more than 40-50W. Very weird.

As for the idle consumption being some 0.1 LPH higher for the first umpteen kilometers, this may always be the case, but previously went unnoticed. I know I've seen 0.52 LPH many times, but I can't be sure this was at the beginning of a trip. Maybe the ECU waits after the coolant warms up for the block to soak up some heat before going into lowest fuel consumption?

Rokeby · 09-08-2011, 06:55 PM

I don't know the specs on your car but, if there is a catalytic converter it too
needs to be warmed up. IIRC, this involves an over-rich fuel/air mixture so that
some small amount of fuel is burned in the cat converter...

So, to get best MPG in addition to all the other things that must be warmed up,
not just the block and coolant, but wheel bearings, etc, which require
heat/movement/friction = fuel consumed, there's the cat converter as well.

Piwoslaw · 09-09-2011, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rokeby

I don't know the specs on your car but, if there is a catalytic converter it too needs to be warmed up. IIRC, this involves an over-rich fuel/air mixture so that some small amount of fuel is burned in the cat converter...

So, to get best MPG in addition to all the other things that must be warmed up,
not just the block and coolant, but wheel bearings, etc, which require
heat/movement/friction = fuel consumed, there's the cat converter as well.

I have a cat converter, but it doesn't have any sensors (at least I haven't seen any wires). In the engines with a DPF there is an exhaust gas temperature sensor (so the ECU knows how much more fuel to dump to burn out the soot), but mine doesn't have that.

This did give me an idea: stick a heating pad on the cat to get cleaner emissions earlier. Don't some cars already have that?

euromodder · 09-09-2011, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

Thanks for the info Euro

I checked that all of those oils are more expensive than the Total 5w30 I'm using (~27€ for 4 liters vs 20€ for 5 liters).

Next time I'n near Poland, I'm stocking up on oil !

They're charging around 75-80 euro / 3.7L here.
Even then they don't have time to do an oil swap ...

Piwoslaw · 09-09-2011, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by euromodder

Next time I'n near Poland, I'm stocking up on oil !

They're charging around 75-80 euro / 3.7L here.
Even then they don't have time to do an oil swap ...

The prices I mentioned are the lowest I found on the net. I'd pay more at a normal store and much more at a service station

The funny thing is that some of those oils were advertised as imported straight from Germany, so you might find something closer to home, if you know where to look.

EDIT: My manual states that my engine takes 3.85L of oil. I guess that your's takes only 3.75L because you need the spare 0.1L for your rising oil level...

Piwoslaw · 09-28-2011, 03:28 PM

I've narrowed my 0w30 oil choices down to:

Total 9000 Energy, 26€ for 5 liters,
Castrol EDGE, 26.50€ for 4 liters.

I'd pick the Castrol because I don't need 5 liters, 4 are enough. But then I've read that the Total was made for HDi engines.
Any suggestions?

EDIT: I just found ELF Excellium Full Tech, 26.50€ for 4 liters, which appears to be made for PSA, among others.

Sven7 · 09-29-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

While inspecting how dirty the car is today, I noticed a tiny detail on the rear lamp:

Can you see it? It's the thin vertical line of dust, just left of the center on the picture. Nothing fancy unless you know that this is the point at which the airflow starts to separate, that's why it's relatively clean ahead of that line. Here's another view:

So what? Well, maybe I could glue clear plastic at that point, extending a few cm to the rear. This would create a lip or minikammback with a sharp trailing edge. I'd do the same to the rounded corners of the rear bumper. Probably not worth any mpg's, but who knows?

Perusing this thread I noticed this. I have noted the dirt patterns on the Probe because during the summer I live at home on a dirt road and the separation point is quite apparent. Does anyone have some idea on whether this would make a difference? A sheet of plastic is like $15 at the school store.

Maybe someone has an idea on some sort of free scrap plastic to use on it, too.

euromodder · 09-30-2011, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

Any suggestions?

A good synthetic 0W30 oil will be OK.
Brand doesn't really matter as you don't have a DPF and don't need a low SAPS oil.

Volvo have used Castrol SLX Professional Longtec (for Volvo).
Dunno how that translates into Castrol's new Edge range though.

Just about all current references point towards 5W30 for the PSA HDi's though.

Piwoslaw · 10-27-2011, 12:29 PM

I installed a new winter block for the upper grille. Last winter's block spanned the whole width of the upper grille, this time I left the intercooler side open to keep the intake air cold. This may slightly increase warm-up times, but this will hopefully be made up for by increased efficiency.

As with version 1, the sides are open to allow air to be sucked in if the fan comes on.

And a top view:

Since last winter's block was yanked out by a gale, this one is not just slipped in behind the license plate, but is held in place by one of the plate's screws. A second screw fixes it under the hood.

During early summer I got my hands on some bubblewrap with foil on one side, hoping to insulate the engine bay with it. In fact, I got more than I needed, a huge 120x450cm piece!

But before I got to work I cut a small piece off and put in the oven to see if it will hold up to the engine's heat. Unfortunately it started to warp and melt between 70°-80°C, which is way to low, since I sometimes see coolant temperatures around 100°C (once 114°C when the fan wasn't working in a traffic jam). So the bubblewrap will probably insulate something in the house.

Luckily I found something else: While visiting the construction of a friend's house I picked up a few scraps of foil-covered pressed mineral wool. This was used to insulate the fireplace, so it should be fine next to the engine.

The two larger pieces are 100x20cm, the four smaller ones about 22x28cm. It gets dark mighty early now (sunset will be at 4pm after this weekend's time change

), so I only shot some photos before going back home today. I'll post pics when I get some free time to finish the project.

EDIT (next morning): The thought has crossed my mind to use that bubblewrap in the engine compartment anyway, only wrap the intake ducts to keep them cooler. That way the bubblewrap doesn't directly touch anything hot, plus only the front (foil) side will be facing the heat while the rear will be cooled by the air flowing inside the ducts. I'd have to wrap the filter box too, which hangs right behind the engine block. Hmmm...
I recently acquired an Arduino Duemilanove which I'll use to log temperatures at home, so I might throw it in car to see how hot it really gets under the hood.