Post your success stories in this sub-forum

[iveyjh]

I haven't filled up yet but this is an average of 49 mph and you know how fast you have to drive with stop and go (limited) driving. I did air dam, removed rear view side mirrors, and pizza pan hub caps. All Texas Hill Country driving. I've gotten this good before but this is hardly trying, a little eoc. 260,000+ miles on original engine.
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[willie@eco]

Well i own a 92 Festiva that ive had now for about 5 months now. I average 28 mpg in mostly city driving. About 200 miles a week. I drive it normal like any other car. Its peppy and it goes pretty quick if i push it but this past weekend i decided to try something new. I aired up the tires to 45 psi (12 inch wheels), new ngk spark plugs, blocked off the upper grill and blocked the bottom as well and changed my driving style to EOC. 1st to 5th gear where ever possible as fast as i can within the speed limit and with about 30% throttle and half way through i shut the engine off and cylcle the switch in between 1 and 2 position on the switch and just coast. When ever i needed more speed id simply keep the car in gear usually 4th or 5th and pop the clutch and keep going. Kinda like a hybrid. This is entirely new for me so im getting used to it. This alone fetched me 39.5 mpg in high 20s low 30 degree weather. I am pretty impressed! If anyone has any inputs on this please let me know. Thanks!

[cowmeat]

When ever i needed more speed id simply keep the car in gear usually 4th or 5th and pop the clutch and keep going. Kinda like a hybrid. This is entirely new for me so im getting used to it. This alone fetched me 39.5 mpg in high 20s low 30 degree weather. I am pretty impressed! If anyone has any inputs on this please let me know. Thanks!

That driving style got me up to 60 mpg in my Festiva Black Widow.

1993 Ford Festiva L Gas Mileage (Black Widow (retired)) - EcoModder.com

I got where I could bump start it at smoothly anywhere between 5 mph and 50 mph. I also ran a grill block full time and put some (ghetto) wheel skirts on it. I kept the tires at 60 psi.

[willie@eco]

Wow really? That is sweet! I considered bumping the psi further on the 12 inchers but there are too many pot holes here where i live and am afraid of getting knots on the little tires. But man alive what an improvement higher psi makes wow! I bet if i get more agressive with this new driving style to me and some more aero mods ill be breaking into the high 40s low 50s which is terrific! At 1st the car jerked alot from bump starting but i kinda figured it out by now and am much smoother at it. Question tho, does this harm the clutch or gearbox in any way? My belt squeals most times i do this haha i should tighten it up a bit haha

[willie@eco]

Btw, that 39.5 mpg was all city. 45 mph tops! Kept it between 30 and 45 for EOC.

[cowmeat]

It will shave a little off the clutch plate, but if you rev match while you bump start it'll be a lot smoother.

Forgot to say, I also ran double sets of brake drag reduction clips on the front, which helps a little when you're doing a lot of p&g

I wish I hadn't deleted my Festiva off here, but having the old retired cars made my posts take up too much room. If you search "Black Widow" there are still some pics of it and some threads

[willie@eco]

I will look. I want to learn. Which clips are these? And also EOC and P&G is about the same isnt it? Im not too familiar with the terms. All i know is i run through the gears and when i see the distance i want i shut the engine off and put the switch back into position 2 and leave the car in 5th or 4th depending on speed and coast away till i have to get going again. What are the differences? Please excuse my ignorance lol

[cowmeat]

I did a lot of pulse & glide in the Festiva.
I found the best range for me was to glide (engine off) down from 55 to around 35, then bump start in fifth, ease my way back up to 55 and repeat. Of course I had to find a route to work that was friendly to that method (it's the same route I ended up using in the Volt) without a lot of traffic. I would engine-off coats to any stop sign or unavoidable light.

I also used a battery tender nightly, since P&G and EOC in the dark with the lights on will suck the juice right out of the 12V.

[willie@eco]

Ah i see. Well i also have done this at night but since i have led head lights they dont really dim all that bad so i have no real issues there. Also they use little power from what i remember. So yes, now i know the meaning of pulse and glide. I use that method as well. Im still amazed at how these basic driving changes and small changes to the car netted me 11 extra mpg on top of my usual normal driving and no mods. Very cool. My wife thinks im crazy lol

[cowmeat]

Man, now you're making me regret deleting Black Widow and Turtle off here. I could only find one pic of Black Widow, and that's without all the sweet mods I put on it. I had the biggest grill block ever, plus some super custom wheel skirts!

I could have sworn I did a couple of DYIs for the grill block & wheel skirts, but I sure couldn't find them anywhere