Post your success stories in this sub-forum

[Curtis in Texas]

I've been riding and testing my Diesel Motorcycle these last few days and have been measuring the fuel consumption very carefully. (It's a KLR converted to diesel.) I have been running the motor about 85% throttle and am happy to report I've driven it 64 miles on 1/2 gallon of a WVO corn oil/ diesel fuel mixture. I refilled the tank this morning and it took eactly 1/2 gallon and the odometer said it had gone 64 miles since I last filled it.

Since the gas tank on it holds 5.6 gallons I am not able to keep the good news to myself while I ride it over the next 2 months to get an entire tank full of fuel used up.

It has a CV transmission, which at times I like, and other times I want gone. I'm sure if it had a proper 5 or 6 speed manual I could see 150 mpg consistantly. I am convinced the slipping belt on the CV is hurting my mileage. But still, I''ll take 128 miles to the gallon!

The only draw back is I haven't been able to break the 55 mph barrier with the CV belt yet. Even at full throttle it won't break the 55 mph barrier.
I plan to try a different belt and driven pulley to up the speed. Have already been playing with the sprockets to get it to this point. I'm convinced I can get 65 mph out of this thing.

Just think, I have a 7 gallon gas tank in the shop for the KLR, and with it I could travel half way across the country on one tank of fuel.

[DamageX]

I gained some MPG by converting my BMW 528e to Megasquirt and changing the differential gear ratio (from a 3.73:1 to a 3.46:1). I`ve done a lot of other engine/drivetrain mods on the car over the years but I have never had better than 27mpg highway and 20-24mpg around town. After I got Megasquirt tuned reasonably well, I filled up, and a few weeks later at next fill-up suddenly I have hit 26mpg. Immediately after that I drove 183 miles on the interstate with cruise set at 70mph and returned 30mpg. So efficiency has improved at the same time as power (now 182hp@5300), I like having the best of both worlds.

[Cobb]

Driving cars the past few years Ive done things and watch the results at the pump. Ive seen KN filters help with seat of the pants feel in driving, but not the pump. Ive seen headers, axle backs, etc all help with the seat of the pants dyno and empty the gas tank faster. I added an extra fan to the condensor and same thing, emptied the gas tank faster.

Then one day I tried some lowering springs. Interesting..... 4 more mpg. I tried going the speed limit as well as using cruse control. More fuel savings. I tried side wall psi vs the door stick psi for tire pressure, more fuel savings. I got an sg2 and changed shift points, gears with posted speed limits, yet more fuel savings. Lastly grill blocking, side skirts, front air dams, led and hid lighting, removing unneeded crap and a plug in kit for my hybrid. Finally exceed 100 mpg for 5 miles.

Even to today, the biggest change in fuel economy on my commute is achieved by adjusting the nut behind the steering wheel.

[Flakbadger]

Just took my first all-highway road trip in my Yaris. I used to make this trip (to my Grandparents' house) in my Ford Ranger, my best tank averaged 23 MPG.

My Yaris averaged 45.88, not only smashing my pickup's best tank but also my own personal best by 3 MPG.

There were many opportunities to coast both in-gear and in neutral, and I kept the speed strictly under 60 MPH, averaging 49 MPH over the trip--and this includes a 10-minute rest break.

In short, I beat a Prius V's EPA estimate and very nearly doubled my old pickup's best-ever tank.

[darrylrobida]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Ben and I were talking and figured EM needed a dedicated area to collect & showcase EcoModders' success stories.

So feel free to toot your own horn and tell us all about things like:

... that kick-a#$ commute you had this morning

... the record fill-up you just had

... how well your latest mod is working

... how mastering a new ecodriving technique has boosted your fuel economy to a new level

... how much you're saving by biking/carpooling/public transit

... the effect your example is having on friends & family

... anything else that shows the positive results of modding your ride & the nut behind the wheel

(PS - if you happen to come across any existing threads in other sub-forums that would fit nicely into this area, let me know and I'll copy them over.)

This modded 88 civic lx into a flatbed mpg up to 40 from 27.
Successfully hauls full sheets of plywood, sofas, washers/dryers,
cement, 10' long poles right up thru the cab.
I say successful because:
reliable daily driver built from a totaled civic.
MPG way up
Fun to drive
Total invested $1,300 inc all engine preventive maint.

[cfg83]

darrylrobida -

Luv that generation of Civic, or should I say "Civic Luv", ? Your LX flatbed is proof they should have offered one to the public.

CarloSW2

[Gealii]

Just pulled a record school commute tank of 30.8mpg school ends next week which allows me to return to strict work commute which is all highway vs 50% highway. Going for 40mpg tank this summer over last summers 32mpg record

[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by Gealii

Just pulled a record school commute tank of 30.8mpg school ends next week which allows me to return to strict work commute which is all highway vs 50% highway. Going for 40mpg tank this summer over last summers 32mpg record

solid work

[kegel]

I have to say i definitely improved my driving techniques. I haven't been for too long on this or forum or active, but i have read and tried some of the techniques. Last year around this time, i got about 29.4 mpg in my Peugeot 206, but since reading the tips and improving my techniques i got 36.19mpg (city driving 80% of the time). I'm very proud of myself.

[wmjinman]

OK, I was gonna wait until I had a little more success before I started my own "success thread".

It's kinda funny how your expectations rise with success, huh? Even though I'm getting mileage now that I would have considered "amazing" a year ago, now I'm hooked into the "90-day average" this site uses. And as such, I'm hoping my 90-day average gets a little more amazing before I start bragging about it. But it's on the way, since my last three fill-ups were all OVER 55 mpg. - and that's with the FOUR cylinder, later generation Swift..... two things that are supposed to reduce the MPG on this thing.

So although I'm "happy" (and even on the first page of "top mpg gasoline cars", now), I'm kinda waiting and hoping to hit 50% over EPA before starting my own bragging thread.