Post your success stories in this sub-forum
 

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.)

Here's what I consider my success story:


When I started this journey a couple of years ago I had a household EPA of 23 mpg. It then progressed to 47 MPG by ditching the guzzlers and getting a more economical car for the wife and I modded the beater and my driving habits. I then proceeded to retire my car and now commute extensively on my bike in suburbia. The household EPA is now 55 MPG.

I've also cut my home energy use by 1/3 with a power monitor, CFL, insulation and modding my habits from observing the loads with the monitor.

The family has come around now and are on the program. We walk when distance allows and everyone is on the same page. Even the neighbors, who at one point though I was the mad scientist have slowly come around.

In these times it fun to see the effort slowly grow. Every week I see one more person that I've been in contact with become a convert and that a good thing.

Tonight, I was out at dinner with a couple of my fiance's friends and the topic of fuel prices came up. I was talking mostly about my Civic which is STILL in the shop.:mad: After a bit of conversation, I asked our guests to guess what kind of mileage I was getting from my truck. After giving the full details (truck size, engine size transmission), the guess that was ventured was 18mpg. I raised some eyebrows when I told them that I have been averaging around 25mpg lately. Yep, I'm pretty happy about that.:cool: Plus you should hear the combination of prayer and expletives that come out when I mention that one 700mile tank that I had.:D

I really hope that this project becomes my next success story. It's coming along rather nicely, and by the time it's all painted, it should look pretty professional. If it saves me some gas, it will be even better.:thumbup:

sweet!

Record fill-up you say???

Welllll, since the great Civic is on jacks without a transmission, I've been using the F-150. Record fill-up for me this past week ---> $110 and some change.

I don't think it's something to brag about, though.

Well, you never know. It could be something to brag about depending on how many miles you went on that tank. Ever thought about hypermiling/ecomodding the F150?

Please don't tell me you removed the starter to remove weight....

three tanks in a row, 42+ mpg.

Still trying to crack 45... its elusive

also had my first 400+ mile tank. 445 miles on 10.203 gal. that means i still had a little over 2 gallons left... coulda hit 500

Results of adjusting that nut...
 

I now have 3 tanks of data since adopting some of the techniques advocated here - for example coasting, driving to load instead of speed. (I can't use EOC). That is, there's no physical mods, beyond slightly increased tyre pressures, and I'm using the same oils, tyres, and driving to speed limits.

Before: 41 mpg US
After 46mpg US, +12%

I'm pretty impressed, as I thought I was doing well already!

The figures I got previously were spot on the EU "combined" mpg figure, not bad for a 9 year old, 120 000 mile car.

(For the non-europeans, the Xantia is a 3200lb, 15 ft long, hatch with AC, 5 doors, diesel engine)

Dude I just got back from a bussiness trip my company payed me 60 cents a mile. I drove 300 miles but just like Fred Flintstone I didnt use gas. Instead I used grease.........................Cha Ching. NY to PA. Cant wait to be sent to Texas.

After getting my mpg's to 33% over epa I also wanted to try to decrease my overall fuel consumption. So, I decided I would try to limit my consumption to 22 gallons a month. My Toyota 4runner can hold about 22 gallons max so each trip to the gas station I fill it completely (as you can tell from my fuel log).

In June I purchased a 50cc scooter to try to meet my consumption goal but came up short (by 8 days three different times). Now, I'm closing in on my goal! My last fillup was October 10th and with 12 days to go my 4runner fuel gauge says I have 175 miles of gas left. 120 of those miles will be consumed with commutes to work so the final 55 miles has to be rationed over the next two weeks. How great would it be to only fill up once a month!?!

Forgot to mention I ordered my SGII today too so I should be able to attain my goal after some work with the instrumentation.

Not really an accomplishment, but I figure roughly what my car's fuel economy is.
6.5 MPG.
FAIL.

Somethings wrong. 6.5? Get an electric conversion in that Bug.

Update...

Made it 30 days on one tank...and had about a gallon left in the tank! Didn't want to push the fuel injectors too far just to go another day or two without filling up.

Moral of the story...$43 in fuel for 30 days! And, the last time I filled up on Oct. 10 gas was at $3.11...on Nov. 10 gas was $2.19. For once, gas prices worked in my favor!

No, the bugs currently a piece of s*** and doesn't run.
My '75 Firebird gets 6.5mpg.

A VW Bug is not an economical car...a little too clever engineering...lots of problems with VW's I found in the past. I worked in a VW "hospital" as a mechanic and got to know them very well...They are not long term economical in any sense of the word. As to the Firebird...why bother? Unload it and get some cheap used economical car and join the fun.

I'm not sure if this is an accomplishment to be lauded or just some interesting attitude adjustment.
I finally convinced my wife of the necessity for using the Metro exclusively for the small day to day errands she and I run.
As a result, the mileage for the Metro has gone down (she drives differently than me).
But;
I haven't added gas to the Avalon in one whole month. Still has half tank.

Metro fillup = 8.5 gallons
Avalon = 15 gallons

Prior 1 Metro to 2 Avalon total = 38.5 gallons in a two week period
Now 1/2 Avalon and three Metro = 33 gallons in one month

We have cut our fuel use in half, while raising the fuel use in one vehicle.
Added bonus, less miles on the Avalon for higher resale when we trade it in on a Yaris.

Schultz

zero-fuel days
 

It's New Year's Eve,and I more than doubled last year's zero-fuel days,with 90-no-drive-days for 2008.Tommorow,I will top-off the T-100,and have a fuel total for the year,and close out the logbook,beginning anew for '09.-------------------- I've been "talkin' the talk",I wanted to "walk the walk."

Thanks to things I have learned here... I just went 17 days on 19 gallons.. The most I have ever done before was 10 days. I attribute this to better route planning and modified driving style. I dont do extreme hypermiling but I do implement what I can when I can. I personally have a heavy right foot and Florida is very flat so I use my cruise control anytime I can go a steady speed.

Thanks everyone,
Dean

Ya i have a pretty damn heavy right foot. I drive a little 86 toyota mr2. 1.6 litre automatic. I also like to take "scenic" routes home, and i really do thrash it.

But i've done quite a bit of work to the car, mainly i blew a head gasket, so i've had the head rebuilt, so all the crap on the valve seats has been cleaned out, i've put in a new O2 sensor, and i re-set the valve clearances. I got a new alternator because i could hear the bearing going on the old one.

After all that i did a quick check, and i got roughly 35 mpg.

A few other things though... I don't have power steering (the car really doesn't need it so never built with it) and i don't have A/C.

But i do really love being able to get good enough gas mileage to truly enjoy my car.

Got noticed.
 

I turned into the hardware store parking lot with the engine off, using the Armstrong Steering. After I coasted into my parking space, the guy next to me told me he briefly mistook my rusty Subaru for an electric car. Cool.

I try to be a good ecomodder ambassador.

2003 Toyota Camry 3.0 V6

31.53 MPG on my last fill up. I wonder if I can get to 35MPG...

Fueled up my 2009 Civic Si Sedan, new record 37 mpg, EPA rating 24 city/highway. Only mods I've done so far:

pump tires to 42/42
Scanguage II.
Added hitch and Thule T2 bike rack.
changed oil to 0w-30

Kinda afraid to do engine off coasting with my new civic.

Posted my best-yet commute: 35.7MPG! But I started with a warm engine. 32.8MPG is my best cold start commute.

I was more than 400mi into the tank before the low fuel light came on. I'll probably fill up tomorrow and find out how I'm really doing.

You must abuse that Insight :p

If you get 1000 mi out of a set of brake pads, you're doing well, right?

It's not your fault, your commute is an entirely downhill loop, both out and back.

Looks like the Pulse and Glide technique is working well
 

Hey everyone. It's been a while since I've last owned a vehicle (I had a Geo Metro until Spring 2008 and then went car-free for a while) so I'm glad that I still find the P+G technique working great with my cheap '93 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 269K miles on it.

I have no instrumentation at all however the thing that seems to work for me with this vehicle is accelerating from 25-mph to 35-mph in 3rd gear and then put the automatic gear selector into neutral until I fall to 25-mph again (engine running). Then rinse and repeat. Getting above EPA is *SO* much easier in this vehicle compared to the little Geo!!!

First tank hypermiling! WOOT!
 

Got the first tank since starting this quest, and I'm frankly surprised at the difference.

Gallons: 8.31
Miles: 328.3
39.5MPG!

Thats right up there with my personal best tank, and that was obtained pure highway. I typically average 27MPG in mixed driving.

Just made my second aero mod. Like the wiper delete, it was also free. Got some blue foam insulation from a construcion site (scrap-I got permission) and fabricated a grille block. Time will tell if this is enough to push me across the big 4-oh!

While working on my Insight, I rode the motorcycle to work. In the quest for maximum mpg's, I started turning off the engine when coasting to stops out in the country. Just before stopping, I would pop the clutch, restart the engine, make the stop and take off slowly again.

After practice, this got to be fairly easy to repeat on a daily basis. MPG's went from 70 to 75mpg on an old VF500 Honda, with 115,000 miles on the clock.

Jim.

three tanks in a row, 42+ mpg.

Still trying to crack 45... its elusive

also had my first 400+ mile tank. 445 miles on 10.203 gal. that means i still had a little over 2 gallons left... coulda hit 500

Hey, new to this forum, very cool!
My 1999 Honda Accord 2.3L. got about 28 MPG average when it was brand new. 10 years and 170,000 miles later, it is consistently getting 30-31 MPG. I changed out the stock air filter box, and installed a cold air intake, with a reusable K&N air filter. Made the mileage go up a little, but did wonders for throttle response (not that I drive like an animal). I am constantly maintaining this car, as I want it to go for another 100,000 miles. Just adjusted the valve clearances, and am getting about 1 mpg better. For all you DIY types out there: if you have a car that does not have hydraulically lifted valve rockers, the clearances can be adjusted, and doing so makes the engine run much cleaner, and more efficiently. Over time, the intake valves shrink, and the exhaust valves stretch, so adjusting those clearances back to the factory settings every now and then makes a huge difference. Since I have a 37 mile commute 1 way, keeping my car in top condition is not only saving money, but also the environment, and you just have to love that.

the more I save the more I
 

Although getting 42 MPG was better than the normal 32 MPG,(96 Nisan Sentra GXE 1.6 ltr.) the hypermiling killed my starter, 07' battery and ignition switch. Wonder how many miles I could have driven on the $584 I spent on the repares?
Cant win! I just sold my 1984 Mecedes 300D tubo GreaseCar because even though 131 MPG diesel saves a lot on fuel, I spent over $1,700 a year to keep the car on the road. x 4 years.
If I put all the money I wasted to get better MPGs and just bought bionic legs, I could bike to work. Thats like getting 1 billion miles per gallon.

Not sure what happened the last few days but I was almost at 300 (298) miles on 1/2 tank. Since my tank only holds 14 gals I thought "Thats strange, no way I could be getting 42 mpg, I wonder if the gas gauge is broke now"...well my curiosity got me at the next available station, I filled up, exactly 7 gals, that put me at just over 42 MPG!!!!! My 40 mpg mark has now been moved to 45...cant figure out what I did this week except there was no snow/slush and I payed real close attention to my new vacuum gauge on acceleration and climbing hills. Not going to complain though!! It did snow today so next tank will probably suck at 32 mpg...didn thtink I would ever think 32 mpg sucked!!...LOL

Filled up this morning (hopefully the last one for the year) and got 42.2mpg :). I'm definitely happy about it because the average temp for this tank 29.8° F with the low of 4.7° F. These are the coldest averages so far this winter. I installed wheel disc covers at the beginning of this tank, which have seemed to help out. I also started to do some NICE-on coasting.

this is not really about personal success, but Iv'e been seeing more members on the Kia Forum that I frequent discussing ways to improve mileage and have managed to get a few looking at this site as a means to get there.

This is my best trip so far. Maybe my best tank so far. I was coming down I-80 from park city (parlies canyon). I usually for get to p&g but this time I did. I didn't need to use the gas the only reason I went back in to gear was to keep me from going 90+ mph. I was coasting in an out of gear. When I got off of I-80 my scangauge said 53.5 mpg for 30 miles. On I-15 I just stuck the cruise control at 60 and kept it didn't need to change it till the just before I got off. Lost a few mpg but still really good. By the time I reached my destination I was at 50.1 mpg for 44.7 miles. And I think that should be higher because my scangauge is not calibrated all the way yet.

:D

7 months ago I ordered a bumper sticker that read "26mpg",
which was my absolute highest single tank average, obtained running all highway miles with no load in the truck.
At the time I thought I was just about topped out on what I could get out of it.

Today I updated my mileage log here at ecomodder, and both my 90 day and last 3 tank averages are above 26
- an overall average that includes lots of city driving, large un-aero loads (like the one in my picture) and multi-ton loads - as well as one "high speed" (for me) run of 50 miles when I was running late.
So now I don't have to qualify the sticker when someone comments on it with "maximum" or "if its empty"

72.3 MPG indicated today for 39.6 miles. Temps in the mid 60s. We haven't seen it this warm since last Haloween.

EPA combined is 47 MPG.

Average speed about 40 MPH 35-47 range.

Heard the cooling fan running as I backed into the garage, so I took out the radiator block and reconnected the stock air intake snorkel.

I'll see how it does tomorrow on the same basic trip.

regards
Mech