PT Cruiser

[MetroMPG]

Wonderjava - after sorting out the check engine light issue, the first thing to do is determine your actual fuel consumption (by calculating MPG). For all we know, the car may be getting close to what it should be getting!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rmula-352.html

"You can't manage what you don't measure."

[Wonderjava]

Love my Chrysler and ford. Only reason ive got the Chrysler was because my husband always dreamer of owning a pt. Yes when I get everything sorted I will track fuel consumption, but still want nods to increase gas mileage

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

A free lemon is still a money pit. My worst car was a Mitsubishi/Chrysler = DSM badged as a 1G Eagle Talon Turbo. It would have been a disaster even if someone had paid me to take it.

All I hadta do is put transmission diff bearings in (in the driveway. in MN winter ), replace cv shafts, and replace a lil piece of trans cooler line. She rides really nice.

[shovel]

Originally Posted by Wonderjava

Yes when I get everything sorted I will track fuel consumption, but still want nods to increase gas mileage

As has been mentioned earlier in this thread, simply putting a vehicle in good tune to begin with (eliminating the mechanical problems causing the check engine light, eliminating any possible vacuum leaks, ensuring that all engine control devices are clean and correctly functioning) - is the best "mod" to start with in pursuit of better efficiency.

Another thing I don't see mentioned very often is the A/C.. specifically, driving around with it turned on when it doesn't need to be on. I obviously don't have any way of knowing whether you do that, but based on everyone I've passengered with, ever, it seems more than half of all cars on the road probably have their A/C system engaged all the time, even when it's cold out, even when their windows are open, just always chuggin' away drinking fuel. Turn it off when it's not hot out & save fuel.

Don't drive around with the car full of loot. Weight costs fuel. You'll feel more pep with an empty car, too.

Keep those tires inflated. They'll last longer, you'll be safer, and get much better mileage.

Have a look under your car, got any loose or floppy plastic bits down there from hitting a curb or parking block? I see this on cars all the time, the owners don't seem to notice... but loose floppy bits catch a lot of air and can cost quite a bit of fuel - plus they just look silly. These things can be annoying to repair if they've ripped out their fasteners, but zip-ties and gorilla tape are pretty decent cheap ways to repair underbody plastic where nobody can see it anyway.

[Wonderjava]

no i dont use the a/c if its not hot, i do run around with the sunroof open though, ive read at high speeds thats a no no for fuel consumption. my car is regularly empty, i dont allow trash in my car, and i ask that everything be taken with you when you vacate. so it does stay empty 99% of the time. my tires are always properly inflated, though at the present moment i am in need of new or new used tires. ive looked under the car like you suggested, and i do not see anything hanging down or loose, so i guess that is a good thing. i try to be in the habit of staying a reasonable distance away from parking blocks and curbs so i dont have that issue. i do have another question though. i read somewhere that the holes in the wheels let in air which is not aerodynamic, is there anyway i can do anything about without buying new rims or wheel covers? i cant afford to spend an arm and a leg so im looking for possible solutions...need to think outside the box...or in this case, outside the car.

[shovel]

Originally Posted by Wonderjava

i read somewhere that the holes in the wheels let in air which is not aerodynamic, is there anyway i can do anything about without buying new rims or wheel covers? i cant afford to spend an arm and a leg so im looking for possible solutions...need to think outside the box...or in this case, outside the car.

Aerodynamics is a pretty well established science among transportation engineers, and naturally the men and women who design today's cars aren't clowns - if smooth hubcaps (or wheels) would offer a 5mpg improvement on the same car, that's how they'd sell 'em by default because that would be an easy way to meet federal standards & sell more cars (that's the business they're in, after all)

So, smooth wheels are better... but not so much better as to be a necessary change if you're not relentlessly pursuing maximum MPG above any other consideration.

Since we've established you're taking care of the basics (mechanicals in good tune, proper tire inflation, avoiding baggage, no unnecessary load on engine, etc) and that you don't intend to dramatically change the appearance or behavior of the car, the only two major changes left to make are a "belly pan" or "air dam" (these can be done very subtly, as to be literally invisible to anyone other than a smurf) - and adapting your driving behavior to minimize fuel consumption. Beyond that, there's just not a lot of easy/invisible/cheap MPG's to gain.

Many folks here are aiming for absolute minimum fuel consumption - which is awesome! - but more often than not the real gains come from seriously altering your car, and often cost more time and money than the financial payback from the efficiency itself is worth.

[vacationtime247]

'Xcuse me but I just got to chime in here....

The PT Cruiser is awful. Got mine on the cheap and fixed it up. The more I learned about it, the less I liked it. It has a coefficient of drag at .39, this is horrible for such a small car. It weighs 3100 pounds. Ever tried to take out the back seats? Seats literally weigh 100 pounds and more if they're leather. Take those out if it's an option.

Remove the spare tire, jack & lower rack. Check the suspension and alignment. Mine had a bad tie rod end and a bad rear control arm bushing. A bad alignment will kill your fuel mileage. Rotate the tires front to back.

Being honest, having one myself, I'd trade it. Get a 6 spd Pontiac Vibe or Toyota Matrix. The Chevy HHR look similar but get better mpg.
VT247

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by shovel

naturally the men and women who design today's cars aren't clowns.... if smooth hubcaps (or wheels) would offer a 5mpg improvement on the same car, that's how they'd sell 'em by default because that would be an easy way to meet federal standards & sell more cars (that's the business they're in, after all)

Very few mods offer large % efficiency increases. To dismiss smooth wheels/covers because they're only worth a few percent improvement means by extension you must go down the entire list of potential mods dismissing one after the next for the exact same reason.

There is no magic bullet - there is only magic buckshot.

(Well, there actually are a few magic bullets, but most people won't go for them for reasons of complexity, practicality or aesthetics.)

Vehicle designers routinely leave an enormous amount of inefficiency in vehicle design because they're bound by a relatively narrow view of "consumer acceptability" in both aesthetics & (ever rising bar for) performance. If efficient design sold vehicles, our fleet would look radically different than it does today. The fact is, most people think efficient design looks weird, and they wouldn't buy it vs. what is typically marketed to the sheeple as sexy.

---

There's a PT Cruiser in my town with smooth stainless or aluminum aftermarket wheel discs. I think they look fantastic on the car. They're fairly expensive, though, so probably won't pay for themselves in fuel savings. So you would need to be more creative than that - search the forum for ideas others have used to make DIY covers (e.g. coroplast, other thin plastics, fiberglass).

[shovel]

MetroMPG, read the paragraph directly below the one you quoted

[Wonderjava]

hey metro i see your car gets 67 mpg, you *******, you make me jealous, if i could get that from my pt, id be the happiest woman on the face of the planet. come modify my car for me!!! on a serious note...what is an air dam? is that the spoiler type thing you see in the front under the car? or is that something im not aware of? ive had the car checked from top to bottom, and most things ive already had fixed or replaced other than the egr system issue. if i have to live with the mpg it gets now then i will, but im not about to trade her in for something else because i am quite fond of her now and so is my husband. unfortunately with him being in the hospital i would never be able to take the rear seat out myself, i have tried to lift them and they are just weighing a ton i think. and they are leather seats. since im by myself right now removing the spare tire and jack is not an option, seeing as i dont have roadside assistance with my car insurance at the moment. the alignment is alright, but not the best, i have had it checked by a certified mechanic and he says it will need to be aligned in the couple months, because it is starting to go out of alignment at the moment. suspension is fine, rear bushings and cv joints and wheel bearings have all been replaced on the vehicle. if/when i can come up with $450 for a set of 4 new tires i will get them changed, right now the car has used tires on it. ive already replaced a headlight bulb by myself (yay for me!), which was a complete pain in my @ss. since the chrysler dealer here wanted to charge me $35 to replace a build i had just replaced, they told me that the headlight was not adjustable, so i took it somewhere else to get the headlight adjusted and i didnt get charged anything, i just didnt have the torque wrench to do it with. the chrysler dealer here is full of nothing but obvious idiots. ive looked on youtube about most of the stuff that people have mentioned in this thread and most of it seems like im gonna be dishing out quite a bit of dough to get this stuff done. i wouldnt mind the cosmetic changes, if i knew i wouldnt feel like an idiot rolling down the street in a car that looked like a boat for the most part, no offense to those of you who have modified your cars to that extent. my car is a land yacht, i want to change that, but not in the extreme way that ive seen that some of you have done to yours. i want to get the best mpg possible for my money, if that means drastic mechanical changes and taking out the rear seats, etc, then i will do just that, but i cant and wont do any cosmetic changes to the vehicle without some VERY serious consideration for my image and reputation where i work at. yes this is about getting the best mpg possible while protecting my image and reputation at work, if i roll down the street with a client in my car that looks like a boat, things will not go very well for me. so i need to make sure i dont go to that extent.