Started wrenching on that nut...

[Slow_s10]

You know, the one that connects the steering wheel to the seat.

But I just wanted to say wow. I feel like a complete moron when I look back at the way that I used to drive. Over the last week or so I have drastically altered my driving style and so far the results look very promising. Unfortunately I don't have any hard numbers to share yet but I have been driving using the Torque app on my phone mainly paying attention to the Instant and Average MPG screens. Here is a screen shot from my phone as of this morning as I was coasting down an overpass.



As you can see my phone is reporting that my average mileage so far is around 25MPG. That might not seem very impressive to most folks (especially here) but considering that just a couple months ago I was averaging around 14.5~15 MPG in this truck to me this is phenominal. Now for what it's worth I am already making preperations to stop using this truck as my daily driver mainly because it is such a fuel hog. But these numbers are very encouraging in that when I start driving my more efficent truck they will compound even further.

Now for what it's worth I know the number that I am getting from the application on my phone is not set in stone and I will not really know what my actual average is untill I fill up my truck again. But like I said these numbers are very encouraging to me. And despite the fact that I had not really started eco driving the truck until a few trips into this tank and I also let my wife borrow it a couple times, I am hopeful that when I actually fill it up it will pretty close to 20mpg at the pump, which if that's the case would still be by far the best mileage that this truck has ever got.

But I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here for helping me to open my eyes and learn how to drive smarter.

[2000neon]

That's awesome! Going from 14 to 25 mpg is really impressive, good for you. The great thing is that will work no matter what vehicle you drive, and the price of the mods is right, FREE!

[Slow_s10]

Yep I pretty much feel like kicking myself squarely in the ass now for driving the way I used to. It was pointless, more stressful and now I see that it was also incredibly wasteful. I actually can't wait to put gas in my truck again so I can find out exactly where it is now.

[ecomodded]

You will see a nice gain i imagine.
The worst driver you were the more gains you will see.
Keep your tire pressure up, its very important to long coast and lower rolling resistance. My tires are 45 psi sidewall but i keep them at 50 psi, they coast incredibly far while at this pressure.
Welcome to the site.

[Oelmensch]

Very nicely done!

[Mustang Dave]

The "nut behind the steering wheel" is a major factor in fuel economy.

[JRMichler]

Originally Posted by Slow_s10

I actually can't wait to put gas in my truck again so I can find out exactly where it is now.

That's going to take longer now.

[thomason2wheels]

I am truly impressed. And curious, what is the app you are using on your phone to give u this info....I'd love to try it too.

[Tzfardaya]

Originally Posted by thomason2wheels

I am truly impressed. And curious, what is the app you are using on your phone to give u this info....I'd love to try it too.

heh, he said he's using torque in the original post (android app).
it also requires the use of a elm bluetooth adapter/dongle... but those can be had for fairly cheap from ebay.

i use a similar setup, but with the more expensive Garmin EcoRoute HD bluetooth adapter (not compatible with the torque app) and the Garmin Mechanic android App..

Newer Bluetooth enabled garmin gpsr's tend to have fairly nice tie-ins to android phoned these days.. they can be used as standard "headsets" for any bluetooth phone, but android phones can be used as "modems" by the gpsr's to download realtime weather maps, traffic maps, and some other extra bits and bobs...

[Slow_s10]

Well the fillup before last was not exactly the 25mpg my app was showing and while I didn't honestly expect it to be it was a lot lower than I expected. My final fuel economy for that fillup ended up being just 17.6 MPG. Which while not anywhere close to 25 mpg is still light years better than the 14.5MPG average I was getting just a few months ago. Granted I am not going to lie the traffic around here has been much better recently which probably has as much of an impact on my mileage as my driving style does.

Still the best keeps getting better this morning I filled up and set a new personal best in this truck by a long shot. I still am partially wondering if this is a fluke or if it was really that good. But when I stopped to get gas this morning the truck's on board MPG display was reading 18.8mpg. When I was done filling and actually did the math I ended up with an amazing 19.3mpg! The only thing I did other than changing how I have been driving was to inflate my tires a little over the stock reccomended pressure. This is awesome, and I am already shooting to break 20 on my next fillup... The roof rack might just be coming back off when I get home tonight.