STiG: The Greenest Vehicle on Ecomodder...
 

...by far.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1481032983

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1481032983

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1481032983

After a 13 month wait, my new van is finally here. It's a fully loaded LWB Renault Trafic dCi140 (1.6 litre twin turbo diesel, 140hp, 340Nm). It directly replaces the VW T5 that I had, and I've also done away with the Kangoo+ trailer combo I was running while waiting for this to arrive (although that's kind of replaced by my vintage pick up). Yes, that's 1.6 litres rated to a GVM of 5 tons!

The engine has some interesting tech like variable flow oil and water pumps. The warm up time is certainly very short, up to temp in under 2km.

Factory stop start, works great. If you're in neutral the system responds when you just start to push on the clutch pedal - by the time the pedal reaches the bottom of it's stroke, the engine is already running. This makes in impossible to beat the S/S. With the car in gear, obviously it can't start until the clutch is fully disengaged, so it's not as quick, but still excellent.

For a company that heavily pushes the 'eco' angle, they sure did do a poor job of the push button start system. Push once for the ACC position, push with clutch or brake pressed engine starts, that's fine.

But, let's say you want to let the car cool down before driving away, well you can't because the ACC only turns on the radio, you can't so much as open a window without the engine running! Same goes for the vent fan. You can imagine how annoying this might be if there's a summer afternoon storm (or you decide to wash the car) and you have to start your engine just to close the windows fully. I might have the get some rain shields just so as to reduce that issue. At least I optioned manual sliding windows in the cargo doors, so there's some chance of keeping temperatures while parked low.

When I arrive, I like to switch of the engine immediately (of course) and the vents will continue to blow cold air for a minute or two while I get my things, put up the silver foil on the windscreen etc. Well I can't! The stop button kills everything dead, which is also bad for bacteria building up in the A/C system. So basically you're forced to idle the engine the minute you get in, and until the moment you're ready to get out. When stop start works, the A/C fan keeps running so at least that half of the issue is mostly solved.

It's a relatively minor thing, but it's a major annoyance.

The push button start also means an electronic steering lock, so you can't roll down a hill to start without (almost guaranteed) the steering locking up. The manual warns that sometimes you might have to wiggle the steering wheel for the unlock to work (like with a manual system), so roll starts are a no-no. There's no way to EOC, not that I'd do that much with a turbo diesel anyway, but still. UPDATE: I tried gingerly rolling down hill with the engine off from an ignition off start, and the steering DID unlock automatically, but that assumes the steering is straight ahead, if you've parked with some lock on, it's not going to work.

The old key start would be much better for pure hypermiling, but the trade offs are more or less worth it so I don't have to constantly dig around in my pocket for the key fob (it's a working van).

Economy for the first tank came in at 7.86 in mostly city use (I did a few highway miles in the interests of break in) - that's already No2 in the Diesel trucks category. That's 0.3 (lifetime) better than the VW it replaces, though it doesn't have the outright grunt that the 2.5 did, but it's still does 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds which is more than adequate, and it doesn't have that tyre spinning lag that the VW did ( you know, nothing, nothing, BOOST, wheelspin). The tiny twin turbo is much more pleasant to drive around town. So the first 1000km tank is already under it's belt, this current tank looks set to hit 1100.

Once the van's fully broken in, I expect 6's or better will be possible, with mods that could be lower still! Best commute to date was a 5.9.

Renault Australia are offsetting CO2 emissions for all green coloured vans sold up to 210,000km. So Stig is zero carbon too.

The stock CD is quoted as a disappointing 0.352, with European Opel Ecoflex models scoring 0.34 - I've been unable to determine what the differences are, they look identical outwardly, so I assume the Ecoflex must have some undertray panels, which of course I will look to acquire and retrofit or just make my own. I've spotted one or two anchor points on the underside.

Rear box cavityish:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1481032983

Size comparison to Prius:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1481032983

Mods so far:
LED Stop/ Tail and interior lights (DRL's on back order at VLEDS)
Tow bar
Powder coated wheels black

Phone holder is too small for my phone with it's Lifeproof case, but I don't really want it there anyway, so it makes for a handy SGII mount. I'll buy a spare mount and cut it down in time for a better fit:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1481032983

I like!!! We don't get Renaults in Canada

That is indeed a VERY green van! :D

What's up with the colour/CO2 offset program? They're literally and figuratively marketing them as green?

That does sound really annoying. I don't like pushbutton starters for several of the reasons you mention. Give me a traditional key, please.

Might it be possible to reprogram the behaviour of the button? Some cars are electronically more configurable than others either with the right equipment or at the dealer.

Dude 29 is amazing in a van that size. I sure wish they would have stuff like that in the states!

I'm jealous. I drive a similarly sized van for work, a Chevy Express 2500. It has pleasantly tall gearing but even so I'm struggling to extract more than 18-20mpg out of the 6.0L V8.

It's not so fair to compare those American full-size vans designed around a full-size truck driveline and their Euro counterparts developed from the ground up with ease of use and efficiency in mind. Even though they're usually smaller on the outside, their loading bay can be quite roomy.


I didn't know it would take so long for a shipment from the UK to reach Australia.


Are you sure it's a 5-ton gross vehicle weight instead of a gross combined weight? Anyway, it's still impressive that a 1.6L engine would do that task.

They don't really push it in marketing that I've seen, I only found out from their commercial division newsletter.

Renault don't even tell you the oil grade or set out a service schedule, they're probably not going to offer any alternative, but yes some do allow you to chose programming like that.

Well, 30 actually ;)

That's 1.6 vs 6.0 for you. It's still faster than some hatchbacks and the like so no complaints there. It's also a unibody and FWD so it drives pretty much like a car or smaller SUV. FWD means the load floor is only 24" above the ground, much easier to load and get into the back.

Load space of my van is 6.0m3 vs 6.7 for an E250. An E250 is 4" longer and about 1" wider.

I looked at the Iveco that's built on a 'full size' truck chassis, but the compromises weren't really worth the slight advantage of RWD. But even those manage 30mpg without issue.

Yup, I meant to write GCM. Renaults even in RHD are French built, not rebadged Vivaros. It took a while because demand exceeded supply.

Any restrictions on a full vinyl wrap? Will you need commercial signage?

With the sculpted body sides I see some opportunity for Larry Watson (1950s Bellflower, CA)-style panel painting.

I want to do some hand written old fashioned sign writing on the F-1, but I think the van will just stay as is.

I bet it doesn't really need much to stand out from the crowd anyways...

I already suspected as much based on my Fiat 500 (which also has a tiny turbo engine) that P&G doesn't work for a car like this.

But today I had a bit of time to kill so I thought I'd prove it.

I have a ~4mile test loop, it circles a lake so it's pretty flat and being a loop cancels out any wind assistance, not that there was any. There are three sets of traffic lights on the loop but I pretty much caught one red per loop so they roughly cancelled out.

Weather was in the 35*C range, auto A/C on, target speed 74km or 46MPH. Accelerating at 80% load.

First loop, constant speed SGII reported 5.35l/100km or 44MPG, also recorded the highest AVG speed.

Next up was P&G using DFCO, that netted 6.9 or 34MPG

Finally, P&G using neutral coast, that netted 6.4 or 37MPG, however at the lowest AVG speed.

The clear winner is the steady state cruise, you'd want to run the test a number of times before deciding between DFCO and neutral, I literally can't feel the difference when I put the clutch in and a closed eye passenger couldn't either. The van uses a relatively large amount of fuel when in neutral as it idles at around 1.3-1.7L/hr.

EOC isn't possible with the push button start.

At a steady 74km/h I was averaging 3.8l/100 or 62 MPG US :thumbup:

I changed out the factory fill oil at 3260km, ideally I'd have done it a bit sooner, but you know...

When I removed the undertray, I was able to have a bit of a poke around under there.

First thing I spotted was the in line electric water pump to cool the turbo after shut down (the actual water pump is a variable geometry design). This explains why I can hear a whine much like the Prius inverter pump after shut down:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1488082571

It seems that this would be a good idea for anyone with a turbo doing much engine off stuff. My Fiat has factory S/S and no such pump!

Electro-Hydraulic Power steer pump. This explains why the steering works with the engine off, but it feels like hydraulic steering:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1488082571

Could be useful for swaps into bigger vehicles where the Toyota MR2 pump might be insufficient. I didn't look into how complex the wiring is, but probably not as simple as the Toyota three wire hook up.

That electric water pump cooling the turbos after shut-off is one of the best ideas I've seen implemented yet.

I don't know about the push button on this van but on
Ford 's, you push and hold till engine shuts off while coasting

Discussion thread:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post546507

It's amazing given all the affordable tech available these days, how few people are curious enough to actually test things, instead of going by 'what always worked' etc.

Since I do my own tinting and my van has two identical rear windows side by side, I figured I owe it to my own curiosity and Ecomodder to test my window tint for myself.

Here are the specs for my lifetime guarantee USA made film (I think Johnson & Johnson brand).

UV Rejected 99%
Visible Light Transmittance 20%
Visible Light Reflected- Exterior 5%
Visible Light Reflected- Interior 5%
Total Solar Energy Rejected 58%

Conditions, sunny winters day 15*C ambient, taken at midday (rear windows facing north).

Interior/Exterior Glass surface temperatures:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1501724690

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1501724690

Black MDF shelves left inside to simulate a dash board etc:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1501724690

So an 8*C temp reduction for about a $50 investment :thumbup:

Interesting. I could use some on the window I'm sitting next to right now. It's 102°F (38.89°C)

How much material did you get for that $50?

$50 buys about 6m (20') of film at around 600mm (2') wide. House windows are really easy to do, car windows take a bit of practice, so I'd recommend buying double what you actually need, if you've never done it before, depending on how tricky your windows are.

I'm thinking of an Airstream trailer, one roll would do all 12 windows.

Minor update. Record commute this tank.

4.6/100km or 51MPG US city.

Not bad for 2+ tons.

When I refilled my tank SG calibration was spot on so that's a fairly accurate number.

The two way average for the day was still an impressive 5.3, or 44MPG.

The tank itself was a fairly average 6.8, that's the effect of the summer heat.

Very impressive. Congrats!

Wow, thats impressive!

Without deleting your emissions equipment?

All basically stock - still have 4 years factory warranty left. This engine has a lot of tricky stuff in it like variable geometry oil and water pumps so maybe they've cracked the emissions with economy paradigm? I've only noticed one DPF burn so if it happens every 3000km (during a very occasional highway run), it's probably not going to have a measurable impact on economy.

Oh I do run DPF cleaner every tank If you look at my fuel log there's a dip in the 5th tank where I didn't run it. It's expensive but pays for itself and claims all sort of benefits like keeping the EGR clean etc.

The only real mod I have is solar panels that ensure my battery is 100% charged every morning- that means stop start works 90% of the time with my one traffic light per km commute.

The new van averages 18.5mph, the old van only managed 16mph (lifetime) matching NEDC's city speed. The new van is faster on paper but I generally don't drive it faster, so I think I've gotten better at avoiding the real trouble spots over the years.

I sit up really high - it gives me almost supernatural traffic anticipatory skills. With a throttle less 1.6 and 2+ tons I have next to no engine braking (you feel no difference when you put the clutch in!) so I use a LOT of DFCO. So much in fact that my thermostat never opens fully - new European cars seem to be set up that way for whatever reason.

How is the DPF cleaner supposed to work?


Sometimes the lack of engine braking in a Diesel becomes quite a PITA. BTW what is DFCO?


It's quite surprising the thermostat wouldn't open fully. Not sure if that might be related to the emission controls, most noticeably the DPF regen which requires higher temperatures to work properly.

DPF cleaner works by lowering the combustion temperature of the soot caught in the DPF, making it burn off even in all city driving. It 100% works. In my old van I'd have the DPF light come on every 200km. After DPF cleaner, never saw the light again, and economy improved.

DFCO= Deceleration Fuel Cut Off. Throttle less engines (petrol or diesel) do DFCO very well.

Both my petrols and diesel behave the same way. In normal driving the thermostat barely opens (normal temp on the SG is 78*C), while the thermostat fully opens at 88*C. The radiator is barely warm after a drive.

That basically only happens when towing a trailer where I might see as high as 92*C.

Custom Windscreen Reflective Foil
 

I spent last weekend (with lots of breaks) making a custom fit window shade:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1517627529

It was a lot of work (all hand stitched), but it's so much nicer to have something that fits and blocks out virtually all the light. It's noticeably cooler than the nearest off the shelf size which was good for height, but about 150mm too narrow.

Now with matching road bike:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1517627940

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1517627940

It's an Italian Kuota brand frame with my old Di2 etc components. I love the new frame, it handles far better and is far more comfortable than the pro level frame it replaces. Doesn't look as good though :( I've added a new saddle, light weight battery (ditched the heavy Shimano battery mount and bottom junction box) Still waiting on a new handlebar and maybe stem. My luggage scale is broken so no weight as yet. Already averaging 24km/h which is not that much slower than the van, and within 2km/h of my old van.

Perforated black vinyl is what I’ll be using on the Silver Streak. Awnings really are the thing past that. Reflectix if the summer sun Load is constant.

Look into some of the 3M choices others use on AIR. Some of the laminated security films are impressive.

Nice van, OP. Forgive the OT post.

With a diesel one runs in a gear lower than required. Higher revs. Initiates slowing before moving to use service brake. Fact of life. Bad habit to do otherwise (Meaning the stunt of FE isn’t justified as bad habit more than offsets it).

.

The question was about the DPF cleaner product that oldtamiyaphile is using, not the forced regen. But anyway, that's definitely a PITA.

Not a 'traditional' ecomod, soundproofing!

Why? We all know that the biggest mod is adjusting the nut behind the wheel - with new cars the mods are few and far between. If the nut behind the wheel has an easier/ more comfortable time behind the wheel, they're likely to get better results.

A quieter cabin is more pleasant. A stripped out race car might be lighter, but it soon gets tiring, and a tired nut soon loses focus.

So I've added a bit more comfort, I sound proofed my doors. The floor already had really thick (almost 1") of foam on it. The difference is noticeable but not night and day.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536580556
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536580556

I've done a few cars now. I've learned that even though today's doors are really tricky, using as few pieces is still the way to go. Aluminium tape seals the edges to prevent them pealing and creating sound paths.

I also added a little mass loaded vinyl to the door skins.

Any economy lost to weight is likely gained back by improved thermal insulation:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536663043

Comfort is king! Two cents of tartar sauce could save us millions in productivity.

Radio on mod while cranking mod:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post578648

I also added a switch while I was in there so I can enjoy solar powered radio all day. Modern cars won't let you listen to more than about 20mins as a battery protection feature.

I had some Sony speakers bought on sale for another car, but decided to leave that car alone. I was really disappointed that the new van only had two door speakers, not even tweeters! The old model had dash top speakers (not really 'tweeters') and even the much cheaper Renault Kangoo I had before had tweeters.... So something had to be done.

I thought I'd share my install as I think it's quite clever.

The new speakers were slightly too small, I hate the idea of MDF spacers (MDF really has no place in a car), nor did I want to wait for ABS spacers that still might not fit. I also hate cutting factory wiring on even the oldest jalopy.

So, I cut the speakers :)

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536665425

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536665457

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536665486

The old speaker becomes the new speaker spacer. Don't have to drill out the rivets. The new speaker connects to the old speaker terminals, so all the wiring is intact. Only need a small hole in the speaker spacer to run your wires through, foam sealing tape and screw in the speaker.

Didn't get a pic of the finished job, but you know what a speaker looks like.

I used Milliput:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536665872

To reshape the tweeter mounting cups to fit my sail panels. I thought a textured finish would look more OEM, but the truck bedliner I had was too rough for my taste:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536666067

So gloss black it is, matching the vent rings:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536666129

Carefully chosen music assists my hypermiling.

Onto a more traditional mod, a wiper delete :)

I hate rear wipers, there's absolutely no need for them on a street car in Australia. Maybe on a flat rear screen like a Prius they still have some value, but not on vertical van rear windows.

The Traffic has twin doors, so it has twin wipers, but the wipers aren't mirrored, which would look better, but instead the look like this:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536666593

All they really do is add weight and make cleaning more difficult. Because they're in sheet metal, simple rubber plugs weren't really an option.

I chanced across stainless steel blanking plugs for kitchen sinks. They're available in raw stainless, or white powder coat. If you plan on painting them, go for powder coat. You'll get better adhesion than etch primer on stainless.

Since powder coat is a plastic, I started with adhesion promoter, then primer, and finally colour, the turned out like this:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536667027

Although they have a rubber backing gasket, I still wanted to protect my paint (should I ever want to fit the wipers back or it I find smaller blanking plugs - these are just a tiny bit bigger than they need be), so I covered the holes in my sheet metal with helicopter tape. This should also keep any water out as only the threads penetrate the tape.

On the inside, I didn't want metal to metal contact either, so I used a big rubber plumbing washer. This further helps the seal and means the wing nut is unlikely to back out.

The finished mod from inside:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536667355

and outside:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1536667534

~2.4kg (5lbs) saved, looks better and the windows are easier to clean :D

The van is still missing green tires, green steering wheel cover, green dashboard!
Green seat covers, green carpets..
I refuse to believe that it's the greenest, unless if it's totally green.

Green tint?

I need to look up helicopter tape!

Stay tuned, I plan on covering the entire van in heli tape/ aka clear bra/ aka paint protection film.

"Is that helicopter tape?"

"Nah, it's clear, brah!"

Looks sharp. And oh so green.

Genius! I wish I had seen this before I replaced the speakers in my VW.