Very Ironic!!!...Doncha think?

[basslover911]

I do it for the challenge. Too many speeding tickets made me take a slower hobby. And you would be surprised- its MUCH harder to get 20% better fuel economy than 20% faster acceleration or 20% more hp (I have done tuning for economy AND hp so I know first hand).

Plus recently (going back home from school) soooo many of my friends have been asking me "I heard you get like 40mpg?! Its practically a hybrid!". Anyone can put an exhaust system on a car, but not everybody can take engine efficiency, aerodynamics, and many other variables into account.

Again, its a challenge for me... WHILE saving gas

[Bicycle Bob]

I'm in it to prove the point and refine the means more than anything else. Broadly speaking, any behavior that improves conservation and reduces pollution is more rational and survival-oriented than other choices about allocating resources. Thus, it boosts optimism and improves my mood more than other luxuries would. It is also more interesting and educational than TV.

[blueflame]

I'm saving a lot of money.

I have radically changed the way I drive, and positively influence other motorists around me, by example.

Most regulars here, 98% of the time, do things on the cheap and do not waste money.

There is irony everywhere....some say we are born into the grave.
Compared to robotic mall inspired living and thinking, this god awful derision could be more properly directed.

There are many things to find fault with in the world...

Ecomodders and their god awful ideas being in the mean spirited list?

Doncha think????

[Funny]

You are probably generalizing too much. What about those of us who have access to cheap parts? Junk yards? Family members/friends that are dumping their cars?

A junk run often time nets you with a part that you can't easily find, like a gear for a transmission, or a $100 tranny. These types of modifications are also partly for the enjoyment of besting others. Competition drives a lot of hypermilers.

So you have made a blanket statement, though it does have some truths in it because cost over time ratio is important, but it depends on the mod, and the sources.

[bikin' Ed]

My few mods have been done inexpensively, therefore have a short payback time. I will then be able to save more money to do more costly improvements.

The other thing to think about is that stuff brakes or wears out. That is the perfect time to repair your vehicle with an appropriate mod.

[guudasitgets]

I have owned and driven some really neat cars in my day, 62 Jaguar XKE, 85 Porsche 911, 4-440 Magnum Dodge Chargers, 69 Mustang Mach-1(428SCJ), and I really could buy whatever quick sports car there is out there but I would hate myself. Number one to me why buy some sports car when I could enjoy a new race car for the same money and go fast legally. Number two when I started driving in competition in 1978 that was pretty much the last of the fast driving on the public roads. It changes you, and you loose the need to prove yourself to other people on the regular highway. I became an eccono-nut ever since. Starting with old Datsuns. I would get all the throwaway parts from guys running them in the sedan classes so I would try to do it on the cheap. Exhausts, light wheels etc. The present car I bought for $300, I have in it a total of $750 in it as it needed things that had to be repaired and when it came to tires I bought Geo Metro skinny tires instead and that was 3mpg right there. I was driving a V8 Ford Explorer that would get around 16mpg. With this car I'm averaging in the mid 30's, it's winter here so sometimes the roads have a half a foot of smow on them and I have to drive the Explorer, other days it's very cold, and up till now mostley below zero so the milage in the Ford Aspire has been low (mid 30's) I'm hoping for mid 40mpg when it gets warmer. But to your point I spent very little and I got a lot back. First, obvoiusly I got a second car, second I cut my fuel cost in half, I remmember spending $65 one week to fill up my truck, with the car it only has an 8.5gal tank so it would have been much less. so for me it works out money wise.

[cfg83]

bikin' Ed -

Originally Posted by bikin' Ed

My few mods have been done inexpensively, therefore have a short payback time. I will then be able to save more money to do more costly improvements.

The other thing to think about is that stuff brakes or wears out. That is the perfect time to repair your vehicle with an appropriate mod.

110% agreement.

CarloSW2

[basjoos]

Since I'm driving a 16 year car, my basic rule is that every mod I do to my car has to pay for itself in fuel savings within 2 years. So far I have spent $400 in aero mods and have raised my mileage from the mid 40's to the high 60's. Since I drive about 35,000 miles a year, my mods have paid for themselves many times over. The above rule is why I don't have a lean burn VX engine in my car yet. But when my current engine wears out and needs rebuilding or replacing, then I will consider putting a VX engine in my car.

[SlowMo]

I recently learned about this forum and haven't done any mods yet, but I'd like to when I have time and the weather gets warmer (no garage).

Why? just because I have the itch to mess with things and I like to make stuff.

I could go the horsepower route but I've lost most of my interest in that direction. I used to work on racecars and eventually lost my taste for the waste -customer cars that would go through many sets of tires in a weekend, a 1275cc mini cooper that got 8-10mpg on track, V8 cars getting 2mpg. Great fun, great sounds but ultimately too rich for me and I've gotten more interested in environmental issues and I left that line of work. For competition these days, I try to chase down any guy in spandex while I bike to/from work.

Ecomodding looks like a different way to play the game, but instead of trying to go faster I'm trying to go the same speed using less energy. I'm not going to drive 55mph everywhere, but can I go 70-75mph and get the same fuel efficiency that I would if I did drive 55... without spending thou$ands, of course.

[Matt Herring]

Midnight - Way to throw a T-bone steak in a room of hungry tigers to see what happens...Seems as if you got the reaction you were looking for!

I've been hypermiling/ecomodding for almost a full year now...found ecomodder in June. I'm not at all mechanically-inclined so my only mods are driving style, neutral P&G and PSI at max (simple adjustments every driver can make for FREE). Since taking an interest in saving fuel/money via the vehicle I have:

a) Reduced my fuel consumption by approx. 15% a month (including going 30 days on 1 tank).
b) Increased my overall mpg from 16 to 20 (a 25% improvement which equates to approx. 3500 free miles a year for me compared to my previous year driving).
c) Started my own "Super Commuter Driving School" where everyday drivers actually pay me to show them how to get better mpg's (my first month in business paid for my scanguage and a months worth of gas).
d) Recruited two co-workers to join in the Ecomodder fun!

Everybody has their own reasons for modding whether it be reducing consumption, saving money or mechanical hobbying. All are a GOOD thing!