Very Ironic!!!...Doncha think?

[dremd]

Just like hotrodding but for another set of reasons.
And exactley when did I have to justify perfomance mods?

[midnight rumbler]

Well, I truly expected the results I had gotten.

This thread was really to see how conservative most individuals are when it comes to the cost to fuel savings and as we can all see by the above mentioned posts, 98% of the members on this board are conservative.

As for me, I have already started to modify my vehicle and have since installed a tach and a vacuum gauge, changed out the old fuel filter and will see what these results net me. The cost of the tach,gauge and fuel filter came out to $58.00. I am sure with having a lighter foot thanks to the vac gauge, I will have the fuel savings equivelant to the cost of the above items within the next two fill-ups.

My next plan is to make the truck a little more aerodynamic, and no, not the embarrassing aerodynamic some people are taking, I just can't let that one go

[trikkonceptz]

Some of us do modify our vehicles beyond the cost of fuel savings payback. I am one of those and will continue to do so.

However if done properly your initial cash outlay to see massive results is minimal. Here is what I mean.

The most meaningful mod you can do for free is change your driving habits. I saw the greatest gains from doing that. I saw my mileage race past sticker in no time. For many that should be enough and therefore, goal accomplished.

However on this site you will find many shade tree engineers that are not happy unless they push the envelope, therefore, they begin tweaking vehicles to see how far their skills can take them. This begins the game and thus the point where mods will not necessarily begin to payoff quick enough.

I think you drew your conclusions from the many shade tree engineers that love squeezing an extra mpg out of every tank with changes to their vehicles. I am one of them and willing to chop up my car to the point where I am driving a home made aptera made out of a Vibe. Reason; Because I learned how to, no matter what the expense.

I am also guilty of modifying a Scion xB way past its resale value just to see if I could and to earn the accolades that go along with it. No sensible reasoning there either.

Regarding your personal goals, if you have a truck your goal should be to get to sticker mileage or a small percentage above. If your goals are more aggressive than that, you either started out with the wrong vehicle or are doomed to make the mods you so openly object to in your post.

[midnight rumbler]

I am more or less trying to see what I can squeeze out of the vehicle I am working with which is a Cube Van.

Average fuel mileage before I started anything was 27 LP/100km or 10 MPG and this is with about 15-20 fill-ups. Obviosuly with that, I know I can get alot better than this so I am also guilty of the shade-tree engineer as I am going to push my truck to the limits as well as my driving habits and see what I can net for conversation sakes.

The only exterior modification I will make personally to the truck is a grill insert and a front valance. Looking into making a plexi-glass insert directly across the front of the grill and angle it up partially to become a bug-deflector as well.

I may end up putting an aerodynamic top on the cab where it meets the box as this is where I am losing any sort of aerodynamics as these are what they are, a big cube pushing against the wind. I can only imagine what I am losing MPG wise with this.....

[Nevyn]

Originally Posted by midnight rumbler

My next plan is to make the truck a little more aerodynamic, and no, not the embarrassing aerodynamic some people are taking, I just can't let that one go

Basjoos is our hero!

[azraelswrd]

I don't really go into $$$ mod (I still use blue tape after all) but what I execute is for my own benefit. I want to feel efficient when I drive and to do that I can either drive less or drive smart. I choose to do both. Gas is very cheap now but why stop being efficient? It's kind of like how some people stop exercising when they reach their target weight/goal... sort of defeats the overall point to me by celebrating your goal and jumping off the deep end. Prices may rise and fall but I'm still here and I've got to live with it.

[basslover911]

Ok this is pointless... Let just leave it at this.

Some people modify cars for power, is that necessary with 65mph speed limits? No. Some people lift their trucks, and 99% of them are ALWAYS clean... meaning they never off road; again, is that necessary? Nope...

Why do we do it? Just a hobby like many other unnecessary and money sucking hobbies do. But when adding a turbocharger ($3,000 lets say), you don't only pay that and your set- you pay $3,000 initially and continue to fund the turbo by paying more for gas, or higher octane gas.

Us, on the other hand, pay $3,000 (lets say, for a custom fiberglass bumper and a transmission swap and LRR tires)- but instead of costing us MORE and MORE, it actually recoups those $3,000. Slowly, but it does- unlike performance mods.