Whats your best ecomod?

[cowmeat]

My car already has an instant mpg readout that is similar to the scangauge, and it is the single most effective tool I use. It tells me in real time how my driving habits are affecting the car, and of course changing my driving habits has gained me more mpg than any other mod.

As far as all the actual mods I have slapped on on Turtle are concerned, I use three of them in conjunction with each other to really boost my mpg: Injector kill switch, clutch switch, and brake regen button. If I had to choose between those three and could only have one, it would be the clutch switch, since as a stand-alone mod it would help the most. But the three together have a big impact.

Pump those tires up, too. Those are the only part of the car in contact with the road!

[3-Wheeler]

Biggest mod?.....

..... Adding the tail.

I tend to drive slow on back country roads, and the tail is an indication that something is different with this vehicle.

Most people get the idea and pass right away. Some will sit and follow even though they could easily pass, wait for another car to follow, THEN pass after the trailing car passes. Doesn't make any sense to me, but I see that every so often. I've been honked at four times in seven years.

Driving slower on country roads is the biggest consistent gain for me. Same for the motorcycle. 80mpg on a old Honda 500.

Jim.

[dirtydave]

You got +9MPG without a MPG gauge?!? wow! impressive!

Now go get a scangauge or a ultragauge or a Bluetooth OBD2 plug.

Even speed freaks need one!

[mcrews]

I have to agree....scangauge. See the link in my signature. Several cars before had mpg gauges, but the scangauge is like playing a video game!

[bluesteel93]

For me it was converting the car to lean burn, but that doesn't really count considering it should have had lean burn to begin with. MPGuino is definitely up there as number two.

[Eddie25]

geez! guess im ordering a scangauge then! my other car has a digital readout and I do use the feedback to get optimum FE and throttle positions like mentioned above. I have managed to implement that driving style into the current car im using. but what about aerodynamics? any earo mods other than the boat tail to give significant improvements?

[oldtamiyaphile]

As far as aero mods go it's generally grill block, air dam, and smooth wheel covers. Tails etc show big gains but take longer to implement.

[RedDevil]

Like Cowmeat I got most of the data I need from my car already so my UltraGauge, though nice to have, is not the biggest gain (in itself).

Airing up the tires was. Going from 2.4 Bar to 3.0 (42 psi) did raise my economy by more than 5%.

The lower and upper grill block add a few %, but you need to monitor engine and air intake temperature with that - in comes the UltraGauge.

I made a wing shaped sleeve for my antenna stalk: a solid 0.01% improvement

My HIDs use 40 Watts less than the halogens they replaced and make sure I get enough light from my HID approved but slightly inefficient projector headlights.
I reckon the gas savings is some 20 CC per hour used; say a gallon in 200 hours.

I foam taped the seams, cannot guess what that saves me but wind noise is reduced.

Ultra thin Green Oil did not have much effect until the cold season arrived; now it saves me some every cold start.

[D.O.G.]

I agree with most of the comments so far.

Real time MPG feedback is a great help. I only have a vacuum gauge, but will get an MPGuino one of these days.

A well thought out kill switch helped, but I can't put a figure to it.

The best ecomod I did (and can give a hard result for) was fitting taller tyres to raise overall gearing.
I went from 195/50 R15 to 195/60 R15 for just over 5% MPG gain. I'd go to 195/65 R15 next time, but they may not fit under the strut coils.

[Eddie25]

Originally Posted by D.O.G.

I agree with most of the comments so far.

Real time MPG feedback is a great help. I only have a vacuum gauge, but will get an MPGuino one of these days.

A well thought out kill switch helped, but I can't put a figure to it.

The best ecomod I did (and can give a hard result for) was fitting taller tyres to raise overall gearing.
I went from 195/50 R15 to 195/60 R15 for just over 5% MPG gain. I'd go to 195/65 R15 next time, but they may not fit under the strut coils.

that is exactly what I want to do. get slightly taller tyres with almost exact same increase in radius as your tyre change. however im afraid that this will have an adverse effect on power. I travel in very hilly terrain and I might need to gear down more to get up a hill. im still considering eco tyres vs taller tyres as the front tyres need changing. but I don't know what will work in my favour