Whats your best ecomod?

[ptjones]

During the winter time you could use Grill Covers to retain the heat from the ICE.

[JohnAh]

The craziest ecomod I have tried was when I lobotomised the engine in my previous car, a little Fiat 127. A conrod big-end bearing seized and I could not find a replacement engine cheap and quick enough. Instead I ripped out the bad conrod with it's piston, and it's neighbor to get better mechanical balance. I welded the oil jets in the crank, removed the valve lifters (OHC) and cut som clearance in the cams with an angle grinder. I re-used the cylinder head gasket with some cheap liquid seal and drove the now only 525cc two cylinder engine for 4000 km in 1½ year with almost no problems before I sold the car as spareparts to another Fiat 127 owner.

I had to run the engine extremely hard with lots of down-shifting and high revs all the time. The fuel consumption went down almost 15% due to increased load and reduced engine friction. 20-25 hp max in a 750 kg non-aerodynamic car is a bad equation. It would be interesting to try something similar with a car that has better power margins.

Engine downsizing may definitely be one way to improve fuel economy. It can be done very cheap, it doesn't change the appearance of the car (except for accoustic appearance ) but I would personaly go for things like aeromods and Burn & Glide driving and keep the power margins in the engine.

Here's my old downsizing blog/report (mainly in swedish) with photos and som videos:
Projektblogg - Fiat 127 engine downsizing

[JohnAh]

Google translation of my Fiat 127 engine lobotomy to english:
https://translate.google.se/translat...-text=&act=url

Hmm, Google translation is quite amusing... I hope my own english is a bit better than that even when I miss a word here and there.

[Shawn D.]

Originally Posted by JohnAh

Cubic/square, that sounds clear, thanks!

I'm familiar with both "Pinging" and "detonation" as names for the condition when fuel ignites by preassure/temperature from another location than the spark plug. If I have understood right, the noise comes from two wavefronts/pressure waves meeting with a sharp mechanical chock as a result.

What I tried to describe is a phenomenon that keeps the engine running for some second or even more the moment after the ignition have been switched off. -Same words in english?

You're welcome.

Generally, yes -- it's two wave fronts hitting each other. It can melt pistons, break ring lands, and damage bearings.

Running after shut off is called "dieseling," as the engine is running like a diesel with no ignition from a plug. It smells horrible and stings your eyes! This doesn't happen with electronic fuel injection, as the fuel is cut off, but can continue with mechanical injection or a carburetor. This is why some carburetors have a solenoid that the idle stop screw rests on while the ignition is on; it retracts when the ignition is shut off and shuts the throttle blade(s) completely (or nearly so) to shut off the air flow.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by JohnAh

20-25 hp max in a 750 kg non-aerodynamic car is a bad equation.

Respect!

[ever_green]

Does ecu flash count?

I tuned my ecu for lean burn under part throttle. Given the gains were minimal (~2mpg) it is still my favorite.

[BabyDiesel]

Originally Posted by ever_green

Does ecu flash count?

I assume with great confidence that you didn't employ lean burn to lower your 60 foot E.T. times

So yes!

[Eddie25]

I am really surprized at just how many of you say gauges and engine kill switch. I would have thought the biggest gains were to be made in the aero departments. this was immediately where I was going to focus on but now it has changed my strategy somewhat. Engine off coasting will not be possible as my car has power steering and brakes heavily depend on engine running. I will be doing mostly highway travel. climb to work and freewheel back home. it is quite a busy road and I will need to break and swerve at a moments notice to avoid the truck and taxis here that drive as they please.

[Fat Charlie]

Most of us deal with more predictable traffic.

[PaleMelanesian]

It partly depends on your normal driving routes. If you do lots of highway driving, sure, aerodynamics would be a big improvement. If, like me, most of your time is spent at city speeds (below 45 mph), the big costs to mileage are in accelerating and braking and idling. A gauge is useful to know how to manage those optimally. On the highway, aerodynamic drag is the biggest cost and there's not much accelerating and braking and idling.