What's your least efficient mod?

[Xist]

My neighbor went on a trip in his pickup, leaving his girlfriend's Civic. Both of them are small. They would have fit!

[Ecky]

Probably the sound system. When I turn it up, I end up getting 4 bars constant regen, which has a pretty significant impact on the mileage.

It's only a 640w amp powering the rear speakers and a small sub.

[FordFiestaS]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

Trading my 96 Civic for the Fit. Overall it's worth it, but I lost some mpg. Best tank in the Civic was 90 mpg, in the Fit is only 73, average down from 70 to 60.

But I gained:
New(er) car reliability
MUCH better cargo capability
Tighter driving dynamics
Working AC (that I don't use )

How on earth do you do it? That's all, how?

[PaleMelanesian]

How do I do it?

First, that's a single tank in perfect conditions. Summer, so no school dropoff. Summer, so high temperatures. No extra trips besides commuting. I know the route intimately. It's a good route, maxing at 55 mph with multiple lanes so I have flexibility to drive how I want.

Mods: not much. High tire pressure. Scangauge is crucial.

Techniques: pretty much everything in the 100+ hypermiling list at the top. Especially:
P&G - always.
DWB - coast down to stops and turns with absolute minimum braking
EOC - eoc is my primary driving mode, with the engine on for pulses only. I coast, and add the engine only when I need more coasting speed.
Low speed - usually topping out at 45 mph

Add in a generous portion of bullheaded stubbornness and a refusal to accept less than the best.

[FordFiestaS]

Great stuff and I truly appreciate your help in explaining. Beyond great!

[AlexanderB]

Hmm, as for "bad" mods:
- replaced reasonable aero front bumper with one that sticks out lower and has a splitter style feature going on to direct more air into the radiator.
- Bodykit that made the wheel arches slightly wider, and made the half-covered rear wheel arches into round arches
- Replacing 155 tires with 195 tires
- replacing the rear drum brakes with disk brakes, and adding beefier brakes up front
- Driving style: driving short trips and doing the speed limit everywhere.
- Adding interior trim bits, negative weight reduction.

Good mods: the wheels that I used are forged aluminium and very very light weight, that must be good for rotating mass, right?

[gone-ot]

My wife.

[user removed]

Buying a trailer and installing a hitch on the Sentra. While I will lose some MPG, it will still beat the truck (sold) and replace the Fiesta (sold) which saves me hundreds a year in tags, taxes, maintenance and insurance, more than making up for any mileage deficit incurred.

Now to pare down the bike collection.

The folding trailer also fits in my garage, while the truck stayed out in the weather. No extra insurance required on the trailer.

regards
mech

[bhazard]

Quadrupling the stock horsepower in one of my cars...

[H-Man]

Topping off my AC system. Now the compressor can suck a huge amount of power off of the crank on a hot day.