Windshield Wiper Cowl / Cover / Blocker Thingy?

[Sean T.]

Went outside today and cut it down EVEN FARTHER! Did loads of other stuff too. Took a good hour and a half maybe?

Anyways... I'm pretty sure I'm the first one to vlog about my mods instead of typing with pictures...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI3wzLELI2s

[Frank Lee]

Gotta say, your fe ain't where it should be. I don't think you are looking for fe improvements in the right places.

FYI, my Mom has a 3.0 Taurus, gets 28 with it. She has never studied hypermiling and has never modded.

[Sean T.]

Well Monday, my car is going back to the dealer because something is wrong with the passenger side wheels again... Makes a loud whopping noise (almost like a helicopter blade?) when braking and sometimes just when going down the highway. My FE's been really low since the noise started. I think my car is starting to fall apart.

Once I get my MPGuino I'll be able to fine-tune my driving skills, but until then it's crazy-assed coroplast experiments.

Even PURE highway at 60-70 gave me 28-29 mpg... I've never even come close in my daily commute.

[Frank Lee]

I know- I looked at your gaslog. Your car hasn't been "whopping" since you started your gaslog has it?

[Sean T.]

No, just lately. But, I have had it in to the dealer more than a couple times since I stated my fuel log for various things... tie rods, alignment, etc... When I started my fuel log, my wheels were misaligned and there were 3-4 parts of the suspension that had to be replaced... that didn't get all fixed until a couple months ago, right before winter. Now it's starting to get warmer and something else has gone wrong in the wheel well.

Since I've joined ecomodder, I think the only long period of time that I was driving problem free was a few weeks before, and during the ultimate ecomodder contest.

[winkosmosis]

Aren't those wheels from a previous generation SHO?

Is the underside of the bumper open? I'd expect Ford to cover it up, since they were really concerned with aerodynamics, which means your radiator has no air source with your 100% block.

Might want to reconsider grill blocking entirely, considering how aerodynamic the Taurus's front end is to begin with. Maybe just the oval, but even that looks pretty slick already

I am not a subscriber to the "force your car to run hotter" school of thought. Remember, wearing out your engine or any other part of the car faster is NOT good for the environment.

[Sean T.]

The wheels are from a 97 Thunderbird... yes, I know they aren't very aero-friendly.

The underside of the bumper is open, because the SHO bumper makes re-installing the cover kind of difficult and it's been cold out, so I've been putting off reinstalling it. But even with the cover on, there are vents in it. The SHO bumper also has a "chin-splitter"(?) which is kind of like a mini skirt that sticks out at the bottom of the bumper a few inches lower than the radiator cover... I can take some underside pics later if it stops snowing.

Also Taurii are known for taking millions of years to warm up. With most of my trips being to work or school, where I take a 10-20 minute drive then my car sits for hours before making the 10-20 minute drive home, I rarely get the car warmed up before I'm within a mile of my final destination.

[winkosmosis]

Can you use an engine block heater? Isn't that pretty standard up in Michigan?

BTW the plural of Taurus is Tauruses or Tauri. You have an extra i

[Daox]

I'm going to have to agree with Frank. Either there is something majorly wrong with your car, or you are driving just about the total opposite that you should be. I know others with Taurus' and they very easily hit mid to upper 20s and they are far from ecodrivers. A coworker of mine drives his pretty dang hard and he still manages 25+ pretty much all the time. The easiest and best way to increase mileage is to drive using the 100+ ecodriving tips we have on the site. Even using a few of those should land you in the high 20s pretty easily.

[Sean T.]

I am thinking it must be my car, because I read that about once a month lol. I try to practice them as often as possible. Like I said, my highway mileage is only 28~

That was pure highway. I stopped just before getting on the freeway and filled up the tank. I drove all the way highway (65-75mph) to a friend's college (about 3 hours away), and then drove 30% 55mph and 70% highway on the way home. Very few stops, and as soon as I got off the freeway I filled up again. So that tank must have been close to 99% Highway, 1% City, and it's about the same numbers you guys say I should be getting without trying...

The Taurus Club site has been down for about a week, but when it gets working I plan on posting a poll to find out what everybody's average MPG is. There is a good combo of drivers on there.