WOOT! 30+ MPG in Lil'Red. THANKS EcoModder!!!

[sohl]

I just performed my first refill after getting inspired by EcoModder.com and starting to use many of hypermiling tips (the ones I'm comfortable with, at least). I just calculated 34.5 MPG!!! (Probably not correct... see post from 8/13/08) Actually, it would be 33.4 mpg, but I'm allowing 3.3% extra miles for my slightly oversized tires (60R15s vs 55R15s) . Wow, the best I think I've ever done before was 28 mpg, and I think I was typically getting 26 or 27mpg.

THANKS EcoModder.com!!! You're awesome!!!

[Johnny Mullet]

Good job! Now let's go for 40

[gascort]

Nice work!!! The easiest mod by far, as everyone says, is keeping a log of your mileage and being conscious of your driving. After driving and EOCing in my car for a few weeks, I drove my wife's car this evening (without EOCing) and I noticed my habits had been changed based on when I was coasting before - I bet I can pull 5 mpg higher in her car in the city now!
Like Johnny said, it's time for something to get you to 40 mpg!
Maybe some cheap, well-concealed aero mods?

[echomodder]

Good Job Going for 40 might not be a bad goal. Do you have a scangage? That helped me a LOT. You can tell what mpg's you got per trip. Using it I've found Hiways are bad for my FE. I still don't get that. Also the longer you drive this way the more comfortable you become with some of the more advanced hypermiling tips. I just did my 6th tank (First tank where I've felt comfortable using EOCing)& got 48.58 It can't be right. I'll have to see what the next tank does.

[sohl]

Echomodder: No, I don't have a scangauge, but maybe sometime. However, in the past few days, I've been trying to watch my tachometer and see if I can get the automatic transmission upshifts to happen at lower RPMs by letting up on the accelerator at the right times. If someone is right behind me at a light, I don't accelerate *really* slowly for civility's sake, but if I pay a bit of attention, I can usually keep the shift points below 2500 (often below 2100 RMP), instead of the more typical 3000 to 3500 if you step in the gas in a fairly normal way. I hope that after more practice, I'll be able to feel this without looking and it will become second nature to keep the upshifts at low RPMs. I know the scangauge will provide more direct and varied feedback, but at least the tach shows me how hard the drivetrain is trying to produce power.

Lower average tach = lower power produced = less gas used.

[fonque]

Originally Posted by sohl

Lower average tach = lower power produced = less gas used.

not always true, you have to factor in injector pulse width and engine load, usually determined by throttle position, and engine efficiency and varying rpms.

A Scangauge or an ECU diagnostic tool of some kind can help you learn how your engine is really working.

This is why you can get worse gas mileage from accelerating too slowly, just the same and getting worse mileage from accelerating too quickly.

[sohl]

fonque: Sure, one could certainly go too far with a simplistic approach and miss the optimum. No doubt the feedback from a more complete array of parameters could help me optimize the FE even better, but 44% over EPA is not bad, right? I think the Protege is set up to be very sensitive to throttle input changes and also rev the engine high between shifts if there is any significant throttle. Combine that with relatively low gear ratios, and you get the "Zoom-Zoom" sporty feel. But that appears to cost more than a little in terms of FE, so even coarse adjustments based on watching the tach, and driving a bit slower overall has paid off nicely.

I think instrumentation like the ScanGauge would help my wife and I even more in our Honda Odyssy van, maybe not as a percentage of FE improvement, but maybe in terms of absolute gallons saved, since it's starting at a lower FE. Anyone out there with an Odyssey with a story to share?

[greenitup]

congrats, ecomodder has helped me get my mileage way up, before i started doing some hypermiling tips i got 20-21 mpg regularly, now i get 29-31 mpg, im going for higher though.

[2003protege]

glad to hear of your success!

[gascort]

Originally Posted by sohl

Combine that with relatively low gear ratios, and you get the "Zoom-Zoom" sporty feel.

Dude, I think it goes, "Zoom-Zoom-Zoom".