You know you're an ecomodder if/when...

[AndrzejM]

YKYAEM when you are cruising at 30MPH with revs slightly over 1000rpm and your hand is grabbing the stick without thinking because you want to put a higher gear, then you realize it's the top gear already Then you start dreaming of 6 speed gearbox

And YKYAEM when you are selling your van which could take your whole family, dogs and lots of stuff anywhere you like. Then you're forcing your wife to drive in second car across the country for holidays, since you won't fit with everybody and everything in one car. And then you have to explain to everybody why you did that, telling "because holidays are once a year and using van as a daily driver is not the most eco thing to do". Then you realize that everybody are looking at you with this "He's an idiot" look. And you don't give a s**t about it.

[JRMichler]

YKYAEM when you get a new set of tires and...

Make a decision whether to go out of the way to PROPERLY inflate the tires or do it on the way to work. Choice is to do it on the way to work.

And the first gas station has somebody using the air hose who's going to take a while, so...

You go to the second gas station (still on the way to work), and...

There's an empty car parked in front of the air hose with the engine running, and...

All you can think about is "This is killing my mileage because my kill switch died yesterday".

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by wmjinman

Strangely, this wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of being "odd". HAH!!

You aren't odd, the actions described are.

[wmjinman]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

You aren't odd, the actions described are.

But it makes perfect sense to me. It depends on the goal; If the goal is to use the fewest gallons possible, I probably wouldn't even bother with the "A-B-A" tests because the "paybeack time" for all the gas used in them is so long. I mean, half a dozen 10-mile round trips (after going out to my testing spot) to learn that folding my mirrors yields 0.1 mpg? If I fold my mirrors for the rest of my car's life, will it pay off? I suspect maybe not.

BUT - if the goal is to get the best mpg possible in this tank, then my "extra mileage" helps out in the "avoid short trips - do more longer trips" department. After all, it could be worse - I could just go out on a really long, "max mpg speed" trip with no stops ONLY to go as far as possible on that tank. At least I was taking care of a few errands in the process. :-)

(at least, that's what I'm gonna keep telling myself) LOL!!

[wmjinman]

You may be a hypermiler/ecomodder if:

The only times you ever break the speed limit are:
1) When your engine isn't running
2) When you're throttle's completely closed (aka "foot off the gas")
3) When the speed limit is lower than your "max mpg speed"

You may be a hypermiler/ecomodder if:

It pains you to apply the brakes because you can "feel" the energy being wasted

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by wmjinman

But it makes perfect sense to me. It depends on the goal; If the goal is to use the fewest gallons possible, I probably wouldn't even bother with the "A-B-A" tests because the "paybeack time" for all the gas used in them is so long. I mean, half a dozen 10-mile round trips (after going out to my testing spot) to learn that folding my mirrors yields 0.1 mpg? If I fold my mirrors for the rest of my car's life, will it pay off? I suspect maybe not.

BUT - if the goal is to get the best mpg possible in this tank, then my "extra mileage" helps out in the "avoid short trips - do more longer trips" department. After all, it could be worse - I could just go out on a really long, "max mpg speed" trip with no stops ONLY to go as far as possible on that tank. At least I was taking care of a few errands in the process. :-)

(at least, that's what I'm gonna keep telling myself) LOL!!

You raise some interesting points, maybe. The "goal" (IMHO) is to reduce the overall gallons used compared to your normal behaviour. If by combining some other "errands" into a longer trip you managed a better overall average MPG then that is better. If you added those "errands" to increase your mileage and therefore gain a better average then it becomes debateable.

Testing mileage is interesting. I wonder if those who do A-B-A testing include that in their tanks and logs. If you do 20-30K miles a year then it doesn't affect your average, for me (at 6-8K a year) it does - maybe quite a bit.

[wmjinman]

Well, I'm more of a "I wonder what the best mpg I can get out of my car" type of guy than an "I think I can save the planet by reducing my carbon footprint" type of guy.

I like the challenge to "maximize the performance of machines". It may seem contradictory, but in addition to trying to get the best gas mileage I can in my everyday driving, I have also taken on the challenge to see how fast I could get my 1971 Buick "boattail" Riviera to go. This involved rebuilding the "stock" 455 engine and enlarging it to 508 cubic inches. I got it to 182 mph at Bonneville Salt Falts, and even added some "aero mods" to it.

I also once tried to see how high I could get an experimental rocket powered by steam (4660 ft.).

So maybe I'll take up the challenge to see how much (how LITTLE) gas I can use in my everyday life, (espceially when I get the mother-in-law's Yamaha 50 cc scooter and start ecomodding it), but right now, to me, the fun is to see how much I can get on a tank. But you may persuade me yet - sometimes I'm a little "slow". And I can admit that the thought of seeing how "killer" an average I can get - tank after tank, month after month - does intrigue me a bit.

[dino]

Page 33 #324 Extreme weight saving.......Where's the driver, or perhaps someones got a tow link !

[ik04]

You shut off your engine as soon as you enter a parking lot and take which ever spot lines up when you stop.

Or... When you stomp on the floor next to the brake pedal in order to resist the urge to use the brakes.

[alohaspirit]

YKYAEM when your car gets 100MPGe

and you still feel bad for the environment

because youre using a little dino-diesel