ZX2 - 507 miles, 45.6mpg

[moorecomp]

Set new personal bests this tank. I knew I was doing very well when the low fuel light did not come on until 407 miles. Had to go for 500 miles. No worries. 507 miles on 11.1 gallons (12 gallon tank). Maximum EOC and keeping the tires aired to the summer pressure of 44psi helped. Next project is a Home Depot air dam.

[Tygen1]

Sweet!! Good to see you steping it up this year. Air Dam will help Post up some new pic's of your latest mods!!

Check the team standings. I believe our TeamZX2 has the highest percentage over EPA of all the teams

On a side note, I got lean burn hooked up and working tonight, still got bugs to work out, but the potential gain is tremendous. I saw a 27% increase in my 50mph mpg tonight!

[moorecomp]

I have to stop and get the lawn edging from HD still. I did buy a new O2 sensor but have yet to change it out. It looks like I have to remove the power steering pump and mount to get a socket on it. I am still running with the air line disconnected, and it just seems to work. I have been changing the way I look at the MPGuino, I run with it set to large current displayed, and try to keep my current reading as high above tank as possible. EOC whenever I can, if even for short times. I don't drive slower than the SL unless no one is behind me, and most of the time I am at 55mph. Could be a good summer!

[Tygen1]

Rent the O2 socket set from Autozone (free rental if you return it) and you will be able to get the O2 sensor out without moving the PS pump. Although it's not hard to move the pump anyways.
I'd say the vacuum line trick works for real, you can check my fuel logs. It has recovered some, but most due to cleaning the MAF, which you should definatly do. Clean the TB while you got it appart. I wonder how well I would do now if I disconected it again
I run 50mph on the highway...not much different from 55, I just like 50 better.
I'm excited to see your progress! Now that 45 is possible, 50 is reasonable

[wagonman76]

For me the air dam was definitely the most bang for the buck. 2 mpg difference for me and cost was nothing.

[thad2000]

I haven't changed a damn thing... I use to get 32 tops.. now, wow.
I accidentally drove (at over 40mph) up a curb blowing out 3 of the four tires and bending the rims... Then.. oddly my mpg went up when I through on new tires (exact same size).
So, What happened?
I've been driving 40miles a night to work. Freeway without hypermilling or anything. I have been getting 34 to 37 mpg constantly.
So, here are my possible answers.
The gas station I am getting gas at is perhaps off in their pumps giving more gas than is registering. ? I have been getting 34 to 37 mpg constantly.
The hard jolt of the accident changed my timing.. or the belt is old enough that It's stretched? perhaps the jolt knocked out a sensor.. It seems to run worse than ever until the engine warms up.
So, how does that work? I really do like economy.. And I wanna know why this all happened if it's not the gas station so I can replicate it and work on getting the best mpg possible. btw, I'm sure I've gone over 900 miles getting this kind of milage. my low seems at 34. Oh, pulling a trailer I think I got 33.

[SH@UN]

I didn't have a ZX2, but I did have a 99 escort sedan. Basically same car, just sedan style. That thing would get 25-30 mpg no matter how you drove it, depending on the city to highway ratio. All highway one time I got close to 40 mpg if I remember right. I think it's funny that a car from almost 20 years ago gets as good or better than alot of cars today. Funny and sad at the same time. Car companies need to focus more on economy instead of looks and "fanciness".

[BabyDiesel]

Right? The irony is incredible. Regulations and increased weight have taken a lot of economy gains that are possible. I'd love to see what kind of economy an older vehicle could get if it had a newer heart transplant.

For reference, me and Tygen1 got well into the 50s with our ZX2s. I believe we are the only ones to ever accomplish this with this model, and it took quite a bit of modification and driving technique.

I believe your sedan had a different 2.0 designed for more low-end power, and could have done better than our ZX2s!

[SH@UN]

Originally Posted by BabyDiesel

I believe your sedan had a different 2.0 designed for more low-end power, and could have done better than our ZX2s!

Yeah it had the 2 liter. I probably could've gotten better, but at that time I wasn't worried about it. It got me around and didn't require much gas. Different times. I would actually like to have little car back. That thing never once hiccuped. I changed the spark plugs once, and the oil every 5k, and it just kept going.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by thad2000

I haven't changed a damn thing... I use to get 32 tops.. now, wow.
I accidentally drove (at over 40mph) up a curb blowing out 3 of the four tires and bending the rims... Then.. oddly my mpg went up when I through on new tires (exact same size).
So, What happened?
I've been driving 40miles a night to work. Freeway without hypermilling or anything. I have been getting 34 to 37 mpg constantly.
So, here are my possible answers.
The gas station I am getting gas at is perhaps off in their pumps giving more gas than is registering. ? I have been getting 34 to 37 mpg constantly.
The hard jolt of the accident changed my timing.. or the belt is old enough that It's stretched? perhaps the jolt knocked out a sensor.. It seems to run worse than ever until the engine warms up.
So, how does that work? I really do like economy.. And I wanna know why this all happened if it's not the gas station so I can replicate it and work on getting the best mpg possible. btw, I'm sure I've gone over 900 miles getting this kind of milage. my low seems at 34. Oh, pulling a trailer I think I got 33.

Too many variable to tell. Some other possibilities alignment was the car aligned after the incident? Now runs bad until warmed up, vacuum leak? Warmer weather will also increase mileage.