Save Gas!
#47
03-20-2006, 12:18 PM
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#48
03-20-2006, 12:50 PM
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#49
03-20-2006, 12:51 PM
Originally Posted by dofu
Can't argue about the RPM's... that was just an observation from my Civic. Sorry, I'm not gonna argue that your car may be running more efficient than before, but imo fuel economy is still different... your ecu is still compensating for the extra air with more gas... and more gas does not equal better fuel economy...
#50
03-20-2006, 01:20 PM
#52
03-20-2006, 11:46 PM
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#53
03-21-2006, 08:29 PM
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I'm still fairly new here as well, but here is my 2 cents worth. I just completed my first mod a few weeks ago, Ztube, K&N drop-in filter and removed the 'power duct'. I took my first long distance trip since and averaged 25 mpg doing between 70-85 the entire way with several sound pleasing 6th to 4th downshifts. In town, I'm averaging 20 mpg up from 18.
#55
03-22-2006, 12:57 PM
Originally Posted by partyman66
A Z-Tube and a high flow air-filter will get you about an additional 2 MPG(The stock intake pipe is very poorly designed in terms of efficiency). I have a K&N drop-in on my car, along with a Z-Tube a Motordyne 3/8" spacer. The spacer didn't do anything to help my economy, but the Z-tube/K&N filter did.
I'm actually switching to an Amsoil EA Nanofiber filter this spring though, because since running the K&N, I've noticed that my oil is unusually filthy when I do oil changes. K&N's are known for being poor at capturing and retaining dirt... plus the Amsoil is a non-oiled filter which means there's no worries about screwing up the MAF sensor with the filter oil when cleaning it.
Use the proper octane fuel for your car. Using too low of an octane will cause your car to trip a knock sensor, and the timing will be retarded a few degrees to account for the knock and make it go away... resulting in noticeably decreased power and fuel economy. Using fuel with an octane rating that is unnecessarily high(such as using race gas in a N/A vehicle with stock pistons and heads) will be of no benefit to your vehicle.
Keep your tires properly inflated and wheels properly alligned, and try to shift at lower RPM's. Our engines get optimal fuel eficiency at about 1700 RPM's when cruising at steady speed, so if you're just cruising straight.. try to put it in a gear that will spin the engine at somewhere around that RPM. It's not much fun to keep the RPM's low, but if you really want better economy.. try to keep it below 3000 most of the time.
Do not drive down the highway with your windows rolled down, because this creates additional aerodynamic drag and decreases fuel economy as well as making your engine work harder.
Using your Air-Conditioner slightly decreases your fuel economy(Your A/C also comes on when you turn on your front window defogger too.. but you can shut it off manually by pressing the A/C button immediately after turning on your front window defogger, as long as you don't have your ventilation system on recirculate). If it's mid summer and you're driving down the highway in heat.. it's more fuel efficient to drive with your windows closed and A/C on than with the windows down and A/C off.
Another gas-savings tip.... Use Cruise Control whenever you can. For some reason, our cars get better fuel economy when cruising at a set speed than you can get by manipulating the gas pedal manually with your foot. I did some tests on this for a while and our cruise control is very good at giving the car the minimal amount of gas required to maintain a set speed... much better than a person can do by manually pushing the pedal down. I tested this quite a bit on back-roads driving(non-highway).
Shifting your car into neutral and coasting will not save you much gas at all, if any. The way modern Fuel Injected cars are programmed is that when you let off the gas pedal, your fuel consumption is reduced to that of idling.. regardless of whether you're in gear or not. So if you go down a big hill and downshift into 3rd gear at 60 MPH, then let off the gas pedal completely.. causing your car to rev to around 5000 RPM's, you're really using the same amount of gas as you would be if you just put it in neutral and let it idle at 800 RPM's. The only difference is that you will coast farther in neutral than you would by keeping your car in gear(especially if you're taching it up very high like that.. to 5K RPM's).
Don't carry excessive weight in your car. Some people like to carry a 50 pound toolbox in the trunk of their car, plus a whole bunch of other junk.. which can add up to about 100 or so pounds of additional mass that you have to tow around. Even driving around with a full gas tank all the time, will very slightly cause your car to get decreased fuel economy.. since a gallon of gas weighs just over 6 pounds.. so, driving around with a full tank all the time, you're carrying about 125 pounds of additional weight in gasoline. You could even remove your spare tire and jack from the vehicle if you wanted but you will be SOL if you get a flat.
Now... you must realize that these are just suggestions on how you can increase your fuel economy. Some of them will make your driving experience less pleasureable, so take what you want from these suggestions. If you do all of these all the time, you probably won't enjoy your car too much.
I'm actually switching to an Amsoil EA Nanofiber filter this spring though, because since running the K&N, I've noticed that my oil is unusually filthy when I do oil changes. K&N's are known for being poor at capturing and retaining dirt... plus the Amsoil is a non-oiled filter which means there's no worries about screwing up the MAF sensor with the filter oil when cleaning it.
Use the proper octane fuel for your car. Using too low of an octane will cause your car to trip a knock sensor, and the timing will be retarded a few degrees to account for the knock and make it go away... resulting in noticeably decreased power and fuel economy. Using fuel with an octane rating that is unnecessarily high(such as using race gas in a N/A vehicle with stock pistons and heads) will be of no benefit to your vehicle.
Keep your tires properly inflated and wheels properly alligned, and try to shift at lower RPM's. Our engines get optimal fuel eficiency at about 1700 RPM's when cruising at steady speed, so if you're just cruising straight.. try to put it in a gear that will spin the engine at somewhere around that RPM. It's not much fun to keep the RPM's low, but if you really want better economy.. try to keep it below 3000 most of the time.
Do not drive down the highway with your windows rolled down, because this creates additional aerodynamic drag and decreases fuel economy as well as making your engine work harder.
Using your Air-Conditioner slightly decreases your fuel economy(Your A/C also comes on when you turn on your front window defogger too.. but you can shut it off manually by pressing the A/C button immediately after turning on your front window defogger, as long as you don't have your ventilation system on recirculate). If it's mid summer and you're driving down the highway in heat.. it's more fuel efficient to drive with your windows closed and A/C on than with the windows down and A/C off.
Another gas-savings tip.... Use Cruise Control whenever you can. For some reason, our cars get better fuel economy when cruising at a set speed than you can get by manipulating the gas pedal manually with your foot. I did some tests on this for a while and our cruise control is very good at giving the car the minimal amount of gas required to maintain a set speed... much better than a person can do by manually pushing the pedal down. I tested this quite a bit on back-roads driving(non-highway).
Shifting your car into neutral and coasting will not save you much gas at all, if any. The way modern Fuel Injected cars are programmed is that when you let off the gas pedal, your fuel consumption is reduced to that of idling.. regardless of whether you're in gear or not. So if you go down a big hill and downshift into 3rd gear at 60 MPH, then let off the gas pedal completely.. causing your car to rev to around 5000 RPM's, you're really using the same amount of gas as you would be if you just put it in neutral and let it idle at 800 RPM's. The only difference is that you will coast farther in neutral than you would by keeping your car in gear(especially if you're taching it up very high like that.. to 5K RPM's).
Don't carry excessive weight in your car. Some people like to carry a 50 pound toolbox in the trunk of their car, plus a whole bunch of other junk.. which can add up to about 100 or so pounds of additional mass that you have to tow around. Even driving around with a full gas tank all the time, will very slightly cause your car to get decreased fuel economy.. since a gallon of gas weighs just over 6 pounds.. so, driving around with a full tank all the time, you're carrying about 125 pounds of additional weight in gasoline. You could even remove your spare tire and jack from the vehicle if you wanted but you will be SOL if you get a flat.
Now... you must realize that these are just suggestions on how you can increase your fuel economy. Some of them will make your driving experience less pleasureable, so take what you want from these suggestions. If you do all of these all the time, you probably won't enjoy your car too much.
Diddo man!
#57
03-22-2006, 02:26 PM
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#58
03-22-2006, 11:17 PM
Originally Posted by G35MC
I told myself that i shouldn't worry about gas. but everytime i filled it up and it costed me $50, it's painful.
unlike my integra, never had to fill more than $30.
unlike my integra, never had to fill more than $30.
#59
03-22-2006, 11:23 PM
#60
03-24-2006, 01:42 PM
