Purpose: To cut down on aerodynamic drag and improve the look of the car.
Time: 15 minutes
Tools:
- Flathead Screwdriver
Supplies:
- Block Off Plate
- Gasket
- Reused Screws
You can get this stuff at the local dealership or online (cheaper) at one of these places.
Here’s the antenna. Undo the two screws and yank it out. Make sure to unplug the other end from the stereo.
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My philosophy is to try to find a “ready-made” part I can re-use for mods. I have been looking for a “pie-pan” with a big enough circumference to fit on my car for over a year. I found this 26″ diameter plastic drain pan at Home Depot for $10 (you can also get this pan in metal) :
I did a test fit on my car and it was “close enough” for me :
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Obviously one of the most important steps for driving more fuel efficiently is to actually be able to see what works better and increases your gas mileage. The MPGuino is a group project do-it-yourself MPG gauge; now you can save a few hundred instead of buying one and get real time readouts of your current gas mileage in any vehicle. Enjoy!
MPGuino is part of the OpenGauge instrumentation effort, which was created to make available efficiency instrumentation of all sorts. MPGuino specifically is a Miles Per Gallon gauge for fuel injected vehicles that is based on the arduino platform with some extra circuitry for monitoring the fuel injectors and the speed sensor in the vehicle.
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As you’ve probably noticed I haven’t had an update for almost two weeks. I’ve been in Alaska, where I was born and raised, for my girlfriend’s sister’s (a little mouthfull) wedding and I broke my laptop.
I’m back in Oregon now and the daily updates will continue. Thanks for sticking it out.
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With my recent return from Alaska I can say that Winter is just around the corner. Here are a couple of the most important fuel saving tips for Winter weather (I’ll be brining up some more as snow hits):
Use a block heater in the cold: Pre-warm your engine with an electric block heater. Engines are most efficient at full operating temperature, and the block heater helps it get there sooner. About 2 hours is the maximum time needed to pre-warm a small engine.
Minimize 4-wheel drive use, when safe: The added friction of drive components in four wheel drive mode increases fuel consumption, especially when the center differential is locked and the vehicle is turning.
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Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed, so reduce highway cruising speed as much as practical and safe.
Generally, a vehicle’s most efficient speed is just after its highest gear has engaged.
Ecomodder Blog is a good resource for tracking fuel consumption.
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Many people wish that there cars were a little closer to the ground. There are a lot of reasons for this; some people enjoy the look of a car that has been lowered, while others like the improved handling or reduced aerodynamic drag. For most people, all of these things are benefits, so naturally, there are lots of people out there with lowered cars. Now, it may seem like a daunting task, but it’s really not all the time consuming, expensive, or hard. Because this is a fuel economy oriented site let’s take a look at some of the theory behind the idea that a lowered car has less aerodynamic drag.
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Its all about paying attention to the road and letting your momentum do all the work. In fifth gear at 65mph without pressing on the gas pedal I get around 81 mpg. In neutral at 65 mph my Honda Civic gets 325 mpg. It’s actually illegal in Maryland to drive with an open clutch (manual) or in neutral (automatic), but it’s also illegal to speed and drive carelessly, neither of which I’m doing when I’m hypermiling. It’s also a dumb law and almost impossible to prove unless you have an accident and your car’s black box tattles on you. Coasting is about the only thing on this list that could get you in trouble so make your own decision on whether you are nimble enough to stay out of it.
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Cruising through stop signs. Rolling through stop signs will help you save gas because you won’t need to use as much energy (read: fuel) to get back up to whatever speed you’re supposed to be traveling. In the end, this probably won’t save you too much gas, and could end up costing you a lot of money.
Blowing through stop signs is a bad idea for a couple reasons. First and foremost, it’s against the law, and if you get caught you can expect to get a nice fine and probably a hike in your insurance premiums - which will, without a doubt, more than negate any money you save on gas. Second, it’s dangerous. By running stop signs you’re increasing the chance of hitting a pedestrian and getting into an accident.
Recommendation: No matter how desperate you are to increase your fuel economy, I think it’s safe to say that running through stop signs isn’t something you should be doing.
Tailgating large trucks (think 18 wheelers). Here’s another dangerous idea that should always be avoided. When you’re tailgating or “drafting” behind a large vehicle, you’ll increase your car’s fuel economy because you won’t have to overcome as much air resistance; in turn, you’ll use less fuel.
When traveling closely behind an 18 wheeler, you are putting yourself in the driver’s blind spot, meaning he or she can’t see you and probably don’t even know you’re behind them. Obviously, part of being a safe driver is knowing where all the other vehicles around you are so that you can plan and act accordingly.
Also, the closer you drive to any vehicle, the less reaction time you have if something were to go wrong. If you’re only a couple of feet away from a big rig’s bumper you’re not going to be able to avoid an accident should the truck need to attempt to come to an abrupt stop.
Recommendation: Travel a safe distance behind all vehicles (remember the three second rule?) and travel the speed limit, especially on the highway.
Shutting off your car while it’s still moving. This tip will help increase fuel economy because, as expected, if your car’s engine is off, it’s not using any gas. This tip is often used while a car is traveling down hill, so that it can use not only the energy generated while the car was on, but energy generated from gravity as well.
It should be fairly obvious that this is an absolutely terrible idea. If your car is off and you’re still in motion, the chances of something bad happening are increased exponentially. You won’t have the ability to quickly accelerate to get out of a tight spot; you’ll lose power steering, making it more difficult to turn the vehicle; and chances are if you turn the steering wheel too far, you’ll end up locking it in place.
While it’s tough to pick the worst extreme hypermiling tip, this one should certainly be in consideration.
Recommendation: When going down hills simply let off the accelerator and let gravity do its job. Also consider putting your car in neutral.
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1. Avoid prolonged warming up of engine, even on cold mornings - 30 to 45 seconds is plenty of time.
2. Be sure the automatic choke is disengaged after engine warm up… chokes often get stuck, resulting in bad gas/air mixture.
3. Don’t start and stop engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine.
4. Avoid “reving” the engine, especially just before you switch the engine off; this wastes fuel needlessly and washes oil down from the inside cylinder walls, owing to loss of oil pressure.
5. Eliminate jack-rabbit starts. Accelerate slowly when starting from dead stop. Don’t push pedal down more than 1/4 of the total foot travel. This allows carburetor to function at peak efficiency.
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