Saving Gas

malik641

malik641

New Member
Nov 24, 2003
53
0
0
South Florida
#1
I'm sure everyone knows how much gas prices are crapola so I was wondering....

I have an 87 Notchback 5.0 stang and I just put a new Jasper stock motor in it recently. My mods are:
Fiberglass hood
Full Bassani Exhaust (offroad)
K&N Air filter
I polished my upper intake (stock intake)
Advanced timing (not much).

My car averages at 18mpg city & highway combined...on the highway alone I get around 21mpg and city alone (with a bit a hitting the gas) I get about 14-15mpg. I always put premium gas in it, BTW.

I'm sure this is because of how light my car is (never weighed it, but I'm pretty sure it's a little under 3000 lbs).

So I'm curious to know what else I can do to save gas?

I figured one way is to make my car lighter:
I'm not looking to remove the AC because I plan on moving to Florida in January. What about converting the power steering to manual rack & pinion? How much lighter are Higher performing suspension parts (like tubular upper & lower control arms...and others)? And what about an aluminum driveshaft?

Another way someone told me was to put a little bit of airplane fuel in my tank...is that accurate? What could that harm? Anybody ever try that before?

Thanks in advance for any replies. And any other suggestions are well appreciated :nice:
 

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#3
airplane fuel...i dont know...unless its like acetone

Ive been putting in two ounces of acetone in a full tank and have gained over 40 extra miles to my tank (mostly highway). But it works IMO. I can only prove the mileage, but I think there are other advantages, such as better idle and whatnot
I am still doin it and will continue to.

adam
 
#4
Flaming River Manual Rack & Pinion Part Number FLA-FR1890 in Summit=$439.95. Not sure if you'd need a new steering shaft or not, so we'll just go w/ the $439.95 for my calculations. They advertise a weight reduction of up to 30lbs. I doubt you'd gain more than 2mpg by dropping 30lbs, and that's being VERY GENEROUS. I know dropping weight from the front will help w/ vehicle weight distribution and all that though.

Anyway:

Given the following scenario:
Gas price per gallon: $2.25
Miles driven per month: 1500
Avg. mpg=18
You'd spend around $187 per month on gas.

Changing only the avg mpg (increasing it by 2mpg):
Gas price per gallon: $2.25
Miles driven per month: 1500
Avg. mpg=20
You'd spend around $168.75 per month on gas.

So, if you drove 1500 miles per month at an average price of $2.25 per gallon w/ an average fuel economy of 20mpg (2mpg increase we're being very generous with if only changing to a rack & pinion steering), you would "save" $18.75/month. Consequently, it would take 23.464 months to for the rack & pinion to pay for its self. Of course, that is assuming all of the variables mentioned above and assuming gas prices didn't spike again
 
#5
Not much you can do without spending more than you'll save as TheUser has pointed out.

Make sure your tires are all at 35PSI.

I believe you'd see the most benifit by switching to a programmable ECU with wideband O2 and then programming the ECU to run leaner. However, running lean will cause you to fail emmisions testing, so you'll have to re-turn every time you go in for testing.

The megasquirt ECU would be the most economical route for this... however, It's still going to cost you $400 for the ECU and wideband O2....so even then it would still take a long time to pay it off.
 
#6
Avoid the avgas (airplane gas) like the plague. It is full of lead, which will kill your O2 sensors very quickly. Bad O2 sensors are death to good gas mileage.

Install a vacuum gauge that you can see while driving the car. Keep the vacuum up as high as possible by driving with a light, steady foot. You'll get more mileage gain out of the proper use of a $30-$50 gauge than you would ever get out of any of the other items you mentioned.
 
#10
jrichker said:
Avoid the avgas (airplane gas) like the plague. It is full of lead, which will kill your O2 sensors very quickly. Bad O2 sensors are death to good gas mileage.
Click to expand...

:Word: Besides, Av-gas is higher octane and is designed to ignite at altitude not at sea level.

Acetone only allows fuel to atomize into smaller particles so you get more ignition in the cylinder... There isn't too much that is special about Acetone. Make the car light, dive slow is pretty much all you can do.

BTW: My vert gets better gas milage than my Jeep Liberty
 
#11
I can't disagree with anything that has beenstated above. However, there are ways to put more power to the tires through increased efficiency.

An electric fan, and electric water pump will help a bit by exerting less drag on the engine. This is especially true if the devices are controlled to operate only when needed.

Although the weight reduction from converting to manual steering would help, I would think the biggest advantage would be reducing drag on the crank. Still, I don't see gaining more than 2mpg with that (I have been known to be wrong though!).

There are maintenance things that can hurt economy, so consider O2's, tire pressure, etc.

What condition is the air dam under the radiator in. These sometimes get ripped off the car by curbs and what not. The air dam will help reduce aero drag under the vehicle by reducing air flow under the vehicle. It also has the secondary function of aiding radiator airflow.

What stat are you running. This will have an affect on the thermal efficiency of the cyl/combustion chamber. A 160 is most likely too low. Sometimes if there is a problem in the cooling system, a stock stat (195ish) will not allow adequate cooling. In this case it is ok to use a 180 stat (in my opinion), but only until the cooling problem can be found and corrected. Basically coolant temps below about 190F will decrease power, economy, and most importantly engine life.

Sythetic fluids in the trans, engine, and dif. can help reduce drag. But even the cheaper syn. oils will probably not save enough fuel per oil change to justify the cost? Don't know.

Be sure to use an appropriate oil viscosity. 10w30 or so, but maybe lower if your oil pressure maintains. Something like 20w50 will rob power/efficiency. There is risk of damging the engine so use caution.

Do you know what your oil temp is. Higher oil temps will result in a decrease in frictional losses. That is of course until the oil degrades (most likely over 250F), or the oil thins to the point where the viscosity drops too low. Most ideal temps I have seen for oil range from just over 200 to 240F. Synthetics can be run higher. In reality there probably is not much to be gained by messing with the oil system, but I present it for thought anyway.

That's all I can think of right now.
:Word:
 
#12
vristang said:
An electric fan, and electric water pump will help a bit by exerting less drag on the engine. This is especially true if the devices are controlled to operate only when needed.
Click to expand...
I forgot about this. And I agree, less drag on the motor is definitely key, as it takes less work to produce power...giving you more power :D Plus it does reduce SOME weight.
I didn't know there were electric water pumps for stangs??? Are there any for my model?

vristang said:
What condition is the air dam under the radiator in. These sometimes get ripped off the car by curbs and what not. The air dam will help reduce aero drag under the vehicle by reducing air flow under the vehicle. It also has the secondary function of aiding radiator airflow.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that's what that piece of plastic was...huh.
It's still there, intacted pretty well, but it does have play in it. Is it supposed to have some play in it??? (It doesn't have so much play where you could just rip it off, though, BTW)

vristang said:
What stat are you running.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure I'm running a 185* stat.

vristang said:
Sythetic fluids in the trans, engine, and dif. can help reduce drag. But even the cheaper syn. oils will probably not save enough fuel per oil change to justify the cost? Don't know.
Click to expand...
Probably not, but a good idea for engine life.

vristang said:
Do you know what your oil temp is. Most ideal temps I have seen for oil range from just over 200 to 240F.
Click to expand...
No I don't know, but thanks for the info. I'll probably invest in some gauges soon.


jrichker said:
Install a vacuum gauge that you can see while driving the car. Keep the vacuum up as high as possible by driving with a light, steady foot. You'll get more mileage gain out of the proper use of a $30-$50 gauge than you would ever get out of any of the other items you mentioned.
Click to expand...
Good idea! I would like to keep an eye on that. Probably would help me stop hitting the pedal so much.
How do cars like BMW's calculate the MPG based on your driving? Is it all computer-based? Maybe from how much the fuel pump is flowing? Or maybe the fuel injectors? And is there anything inexpenses that I could get that functions the same way?


About the ECU, I love the idea of programmable ECU's because of how versatile they are...but I'm not ready to shell out $400 just yet. Soon, though....maybe after I move to Florida. And I won't need to worry about emissions then either :D

How about body parts? How much weight could I lose if I had all fiberglass/carbon fiber parts? And what about plexiglass? How much of a weight reduction could I get with that? (I know I'm not ready to buy that stuff....but I'm very curious :rolleyes: )
 
#13
iwashmycar said:
airplane fuel...i dont know...unless its like acetone

Ive been putting in two ounces of acetone in a full tank and have gained over 40 extra miles to my tank (mostly highway). But it works IMO. I can only prove the mileage, but I think there are other advantages, such as better idle and whatnot
I am still doin it and will continue to.

adam
Click to expand...


Did you start doing this when I made that post about it?
 
#15
There are many e- water pumps available for the windsors. Summit is a good place to start, I like their search function.
The air dam should ideally be pretty tight and hang straight down. Maybe some fasteners are coming loose?
I found a 197F stat that has worked very well for me. I would run a higher one if I could find one. If your cooling system can handle it, this may be worth while considering the cost is low. If you do try it and experience a change in economy, please come back to report.
I am not sure how BMW does it but I am pretty sure the Ford SUV's and pickups that have this option measure fuel flow somewhere in the fuel lines, post tank. I believe the earlier versions had a seperate computer to work the mpg calculations, but it may have been integrated into the main ecu by now. To install the hardware in another car should be straight forward, but the calibration of the output would be tough. Things like gear ratio, tire size, engine size, and engine efficiencies under various conditions, would all affect the numbers you would get.

Of all the things mentioned I would most highly recommend the t stat and the vac gauge.

On the vac gauge remember that it is not just what vac reading you get but also what rpm you are running. Obviously doing 35mph at 4,000rpm and 18" will not be as efficient as 35mph at 2,000rpm and 16". But I am sure everyone here could have figured that out.
I know that fiberglass hoods, fenders, and trunks/hatches are readily available. I would stay away from CF body panels because of the cost, and they will not be significantly lighter. There is a HUGE mark-up on those. Not sure how much weight could be cut this way though.
 
#17
vikingpower said:
After my head swap I gained about 6 mpg... If I set the cruise at 60mph and creep along I get 30mpg. Hard to believe, I know, I had to check my calculations a few times but it works pretty damn good
Click to expand...

That is amazing.:nice:
What heads did you swap to?
Do you have any other mods?

Off topic...
What is with the name "vikingpower"? I thought CWU was a Wildcat? My school WWU is the Viking. Are you a traitor or something?:D
E-burg is a fun town.:cheers: :banana: :cheers:
 
#19
vristang said:
That is amazing.:nice:
What heads did you swap to?
Do you have any other mods?

Off topic...
What is with the name "vikingpower"? I thought CWU was a Wildcat? My school WWU is the Viking. Are you a traitor or something?:D
E-burg is a fun town.:cheers: :banana: :cheers:
Click to expand...

I assume the improvement is mostly form the huge bump in compression, TW chambers are a lot smaller than the E7 heads; at least thats the way it looked when I compared them side to side on the bench. The chambers are also a lot more efficient as well.
As for the name... I've got scandinavian blood of course! Watch the Worlds Strongest Man and you'll see Svend Karlsen screaming "Viking Power!" Ha ha sounds silly I know. Ellensburg is ok, I like Seattle better though I know more people there. Not very many 'stangs over, here lots of gay imports. We should cruise around next time I'm in the Bellingham area (I'm from Oak Harbor).
 
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