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Ecomodding: Tuning Your Car for 100 MPG
edmunds.com — There are all kinds of ways to look at high performance. Times being what they are, a growing number of people think mpg is a lot more important than mph. It's all about a secret subculture called "ecomodding."
SirPopper- 569 diggs
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- jcpeden, on 06/25/2008, -14/+16How can they legally remove the wingmirrors on the Prius? Furthermore, on Top Gear on Sunday they took a Prius (1.5L 4-cylinder) and a BMW M3 (4.0L V8) round their track. The Prius had to drive as fast as possible and the M3 had to keep up. The Prius averaged 17mpg and the M3 averaged 19mpg. Surprisingly the show did not go down the route of "The M3 is more fuel-efficient" saying that fuel-efficiency was more dependent on driving style e.g. hypermiling. Nonetheless, this is worth a look:
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_styl ...- bumcheekcity, on 06/26/2008, -3/+12For god's sake, OF COURSE the M3 is going to be more efficient when you're belting round a track, full throttle at up to 100mph. That's what it's designed for. Take both cars out to the M1 and cruise at a leisurely 55-60mph, being conservative with your acceleration, etc. and the Prius will be MUCH more efficient than the M3. Furthermore, try driving them round town when the Prius's electric engine kicks in, and you'll get great fuel efficiency.
- rrife, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1I think the point was that the engine in the Prius isn't a very efficient gas engine. This is most likely to help keep cost down. Imagine the MPG you'd get if they put a very fuel efficient gas engine in the car and added the hybrid technology.
- mike17032, on 06/26/2008, -3/+3Ya, but its stil a ***** Prius,
- Abomonog, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5They can't remove the mirrors. Only the passenger side can be removed (provided the car has an interior mirror). I think it's just the angle that makes it look that way.
- browntiger, on 06/26/2008, -3/+2How about comparing fuel efficiency of prius hauling 3500 pound boat vs F150. I bet F150 do better.
Come on if you drive full throttle at up to 100mph - buy BMW. 1.5L engine sucks at the full load. On the other hand if you drive work/home and some shopping Prius does very well.- linagee, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Sell the boat. Problem solved.
- trispear, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2A Ford F150 pickup is probably more fuel efficient hauling a boat than a Prius (if it can haul it at all) too.... and my bicycle is also more fuel efficient than a Prius.... but somehow I still wouldn't want to take it on the highway even with all the gas I would save.
- toecutter169, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2The Prius was going at full tilt, naturally the gas engine will be running the whole time at full RPM. The M3 was running at relatively low RPM.
- Icetype, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1On that track the Suzuki Liana hits 80mph at it's fastest. Prius probably has about the same power. That BMW was probably around 3000 rpm max the whole time, where the Toyota was 8000 rpm. Not very efficient at full tilt.
- shuskins, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1the Toyota was 800 rpm. You are out of your mind......
The prius has a redline of about 5000 rpm and the Japanese version is about 4000 rpm.... - Icetype, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1Most cars idle well over 800 rpm. What are you talking about? Do you think it was getting 17mpg off of electric? That doesn't make any sense.
I looked it up, the prius indeed has a 5000 rpm rev limiter. So I correct my statement, the prius was maxing out at 5000 and the BMW was sipping gas casually at 3000.
- shuskins, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1the Toyota was 800 rpm. You are out of your mind......
- mikespinelli, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0First of all its not a BMW M3 on the site you linked to, its a 520d.
Second of all, they weren't driving as fast as they can, they were driving in rural conditions from one check point to another.
And third of all, the BMW won.
However, the 520d IS 4 CYLINDER
Model BMW 520d SE
Engine 1995cc, four cylinders
Power 177bhp @ 4000rpm
Torque 258 lb ft @ 1750rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Official fuel/CO2 55.4mpg / 136g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 8.3sec
Top speed 144mph
Road tax band C (£115)
Price £27,190
Fuel used on test 10.84 gallons (50.3mpg)
Fuel cost £54.19 (diesel)
Model Toyota Prius T Spirit
Engine 1497cc, four cylinders
Electric motor 50kW/67bhp
Power 77bhp @ 5000rpm
Torque 295 lb ft (motor) 85 lb ft (engine)
Transmission CVT automatic
Official fuel/CO2 65.7mpg / 104g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 10.9sec
Top speed 106mph
Road tax band B (£15, alternative fuel)
Price £20,677
Fuel used on test 11.34 gallons (48.1mpg)
Fuel cost £54.64 (petrol)
Please actually read the stuff you post before talking
- bumcheekcity, on 06/26/2008, -3/+12For god's sake, OF COURSE the M3 is going to be more efficient when you're belting round a track, full throttle at up to 100mph. That's what it's designed for. Take both cars out to the M1 and cruise at a leisurely 55-60mph, being conservative with your acceleration, etc. and the Prius will be MUCH more efficient than the M3. Furthermore, try driving them round town when the Prius's electric engine kicks in, and you'll get great fuel efficiency.
- bixby1, on 06/25/2008, -17/+10Dugg for new words I never heard before, 'hypermiler' and 'ecomodding'. going to use both in a sentence today and confuse my mother.
- mike17032, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3When she brings your hot pockets down to the basement?
- Steinr, on 06/26/2008, -3/+3this is the type of hacking I like!
- MacEnvy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2What's wrong with the other kinds?
- grndslm, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0This is the type of hacking I do...
I put a weed eater engine on a bicycle and get 100+ mpg as a worst case scenario without pedaling. GEBE kits can get above 200mpg. And motorized bikes are sooo fun!!
Catch up to the rest of us by reading the Crash Course here:
http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=10392
- Oxygen, on 06/26/2008, -1/+12I don't se how those wheel covers could possibly work.
Unless your just going to drive in a never ending straight line.- Melf26, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5I don't know about this specific one, but I've seen another that had rollers on the inside, so when the wheel was turned it just pushed the cover outwards.
- toecutter169, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4They'll clean up the air flow around the sides of the car, just like taking off the mirrors and other external things on the car.
- lowmagnet, on 06/26/2008, -1/+5Oxygen was referring to the mechanics, not the efficiency.
- hempydave, on 06/26/2008, -4/+1Try asking how they work before you comment as in they do work and are common.
They have many ways of opening the cover a little bit during turning.
90% of the time you going straight or very small turning corrections.
Lots of photo all over the net of how to make your self.
or
GET OUT OF YOUR MOMS BASEMENT!
- mdp8889, on 06/26/2008, -0/+9id rather just get an electric car... isnt it 2009 when the think ox comes out?
- gl77, on 06/26/2008, -3/+11i clicked around on that site and people were talking about removing the passenger and back seats from their cars, pumping up their tires to a dangerous 45psi, and other insane things. ***** nutjobs, all of them.
- trispear, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5Yeah. I think I'll just drive less to save money. And if they take out the passenger/back seats, they very well can't car pool either. Wonder what their cars are worth resale once they screw it all up with custom body panels.
They should just buy a eco car from the get go, like a used Honda Insight:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Insight - Duositex, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1Once a car only has one seat isn't it technically a motorcycle?
- Vodd9, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3a motorcycle with 4 wheels, a roof and windows?
- trispear, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5Yeah. I think I'll just drive less to save money. And if they take out the passenger/back seats, they very well can't car pool either. Wonder what their cars are worth resale once they screw it all up with custom body panels.
- caesar0801, on 06/26/2008, -2/+3too bad it makes them look so ugly...
- Duositex, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Looks like a red version of "The Wraith"
- Jonno549, on 06/26/2008, -5/+3can't beat 8 litres and a big lumpy cam
- VnutZ, on 06/26/2008, -0/+9Driving style is one of the most dominant factors in improving your MPG. As far as modifications go, only altering your aerodynamic signature will have a significant effect (e.g. drafting without the truck in front). Why don't other vehicle mods like snake-oil throttle body spacers or other tweaks, that you see showing up all the time in Google Ads, function? It's because your car's ECU has the primary task to control emissions - not efficiency. Yes, some of these devices will have an effect. But the ECU's sensors create a closed feedback loop that in turn rebalance other tuning effects via software that returns your emissions to a particular level (over time) which means your fuel consumption often returns to its original usage (sometimes worse). The only TRUE mods for modern car engines are those that remap your ECU (and invalidate your warranty), piggyback the ECU or replace the ECU altogether. All of these factors are described in detail in OmniNerd's "Improve MPG: The Factors Affecting Fuel Efficiency" article available here: http://www.omninerd.com/articles/Improve_MPG_The_F ...
- sporg, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4There is also the subculture of driving a Honda CRX HF which gets 50+ mpg without ridiculous add ons.
- hempydave, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2I get 42 mpg @ 47 to 49 mph (converted to equivalent as propane has different btu value) out of my 1 ton single axle (no big fender skirts on box) propane truck. Peak Horse Power is about 10% less Peak torque about 10% more, with acceleration about 75% of original.(taller gearing kills that)
Only mods are Hotrod high compression pistons with small valve / small combustion camber heads, RV camshaft, Aluminum intake, headers/dual exhaust, 4 speed over drive, 40% higher gears in rear axle with low profile / narrower 10 ply tires @ 60 psi to 70 psi (load dependent)
with smooth HUB CAPS.
about $8000 including cost of buying used truck.
Canadian tire spray can paint job $37
King of the road feeling at 48mph
(overdrive kicks in at 45 mph)
Priceless
- hempydave, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2I get 42 mpg @ 47 to 49 mph (converted to equivalent as propane has different btu value) out of my 1 ton single axle (no big fender skirts on box) propane truck. Peak Horse Power is about 10% less Peak torque about 10% more, with acceleration about 75% of original.(taller gearing kills that)
- OMightyColumbia, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3the most important aspect in hypermilling is the SSI (seat-steering interface, otherwise known as the driver). being aware of your surroundings and the stress you as a driver put on your car. i drive my 91 camry wagon as controlled as possible, trying never to accelerate or decelerate quickly, and draft as many trucks as possible, and I am getting nearly 40 mpg.
- Gunsotsu, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2And I suppose the idea that you are not only endangering not only yourself, but other drivers, hasn't crossed your mind? I'm mean, what's the big deal being safe if I can get an couple of extra MPG? Right?
- troon, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Drafting is stupid. Period. Also, accelerating gently isn't necessarily better. More details: http://mark.tranchant.co.uk/2008/06/driving-more-e ...
- skoles, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2Want a cheap way to streamline your car for a couple bucks? Grab a few rolls of painters tape and seal off the hood, rear wheel well, passenger doors and blend the rear spoiler into the car as it's just for show anyway.
- mike17032, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1Depends on the car.
In a real car, the spoiler serves a very useful purpose.- skoles, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3If you're seeing the speeds where the spoiler comes into use then you're not concerned about gas mileage in the first place.
- Duositex, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Most spoilers aren't functional. They're just a decoration. If by "real car" you mean an F1 or a Bugatti Veyron, then sure.
But even then.. painter's tape? It's got a porous surface and it comes apart when wet. How the hell is this a good idea? - mcquitty, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Yes, because rear spoilers do a lot of good on front wheel drive cars.
- hempydave, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Most real spoilers don't "work" till after 100 mph.
Car guy you are not.
STUF or GTFO
- mike17032, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1Depends on the car.
- Davedray, on 06/26/2008, -1/+0This stuff seems very interesting. Maybe I can up the MPG of my 2004 Scion xB, the worlds least airodynamic car?
- Gunsotsu, on 06/26/2008, -4/+3Remember when Digg was about Ron Paul worshipping, Xbox 360/PS3/Wii fanboyism, or LOLcats and it wasn't about ridiculous methods of saving gas?
Can't wait to hear this guy pleading his case with the police when he gets a ticket, "But I get an extra 1/10th of a mile per every gallon of gas!" I, for one, am waiting for all the evening news reports of hypermiler's getting into accidents because of their insane and unsafe driving practices.
Oh, and to answer jcpeden's query about the mirrors, it isn't legal. Every vehicle operated on the road is required to have a driver's side mirror and one other, be it rear view or passenger side. - kaptainchump, on 06/26/2008, -2/+3LOL at the stupid looking honda civic
- ballsnark, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Prediction: way more highway collisions when it becomes widespread knowledge that drafting larger vehicles increases mileage, considering that they'll also be.... eating breakfast, drinking coffee, smoking, texting, putting on make-up and/or fiddling with their ipods. My '96 Jeep Cherokee gets about 16mpg highway... but I've also driven it
- mgbuddy, on 06/26/2008, -1/+3Most Small European cars do 50 - 55 MPG without no special driving actions or mods.... If you use it a little carefully can get almost 60 MPG (4 liters/100km) almost on all of them. (The Smart for two diesel do 84MPG by default, the most efficient now in the market)
So stop doing stupid mods and dangerous tricks and buy European cars or Japanese for Europe cars...- Duositex, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2The gas mileage is better because emissions standards are lower in Europe. European cars aren't legal here because they're pollute more. I know.. it seams counterintuitive, but it's true.
- mgbuddy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Hahahaha....
Where exactly do you get that?
Here almost all cars have less than 200 CO2 emissions, the most common ones less than 120.
The Smart diesel in the example is 90, and the petrol one 116.
So, a car than eats half of the gas from the states polutes more? .... Explain me that.. - 3Dimka, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Emission level has nothing to do with gas mileage. EU cars have better MPG because they are smaller and have smaller motors with less horsepowers. And they also have diesel option.
- mgbuddy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Hahahaha....
- 3Dimka, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Smart for two '08 for American market comes with a bigger engine and it does only 40 MPG. Not even close to promised 60MPG! I'd rather buy Toyota Yaris with 35 MPG .
- slstsang, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2You know most other countries speed limit are lower than US right? also they measure their speed in KM. Most US highway is 65 - 70 mph, it's quite rare to drive that fast in other countries, not that it can't happen and don't give me the Germany Autobahn BS, the recommended speed of the German autobahn is 130 km/h (81 mph).
- Duositex, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2The gas mileage is better because emissions standards are lower in Europe. European cars aren't legal here because they're pollute more. I know.. it seams counterintuitive, but it's true.
- M0pper, on 06/26/2008, -1/+0Bah ... i misread the title, thought it said 'tuning your car for 100 MPH' :(
Anyway, as stated by others previously, it's not so much _which_ car you drive, but much more _how_ you drive it. Driving economically can be quite a challenge though.
If you don't believe driving style is the main factor, have a look at this: Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson does 800 miles on one tank in an Audi A8 with a twin-turbo V8 diesel engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKa90jSvkPs- Andyschism, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1It DOES say that.
- M0pper, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0Can you not see the difference between MPG and MPH? L2R.
- Andyschism, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1It DOES say that.
- serif69, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2My gas mileage has been suffering a bit lately from all the times I've had to roll my window down and stick my hand out to give the finger to a hypermiler wannabe in the left lane. It really increases wind resistance.
- hilo4321, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Oh i bet this is a real secretive culture
almost like the stone-cutters im sure - HaSatan, on 06/26/2008, -1/+0I guess the EPA doesnt have a rating for dignity.
- 3Dimka, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3If hobbyists can improve MPG for little money, why car producers can not for millions of bucks?
The best way to reduce gas appetite is to put smaller engines into smaller cars. That's what Europe and Japan do. Unfortunately Americans are to much got used to big cars with lots of useless horsepower. And the same car model for American market comes with a bigger motor thus lower MPG. Guys, if you wanna good gas mileage, you got to sacrifice on horsepower and oversized vehicles.- drazen77, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1We don't want good gas mileage, we want cars with power to get away from tools that shouldn't be driving in the first place.
Additionally, we want energy policies in this country that make sense about providing cheap and plentiful energy to serve our needs, not the other way around.
We'd have this if it weren't for econuts and their overzealous policies. Seriously, if you want to phase out bad energy production you have to have a readily available, viable alternative to go to first. We don't have that so why cripple everyone in the pursuit of it?
Not a good strategy for converting everyone over to a new energy source.
- drazen77, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1We don't want good gas mileage, we want cars with power to get away from tools that shouldn't be driving in the first place.
- blanktarget, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2looks ugly but its cool people are trying new things always.
- seraph582, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1I'm gonna go ahead and have myself a healthy "GUFFAW" at the notion of "ECO MODDING"
....
GUFFAW!!!
(edit: there are already enough "modders" making cars obnoxious. Well at least these (ten? twenty?) people will have obnoxious looking cars that don't sound as obnoxious as they look. Stupid ***** fart-can exhaust systems ftl.) - hempydave, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1I get 42 mpg @ 47 to 49 mph (converted to equivalent as propane has different btu value) out of my 1 ton single axle (no big fender skirts on box) propane truck. Peak Horse Power is about 10% less Peak torque about 10% more, with acceleration about 75% of original.(taller gearing kills that)
Only mods are Hotrod high compression pistons with small valve / small combustion camber heads, RV camshaft, Aluminum intake, headers/dual exhaust, 4 speed over drive, 40% higher gears in rear axle with low profile / narrower 10 ply tires @ 60 psi to 70 psi (load dependent)
with smooth HUB CAPS.
about $8000 including cost of buying used truck.
Canadian tire spray can paint job $37
King of the road feeling at 48mph
(overdrive kicks in at 45 mph)
Priceless - gdha, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Brilliant.
- drazen77, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1I am so tired of your ecogeeks and your hypermiling.
Get. Out. Of. The. Way.
And stop posting this crap on digg.
It's bad enough trying to get up to highway speed with morons barely getting off the ramp at 45 mph and onto the highway... at the same gd speed. Nevermind that the flow of traffic is closer to 70 - 80 mph.
Get. Out. Of. The. Way.
If you can't afford the gas then get off the gd road and find an alternative. - clickwir, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Title is misleading. Fix it!
- sporg, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1The CRX gets excellent efficiency in stock form with no modifications whatsoever and you can pick a good example up for $1500-$2500 dollars. Some people report getting over 60mpg easily in the HF with good driving habits. You can also park it in places your truck cant even dream of fitting which is very useful in the city. There are not that many places to fill up with propane in the US I don't know where you live. Propane is only slightly cheaper than gasoline and I doubt that will last. I will also bet that maintenance and repairs for the Honda will be lower than yours since the majority of parts interchange from the other civic lines.
- Ledjar, on 07/02/2008, -0/+1i love the civic with the grill completely blocked out so it can't get any air.
- beauley, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1There have been many attempts to design an electric powered vehicle for as long as the the internal combustion engine has been around. Unfortunately, battery power was never a formidable contender to the present internal combustion engine, but it looks as though the future looks more pronising.
http://www.gomestic.com/Consumer-Information/The-E ...
The Electric Vehicle, is It the Answer?
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