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ChenZhen · 05-09-2008, 03:13 PM

Hey gang-

As I stated in the Gas Prices thread over in the lounge, I've been getting pretty serious about trying to squeeze every last mile out of a gallon of gas in my coug. It's sort of been my latest kick, so I've been spending some time with the hypermilers over at CleanMPG, An authoritative source on fuel economy and hypermiling and learning quite a bit. I'm sure they'd frown upon the way I've been tracking my performance, since the little cougar display probably isn't the most accurate thing, but here's what it reads as an average after driving around for about a week using their advise:

This is a 2-3 mpg increase from what I was getting before my little controlled test. So, for the record, here's what I did (simple stuff):

-Clean air filter (the stupid Weapon R one I got awhile back), MAF and MAP sensors

-tire inflation. I was running quite low on my PSI before. My Kumho's are rated at 44psi max and now I'm running at 40psi. The hypermilers will recommend going all the way to 44, and many of them are running 15% over the max rating.

-Weight reduction. This might be misleading, since I've been without the stock hood for some time now, but I've yanked out a few things to drop some extra mass:

-Driving techniques. I've basically been driving around like a grandma. Steady acceleration onto freeway. No speeding up to a stop sign. Plenty of coasting. etc. In short, giving it as little gas as possible to get where I'm going (kinda makes sense, huh). Driving the speed limit. Also, on the freeway commute to work, I've been using the cruise control and drafting (although you'll get mixed opinions from the hypermilers about using the cruise). In my experience, the coug MPG meter will tick up the fastest when you get behind a semi with the cruise on.

Also, for the record, here is the official government ratings for my car (2000 2.5L ATX):

My guess is at this point that I'm easily getting over 30mpg on the highway. It's really the idling and the stop/start of city and suburb driving that eats the gas.

Update: 6/11/08

Take that oil man!

05-09-2008, 03:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
ChenZhen Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Maple Grove, MN Posts: 1,417	My quest for 30mpg (Update: Booyah!) Hey gang- As I stated in the Gas Prices thread over in the lounge, I've been getting pretty serious about trying to squeeze every last mile out of a gallon of gas in my coug. It's sort of been my latest kick, so I've been spending some time with the hypermilers over at CleanMPG, An authoritative source on fuel economy and hypermiling and learning quite a bit. I'm sure they'd frown upon the way I've been tracking my performance, since the little cougar display probably isn't the most accurate thing, but here's what it reads as an average after driving around for about a week using their advise: This is a 2-3 mpg increase from what I was getting before my little controlled test. So, for the record, here's what I did (simple stuff): -Clean air filter (the stupid Weapon R one I got awhile back), MAF and MAP sensors -tire inflation. I was running quite low on my PSI before. My Kumho's are rated at 44psi max and now I'm running at 40psi. The hypermilers will recommend going all the way to 44, and many of them are running 15% over the max rating. -Weight reduction. This might be misleading, since I've been without the stock hood for some time now, but I've yanked out a few things to drop some extra mass: -Driving techniques. I've basically been driving around like a grandma. Steady acceleration onto freeway. No speeding up to a stop sign. Plenty of coasting. etc. In short, giving it as little gas as possible to get where I'm going (kinda makes sense, huh). Driving the speed limit. Also, on the freeway commute to work, I've been using the cruise control and drafting (although you'll get mixed opinions from the hypermilers about using the cruise). In my experience, the coug MPG meter will tick up the fastest when you get behind a semi with the cruise on. Also, for the record, here is the official government ratings for my car (2000 2.5L ATX): My guess is at this point that I'm easily getting over 30mpg on the highway. It's really the idling and the stop/start of city and suburb driving that eats the gas. Update: 6/11/08 Take that oil man! __________________ ____________ChenZhen on cardomain.com ____________Sprague's Speed Tuning . Minnetonka MN 952-938-0895 Last edited by ChenZhen; 06-12-2008 at 12:08 AM.