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Posted Thursday, April 17/08 in Mods & Tests
Plus, who says block heaters are only for sub-zero use? I use mine three seasons of the year. (And the only reason I don't use it regularly in the summer is because I'm lazy.) Toyota's hybrids (like the Prius) employ their thermos-like tanks to preserve coolant heat for efficiency gains whether January or July. The question this post addresses is: how long should you plug in a block heater? In other words, what's the shortest time needed for the maximum temperature rise? Posted Wednesday, March 12/08 in General
But the magazine did a lot more than just talk about efficiency. They grabbed the bull by the horns (okay, a Ford Pinto by the bumper) and actually did something about it. Their story, Project Car: Crisis-Fighter Pinto, outlined six simple, mostly aerodynamic modifications which actually saved gas. After the jump: the six modifications, in detail. Posted Thursday, January 3/08 in Suzukiclone info
Almost a year later, a quick look at his gas log shows it's climbed to 60.5 mpg. Nice work! Unfortunately, the secret to his success may lie partly in Mother Nature's aggressive vehicle weight reduction program - the XFi has been rusting out from under him! But there's a silver lining: Rick just picked up a lightly roasted 1991 Metro convertible for $150 and has launched the ambitious Convertible XFi Project. It's shaping up to be much more than just a powertrain swap. Posted Tuesday, December 11/07 in General
When I originally set up this site, I made a decision not to include visitor comments with the articles, thinking it would create too much work. Instead, I invited e-mail and responses submitted through the feedback page. Well, let me tell you something: MetroMPG.com visitors are a chatty bunch! Since day one, I've received & answered literally hundreds of messages ... and lately the rate has been increasing. (So much for saving work.) So with that in mind, I recently conceded defeat. But in a good way - with the launch of Ecomodder.com, a brand spanking new discussion forum about efficiency modifications, eco-driving techniques and fuel economy in general. Posted Thursday, August 16/07 in General
To the fossil fuel-powered car, that is. I've actually been working on a variety of other vehicles, and in the spirit of the Blackfly, the common theme running through the entire fleet is efficiency. (Most of them even save fuel by replacing some dino juice driving.) So here's where my tinker time has been going this summer... Posted Wednesday, May 30/07 in Driving efficiently
In recent years, pulse and glide may have been popularized most by drivers of Toyota's Prius hybrid, partly because it's just so darned easy to do in that car. But contrary to a misconception held by some, this extreme fuel saving method wasn't developed by hybrid drivers, nor is it limited to hybrid cars. In fact, it has been used for decades by participants in extreme fuel economy competitions like the Shell Marathon for experimental vehicles. A group of just such people - grad students and researchers at the University of California (Davis) - demonstrated the technique (calling it "burn-and-coast") to a writer from Road and Track in 1992. With some coaching, the writer pulled off 116 mpg (US) on a closed course in a bone stock Geo Metro XFi. Posted Tuesday, April 24/07 in Mods & Tests
Valves were also on the minds of the engineers who designed the uber-efficient US-only Metro XFi. Their "economy" camshaft was one of several mechanical improvements that increased the XFi's EPA ratings by 15% (city) and 18% (highway) above its thirstier siblings (the garden variety 3-cylinder Metros). In pursuit of better fuel economy, a few American TeamSwift.net members have already transplanted XFi cams into their regular Metros. Recently, I followed in their pioneering footsteps, thanks to a friend who performed a cam-ectomy on a junkyard XFi in Utah and sent the prize north across the border on a medevac flight... I mean UPS. Posted Saturday, March 10/07 in Mods & Tests
Partly that's because I'm a lousy snowboarder. To keep from coming to a dead stop on the flat sections of the (easy) runs I tend to ride, I sometimes have to crouch way down low (minimizing my frontal area) to maintain to enough momentum to "coast" to where the run drops off again. But mostly it was because of what I saw in the ski hill parking lot: a sea of roof racks and roof-top carriers. I wondered how many people were aware of the magnitude of the fuel consumption penalty they cause. I wasn't entirely sure myself, so I did a quick comparison and saw some dramatic results first-hand. Posted Wednesday, February 21/07 in General
In other words, it has quickly become the fuel saver's favourite gadget. With this in mind, I set out to learn more about the history of the ScanGauge and its inventor, Ron DeLong. I recently spoke to Ron on a range of topics: his background, how the ScanGauge came to be, and some future plans for the magic little box. Posted Wednesday, February 7/07 in Suzukiclone info
With that in mind, meet Rick. Rick is a genuine motorhead - he's taken his considerable mechanical/technical experience honed on a fleet of traditional high performance cars and applied it to his 1993 Metro XFi to maximize its fuel economy performance for his daily commute. Thus he has also become an econohead. When it comes to improving efficiency, Rick definitely leans more toward the "mods" side of the "mods + driving technique" formula. The fact that he's been able to average nearly 53 mpg (US) / 4.4 L/100 km / 64 mpg (Imperial) from his XFi, in hilly country, without using any "special" driving techniques is a testament to what he's accomplished mechanically. Show more posts: page 1
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darin AT metrompg D-O-T com, or here
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