Fuel mileage improvement

[Sentientbydesign]

Precision93,

Here is the cut and dry. I am with you on improving fuel economy. Not only for the cost but also for the environmental effects.

HOWEVER, you've got to be realistic here. Aero mods, driving style, oil type, weight...etc, are all realistic ways of improving fuel economy.

Getting narrow 80,000 mile tires is not a realistic option. Why? Because the above mods don't compromise the vehicles intent. You can do all of them without effecting the safety or intent of the car (except the driving style, but that's different).

Getting narrow hard tires will make the vehicle handle like hell. This is a performance sports car, not a prius like so many have mentioned. The last thing you want is to go around a corner too fast and go flying into a gaurd rail so you could save $.02/mile on gas.

The vehicle was designed for sticky tires. I can say without hesitation that the VDC will not work correctly with narrow slippery tires.

Your best bet is to go with an aftermarket lightweight 17" rim and some RE750 or equivalent tires. That should improve your fuel economy significantly without adversly affecting performance or safety.

[rn79870]

As long as I've got to be a smartass, let me suggest one more thing.You might have to remove a little more from your car than you first thought. http://i172.photobucket.com/al...r.jpg

(Sorry zozo, but the shoe fit here.)

[Q45tech]

One thing people miss is the steady decline in BTU per gallon [that has occurred to stretch oil] refiners now get about 5.5% more gallons from the same amount of oil................computers have optimized refineries over the past 15 years. Reductions in aromatics and substitutions create less power and thus require more rpms to equalize.

Unfortunately typical pump gasoline is not the special lab grade gasoline [IndolenClear] used to compute EPA numbers.Nor does EPA consider E10 blends in calculation even though 35% of US gasoline has it.

The recent 2008 reduction in MPG only goes part of the way for those that live in congested areas or drive faster than 65 mph frequently.

[Kenrik]

Get new plugs and gap them correctly. Get a new fuel filter and air filter. Change your intake for a Z-tube and get a intake spacer. Drive with CC on at 60mph.

You may save several MPG but it will take you 30k miles to make up for the expense of the mods.

Now I drive 30k miles per year so... thats how I justified my new toys with my wife

[Sentientbydesign]

Hey Kenrik. Did you notice a true fuel economy improvement with the plenum spacer. I need to justify it to my wife too, but I truly don't want it if it decreases economy and I don't mean decresase because of my heavy foot.

[Kenrik]

Hey Kenrik. Did you notice a true fuel economy improvement with the plenum spacer. I need to justify it to my wife too, but I truly don't want it if it decreases economy and I don't mean decresase because of my heavy foot.

IDK, I ordered it but it has not come in the mail yet. We'll see, even if it does not it has to because that's what I told my wife it did (and it should) if not I'll just drive slower.

I got the Blox intake spacer ($105 shipped) wait to get your spacer until I can review this one it's much cheaper then all of the other spacers on the market.

[precision93]

I currently have the Stillen air box, filter, and z-tube, with a Motordyne 5/16 spacer. I did them at the same time and my MPG slightly increased along with the power. I am going to try test pipes and will hopefully see similar results with both increases in power and fuel economy.

I don't plan on going with narrower tires, only harder.

I will probably try a 275 in the rear. That should help offset the takeoff, and help with the highway mpg since it is slightly taller. 90% of my driving is highway.

I seriously don't expect the modifications to pay for themselves, but I don't want to decrease the gas mileage just to gain a few extra horses.