wondering if ecomods are onto somthing ???

[mattman]

just spent a good bit of time looking thru ecomodders site an was wondering if anyone had done any of the mods they have on there like the kammbacks an bellypans or block offs on the front lots of kool ideas an some of the geo metro guys have got in the 60's in mpg with mods they have done so anyone think it may be worth a try to fool with it

[200KGPGTP]

Well I hardly understood your post, but I certainly have lots of eco-mods planned for mine as soon as I get it... Fender flares, full underbody pan, engine kill button, weight reduction(remove carpet, all seats but driver, etc) Grill block, etc etc. Every little bit helps, yo.

[1988festivazoom]

Seems like the money spent would be pointless as far as in town driving and after spending say 500$ total u can fill a festiva for 20$ so u can fill a festy 25 times for 500$ and with an average of around 300 miles per tank u can go 7500 miles on 500$ fuel so are u gunna save over 7500 miles worth of fuel in the life of u owning the car? (And those figures are at 33 mpg) (and 500$ cost to do mods) just consider all of this. I run the piss out of my car and the worst tank I have ever got is 27mpg all in town and wide open throttle 50% of the time and constantly seeing the rev limiter.

[Kraig]

Learn their driving techniques first!

[sketchman]

.... u can fill a festiva for 20$

I'm moving wherever this guy lives. Seriously, how much do you pay for gas?

Oh, and I will "hopefully" be doing some things to the Aspire when it's on the road. Not sure on the details yet, but I can't really help myself. If the Festiva wasn't going back to my mom soon, I'd experiment with it a little more too.

[bhazard]

Seems like the money spent would be pointless as far as in town driving and after spending say 500$ total u can fill a festiva for 20$ so u can fill a festy 25 times for 500$ and with an average of around 300 miles per tank u can go 7500 miles on 500$ fuel so are u gunna save over 7500 miles worth of fuel in the life of u owning the car? (And those figures are at 33 mpg) (and 500$ cost to do mods) just consider all of this. I run the piss out of my car and the worst tank I have ever got is 27mpg all in town and wide open throttle 50% of the time and constantly seeing the rev limiter.

Are you serious 27 mpg? The worst I ever got with my stock festy was like 39 or 41 mpg, when I first bought it, before I even gave it a tuneup.

$500? Where are you getting that kind of insane figure? Couple sheets of coroplast can go a LONG way in the ecomodder world. When I bought it it was like $20 for a 4x8 foot sheet. Lowering a festy is very cheap/free. Weight reduction is free. DRIVING HABITS are free. Proper tire inflation is free. Proper maintenance is free. More involved things like kamm's and smooth wheel covers are generally improvised enough to be dirt cheap to make.

[Aaronbrook37]

Are you serious 27 mpg? The worst I ever got with my stock festy was like 39 or 41 mpg, when I first bought it, before I even gave it a tuneup.

$500? Where are you getting that kind of insane figure? Couple sheets of coroplast can go a LONG way in the ecomodder world. When I bought it it was like $20 for a 4x8 foot sheet. Lowering a festy is very cheap/free. Weight reduction is free. DRIVING HABITS are free. Proper tire inflation is free. Proper maintenance is free. More involved things like kamm's and smooth wheel covers are generally improvised enough to be dirt cheap to make.

Great post, as usual, BH. I've seen coroplast do 5MPG highway on its own with a basically-full grill block and rear wheel well skirts.

[1988festivazoom]

I always run premium and its around 2.89 a gallon for prem here. And its not stock its a b6-me with custom intake and exhaust and 20 thou off the head and I've got the aspire trany (4.08 final) mpg was not my biggest concern considering every other vechile I had got only 5mpg bc they where all bb ford pickups. And I'm not aware how much the econo mods cost to do but I'm just saying I cannot see them being benefical for me considering that 90% of my driving is in town.

[Pu241]

1988festivazoom, so even a 9 gallon "fill-up" will cost you more than $20, your already "fudging" the numbers.

Not everyone has your commute.
I drive between 40 and 60,000 mile a year and currently average 44 MPG, I'd be happy to spend some money on aeromods to get even a 10% increase in MPG. And as BHazard says, most of those are free are cost very little. Unless you pay for someone to do them for you.
How about you consider this, every gallon of gas you burn pays, in some way, for the bullets and bombs used against our troops in the Middle East.
Know anyone over there?

bhazard and 200KGPGTP, I wouldn't put weight reduction up too high on the list. Removal of carpet will increase sound levels and reduce the ability of the vehicles interior to retain heat. Besides, on my last run from Oh to Va, a 400+ mile run, I had my festiva weighted down with equipment, clothing, festiva parts, and construction waste from a bath wall repair/replacement. Leaving the car about 300 lbs heavier, most over the rear axle, and the top of the rear tires about even with the outside of the wheel wells. I got 47 MPG on 10% ETOH during winter. I've made this trip maybe 50-60 times, but never so heavily loaded and never with this kind of mileage in the winter. I did have a complete grill block, but only for the air intake above the bumper (considering doing one for the grill below the bumper). So I'd definitely consider some type of aeromod; lowering the car without reducing load capacity coilovers NOT lowering springs, side skirts (even if just coroplast hung between the front and back wheels on the "jack point" rail, coroplast/lawn edging airdam (might not need a belly pan if you have sideskirts and airdam), Belly pan or engine bay pan could be made from the 323 part or at least get you a long way toward it.

Aaronbrooks37, I think with the above aeromods and the rear wheel shirts I can see a 55 MPG festiva, maybe more. And that's only a 25% increase over my current average.
I'd like to see someone do a camel-back with some ABA testing but mounting it isn't a trivial consideration. Also coroplast isn't the only option we have in construction of these mods I think I still have access to sheet stock PVC from 0.1" upward. So maybe I'll get off my butt and see what I can make.

[1988festivazoom]

I don't run my car down to "e" .... a 7 gallon fill is reasonable. And it dosent matter. My point is that for somebody with my driving (mostly in town, not over 45mph) its not worth doing and add on mods. I agree that proper tire inflation and fluids being well maintained will help me and I do those things. Just switching to full synthetic amsoil I gained around 2mpg in town and I can go 15,000 mi on this oil so I'm saving a little money on fuel and also getting 5 times the life out of my oil so I see that as a potential gain over time but as far as me doing aerodynamic mods I wouldint gain enough to make it worth my time.

[Aaronbrook37]

Aaronbrooks37, I think with the above aeromods and the rear wheel shirts I can see a 55 MPG festiva, maybe more. And that's only a 25% increase over my current average. I'd like to see someone do a camel-back with some ABA testing but mounting it isn't a trivial consideration. Also coroplast isn't the only option we have in construction of these mods I think I still have access to sheet stock PVC from 0.1" upward. So maybe I'll get off my butt and see what I can make.

I would completely agree. Careful throttle moderation, slipstream aerodynamics, and overinflated tires with a healthy/hearty motor could easily be 55MPG @45MPH on an EFI 5-speed on a sunny day. A lot of the Geo Metro guys have done the camel-backs and such with a lot of scientific testing as well. Keep us posted... I'd love to read the updates!

[200KGPGTP]

Wow this thread blew up!!

Are you serious 27 mpg? The worst I ever got with my stock festy was like 39 or 41 mpg, when I first bought it, before I even gave it a tuneup.

$500? Where are you getting that kind of insane figure? Couple sheets of coroplast can go a LONG way in the ecomodder world. When I bought it it was like $20 for a 4x8 foot sheet. Lowering a festy is very cheap/free. Weight reduction is free. DRIVING HABITS are free. Proper tire inflation is free. Proper maintenance is free. More involved things like kamm's and smooth wheel covers are generally improvised enough to be dirt cheap to make.

What this guy said!!! I plan on doing A LOT and there is no way on gods green earth I'll be spending over $50. Money very well spent if I do it right off the bat and gain a few mpg.... I'm filling my Grand Prix up every 3 days from EMPTY, the savings will add up fastt!!!!!!!!!1

[Pu241]

I would completely agree. Careful throttle moderation, slipstream aerodynamics, and overinflated tires with a healthy/hearty motor could easily be 55MPG @45MPH on an EFI 5-speed on a sunny day. A lot of the Geo Metro guys have done the camel-backs and such with a lot of scientific testing as well. Keep us posted... I'd love to read the updates!

No, I'm talking about targeting 60 MPH!
Of course I've learned, via GPS, that averaging 60 MPH across a full tank is very difficult.
The 47 MPG I got on my last tank was with a single stop, but getting the average back up to anywhere near 60 without exceeding 60 MPH, just wasn't going to happen.
I'm saying at 60 MPH with proper aeromoding we should be able to averaging 55+ MPG.
Maybe even 60+ MPG, remember our C sub d is pretty high to start with and even with that we average mid to upper 40's MPG wise.
Hell, even in TominMO's testing he hit low to mid 50's without aeromoding at 45 to 50 MPH.

[econoaddict]

1988festivazoom, so even a 9 gallon "fill-up" will cost you more than $20, your already "fudging" the numbers.

I know that every book/ site out there says festivas all had 10 gallon tanks.
However I have 2 right now that will only hold 8 gallons from bone dry empty.
Both are '88 carbies, zooms was converted from carb'd to injected.
Neither of my tanks are damaged in anyway (caved in from the bottom)
I run my tank right down to the point that the needle touches the top side of the empty line then fill up. Today was the most expensive in awhile at $20.44,
I have been doing the same 100 mile round trip drive for 3+yrs now and usually spend somewhere between $16 and $20 for a fill up, pending price.
If his has the same tank as mine do then he is right on the money.
My injected tiva does have a 10 gallon tank.

[1988festivazoom]

the most i have ever put in mine was 9.1 gallons and that was when i ran out and i had it filled to the brim lol it suprising how easy it is to push a festy accroes an intersection by yourself!