Best mpg with your festiva?

[mikeyjd]

I was just curious what ya'll are getting with your festy's, and what tip's/modifications would you offer that have made the biggest difference for your fuel efficiency?

[FestYboy]

biggest differance is judicial use of the right foot... after that it's regular and meticulous maintenance of the festy.

[Chobobulous]

Guy getting 56 mpg asking for tips..... perhaps you should share what you do

[TominMO]

Gearing. The ultimate would be lowering your overall hwy RPMs by using 165/80x15 tires made for older VW Beetles. You would need appropriate VW wheels. The 4-lug ones are 4x130mm, so you would need a pair of adaptors (no need to go to this expense for the rear wheels).

155/80x12 = 21.8" diameter
165/80x15 = 25.4" diameter
A difference of about 15% reduction in engine speed; so 60 mph would be like 51 for RPM purposes. 55 would be like 47.
At 45 mph over a distance of 86 miles, I got 62.5 MPG.
At 55, same course on the hwys around St Louis, I got 58 MPG. So 55 is a pretty good sweet spot; only a 4.5 MPG difference with a 10 MPH difference. These results reflect both RPM and wind resistance, of course.

Adaptors: http://www.ezaccessory.com/Wheel_Ada.../4000-4000.htm
Wheels: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails....D601%2D025%2DG
Tires: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails....C%2DC10%2D6654
Total cost looks like about $400. But with these gas prices....saving 15% in gas over 40,000 miles might be worth looking into. Plus you just have to replace the tires, not the hardware.

40,000 miles / 40 MPG = 1,000 gallons
1,000 gallons x $3.50/gallon = $3,500 for 40K miles!
$3,500 x .15 = $525. This setup more than pays for itself in 40K miles.

[Micro Mudder]

Shell v power gas on my 91 5speed festiva with 13 rims got me 50mpg at 70mph

[Chobobulous]

I have fms springs so my 155 80r12s almost touch the fender now. Another4 inches tall and i would rip the fender off on the first turn


Tempting though.

Gearing. The ultimate would be lowering your overall hwy RPMs by using 165/80x15 tires made for older VW Beetles. You would need appropriate VW wheels. The 4-lug ones are 4x130mm, so you would need a pair of adaptors (no need to go to this expense for the rear wheels).

155/80x12 = 21.8" diameter
165/80x15 = 25.4" diameter
A difference of about 15% reduction in engine speed; so 60 mph would be like 51 for RPM purposes. 55 would be like 47.
At 45 mph over a distance of 86 miles, I got 62.5 MPG.
At 55, same course on the hwys around St Louis, I got 58 MPG. So 55 is a pretty good sweet spot; only a 4.5 MPG difference with a 10 MPH difference.

Adaptors: http://www.ezaccessory.com/Wheel_Ada.../4000-4000.htm
Wheels: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails....D601%2D025%2DG
Tires: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails....C%2DC10%2D6654

[TominMO]

Further notes:
1. It would be nice if we could source cheaper wheels, like maybe find a JY 15" space-saver wheel in 4x114.3 or 4x100, that we could mount these tires to. Check the 4-lug wheel list to look for compatible JY cars. Two FWD space-savers would probably cost about $20 each. That would drop the initial cost to maybe $200.
2. These tires will raise the body about 2" in the front. To get an equivalent lift in the rear, maybe go to Aspire struts/springs with 155/80x13 tires, or 165/70x14.

[mikeyjd]

Gearing. The ultimate would be lowering your overall hwy RPMs by using 165/80x15 tires made for older VW Beetles. You would need appropriate VW wheels. The 4-lug ones are 4x130mm, so you would need a pair of adaptors (no need to go to this expense for the rear wheels).

155/80x12 = 21.8" diameter
165/80x15 = 25.4" diameter
A difference of about 15% reduction in engine speed; so 60 mph would be like 51 for RPM purposes. 55 would be like 47.
At 45 mph over a distance of 86 miles, I got 62.5 MPG.
At 55, same course on the hwys around St Louis, I got 58 MPG. So 55 is a pretty good sweet spot; only a 4.5 MPG difference with a 10 MPH difference. These results reflect both RPM and wind resistance, of course.

Adaptors: http://www.ezaccessory.com/Wheel_Ada.../4000-4000.htm
Wheels: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails....D601%2D025%2DG
Tires: http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails....C%2DC10%2D6654
Total cost looks like about $400. But with these gas prices....saving 15% in gas over 40,000 miles might be worth looking into. Plus you just have to replace the tires, not the hardware.

40,000 miles / 40 MPG = 1,000 gallons
1,000 gallons x $3.50/gallon = $3,500 for 40K miles!
$3,500 x .15 = $525. This setup more than pays for itself in 40K miles.

Yeah it would seem to pay for itself. My only question about the taller tires would be the increased frontal area exposed (maybe 1sqft?) on the car and rolling resistance (possibly canceled out by higher max sidewall psi rating) of the larger tire compared to decreased cruising rpm's. I'm sure it's still a great improvement in overall mileage but it doesn't pencil out exactly this way. I've been looking into the aspire swap for some time as they seem to be readily available and pretty easy to swap over. It also seems like they would fit a bit better without changing suspension out, making it a more cost effective move. My goal is to find an Aspire scrapper for a brakes/tires+seat swap that would pay for itself in recycled materials.

[mikeyjd]

Further notes:
1. It would be nice if we could source cheaper wheels, like maybe find a JY 15" space-saver wheel in 4x114.3 or 4x100, that we could mount these tires to. Check the 4-lug wheel list to look for compatible JY cars. Two FWD space-savers would probably cost about $20 each. That would drop the initial cost to maybe $200.
2. These tires will raise the body about 2" in the front. To get an equivalent lift in the rear, maybe go to Aspire struts/springs with 155/80x13 tires, or 165/70x14.

What setup do you have?

[mikeyjd]

Guy getting 56 mpg asking for tips..... perhaps you should share what you do

Well My goal is 60mpg average tank fillup. Here is what I have to offer.

Driving Tips:
-Plan trips to avoid congested roads
-Avoid driving in bad weather when possible. It dramatically increases rolling resistances.
-Accelerate Slower + Shift as smoothly as possible at the lowest rpm's you can without lugging the engine
-Try to time traffic lights so that you don't lose momentum unnecessarily
-Keep highway speeds low (I usually keep it around 55 on the highway, 60-65 if I'm in a hurry)
-Use Breaks as seldom as possible, as long as it's safe.
-Challenge yourself by making high mpg numbers a game.
-Engine off coasting
(EOC) is one of the largest contributors to increased efficiency of hybrid vehicles, many of which automatically shut down the engine when the accelerator is released and the vehicle is coasting. EOC can be accomplished in non-hybrids as well simply by shifting to neutral and switching the key from "Run" to "Acc" (being careful not to switch to "Off" and cause the steering to lock). As soon as the engine stops, return the key to the "Run" position or else you will be in danger of locking out your steering and crashing. Also be careful to not steer at all while the key is off to prevent a lock up. In non-hybrids, EOC is considered an advanced technique and should not be attempted until the skill developed away from traffic. In addition, coasting with the engine off is illegal in some areas.The best way to EOC is with a kill switch that shuts off the engine without removing the key, thereby eliminating the dangers of locking the steering wheel.

-Pulse & Glide Driving
Let's say you're on a road where you want to go 60 km/h. Instead of driving along at a steady 60, you instead accelerate to 70 (that's the pulse), and then coast in neutral with the engine off down to 50 (that's the glide). That's it. Rinse and repeat. And repeat. And repeat. By doing this, you're still averaging 60 km/h, but it turns out that pulse and glide is significantly more efficient than driving along maintaining a steady 60 km/h.

Current Mods:
-Grill Block Upper + Lower (Lower has venting for radiator cooling)
-Full underbelly pan
-55 psi tire inflation
-Rear Passenger Seat Delete
-Passenger Side Mirror Delete
-Antenna Delete
-Wipers Removed (12mm wrench and 1 wiper in the car for rainy days)
-Full Synthetic 5w/20 Amsoil Oil
-Spare Tire Removed

Planned Mods:
-MPGuino
-Engine Killswitch
-Rear wheal skirts
-Kambakk (maybe a removable boat tail)
-Air Dam with extended Nose (to lower stagnation point)
-Engine Block Heater

Feel free to ask questions about anything I've written and I hope you can find something useful

[TominMO]

What setup do you have?

My Festy has 185/60x14 tires, and a small homemade air dam on the front. What I described above is something I had looked into. Might do the 165/80x15 wheel setup for my Aspire, along with putting in a Festy 5-speed, for the taller final drive. And a small air dam along the bottom of the bumper. With all this, I would hope for 55 MPG, or close to it, at 60 MPH.

BTW I have gotten 50 MPG in city driving on my Festy, when it had the B3, by using hypermiling techniques. These techniques are practical, but you have to use judgment as to when, bearing traffic conditions in mind.

[200KGPGTP]

I'm assuming y'all bumpstart after EOC?

[hotfordcat]

93GL bone stock. The best I ever got was 46.5mpg

[TominMO]

I'm assuming y'all bumpstart after EOC?

Right, unless you had come to a complete stop at a light.

[avitsefdrof]

Best I ever got was 33mpg....included jack rabbit starts,30-75mph range on a tank with a b3 automatic.....bone stock.