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Economy Guide: Updated, Loads of fuel saver tips! 

 

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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:04 pm 
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Man i have better things to do than worry about whether or not i'm influencing the way you drive, if it works for you then good on you!

 

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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:41 pm 
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Ride: 07 BF mk2 E-gas wagon + eb 5.0

Power: 174 rwkw

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mate, being a forum its very difficult to guage how to take some comments, whether they are serious, sarcastic, having a go etc.

i was actually in agreement with most of what you said but to me it seemed like you retaliated by having a real crack.

obviously you can't agree with everyone but i do agree that a lot of dollars can be saved by some very basic maintenance tips and a little knowledge. post 98 cars require very little in the way of 'tuning' so if you know how to keep on top of 'servicing' then you will save a few dollars, providing all the sensors are within spec.

 

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:52 am 
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yeah yeah yeah.. no man i definitely wasnt having a crack, lol..

And yeah, this guide is just that for everyone that jumps and and asks "how can i improve my mileage" as a few do..

Plus once its finished its got a few projects that even regular site users can have a go at, or research further into.. I really like the pcv enhancer.. I've tipped a lot of oil and water out of the filter that would otherwise have gone into the engine..

Water injection, via vacuum, not the best way to do it but alot more practical then buying a host of motors and controllers etc.. Leaves your spark plugs steam cleaned.. So everything fires a treat!

Glad you liked the read, i appreciate it!

 

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:06 pm 
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Ride: BA XR6T (mix of BA, BF and FG)

Location: Perth
WA, Australia

Couple of points...

1. Wheel alignment.. if it's out, you'll use more fuel pushing two wheels that point in different directions.

2. Each car has a speed at which it is most efficient saying drive slower is not entirely true..

I could drive everwhere at 60 in my falcon, but would use more fuel then driving 80..

Last edited by frankieh on Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:23 pm 
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Yes your right frankieh, for sure, i think i wrote that about the optimal speed etc..

The truth is it isnt finished, ive been too busy working..
Thanks for the alignment tip though, its obvious i just didnt think of it :)

 

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 Post subject: Re: Economy Guide
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:21 pm 
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{USERNAME} wrote:
-95 octane (ethanol blend): This particular fuel contains a 20% blend of a substance known as ethanol, which is not all that it is made out to be. Ethanol is only good for cars that are designed to run off it. Ethanol will cause damage to 98% of cars as they are simply not designed to run off ethanol fuel. You do not get the same mileage for the same dollar value of your recommended fuel, besides being cheaper;
95 octane fuel- Ethanol ($1.25 per Litre) Buys you 16 Litres Taking you 120 kilometres.


I don't think all 95 octane fuels are an ethanol blend. BP's 95 fuel, for example, is priced between 91 and 98 octane and I'm pretty certain it is not labelled as containing ethanol.
It's not cheaper than 91, as implied here.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:22 pm 
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Ride: BA XR6T (mix of BA, BF and FG)

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WA, Australia

I only found out about my wheel alignment on the weekend because I went to put the car up on ramps.. I was lining the ramps up and discovered that my wheels were both pointing out at the front when they should have been straight..

hopefully my economy will improve now.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:20 pm 
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Your description of oil types is incorrect and misleading.
The oil weight figure has little to do with the level of protection on offer.

Heres a section taken from wiki

Quote:
The Society of Automotive Engineers, usually abbreviated as SAE, has established a numerical code system for grading motor oils according to their kinematic viscosity. SAE viscosity gradings include the following: 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50 or 60. Some of the numbers can be suffixed with the letter W, designating their "winter" or cold-start viscocity, at lower temperature.
Viscocity is graded by measuring the time it takes for a standard amount of oil to flow through a standard orifice, at standard temperature. The longer it takes, the higher the viscocity, and thus higher SAE code.

Note that the SAE operate a separate viscosity rating system for transmission oils which should not be confused with engine oil viscosity. The higher numbers of a transmission oil (eg 75W-140) do not mean that it is necessarily higher viscosity than an engine oil


The temperature range the oil is exposed to in most vehicles can be wide, ranging from cold ambient temperatures in the winter before the vehicle is started up to hot operating temperatures when the vehicle is fully warmed up in hot summer weather. A specific oil will have high viscosity when cold and a low viscosity at the engine's operating temperature. The difference in viscosities for any single-grade oil is too large between the extremes of temperature. To bring the difference in viscosities closer together, special polymer additives called viscosity index improvers, or VIs are added to the oil. These additives make the oil a multi-grade motor oil. The idea is to cause the multi-grade oil to have the viscosity of the base number when cold and the viscosity of second number when hot. This enables one type of oil to be generally used all year, and when multi-grades were initially developed, they were frequently described as all-season oil. The viscosity of a multi-grade oil still varies logarithmically with temperature, but the slope representing the change is lessened. This slope representing the change with temperature depends on the nature and amount of the additives to the base oil.

The SAE designation for multi-grade oils includes two grade numbers; for example, 10W-30 designates a common multi-grade oil. Historically, the first number associated with the W (again 'W' is for Winter, not Weight) is not rated at any single temperature. The "10W" means that this oil can be pumped by your engine as well as a single-grade SAE 10 oil can be pumped. "5W" can be pumped at a lower temperature than "10W" and "0W" can be pumped at a lower temperature than "5W". The second number, 30, means that the viscosity of this multi-grade oil at 100°C (212°F) operating temperature corresponds to the viscosity of a single-grade 30 oil at same temperature. The governing SAE standard is called SAE J300. This "classic" method of defining the "W" rating has since been replaced with a more technical test where a "cold crank simulator" is used at increasingly lowered temps. A 0W oil is tested at -35°C, a 5W at -30°C and a 10W is tested at -25°C. The real-world ability of an oil to crank in the cold is diminished soon after put into service. The motor oil grade and viscosity to be used in a given vehicle is specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle (although some modern European cars now make no viscosity requirement), but can vary from country to country when climatic or mpg constraints come into play. Oil circulates through the piston oil rings to cool and lubricate the compression rings. Inside gasoline engines, the top compression ring is exposed to temperatures as high as 320 °F (160 °C).

Many new vehicles are marked to use 5W-20 oil (Honda, Ford, and more recently Toyota) which is not much thinner than a 30W oil. Nay-sayers of 20W oil's ability to protect engines should note that typically, 30W oils shear down into the 20W range anyway. Most engine wear is during start-up and warm-up period, where the thinner 20W oil's flow is desirable. Overall, lab test results of the wear metals contained in used oil samples show low or lower wear with 20W than 30 in applications it is specified for. Some ultra fuel efficient and hybrid vehicles are marked to use 0W-20 oil. For some selective mechanical problems with engines, using a more viscous oil can ameliorate the symptoms, i.e. changing from 5W-20 to 20W-50 may eliminate a knocking noise from the engine but doesn't solve the problem, just "masks" it. Excess amounts of oil consumed by an engine burning it can be addressed by using a thicker oil, a 10W-40 might not burn off as fast compared to a 5W-30. A newer product that also addresses this issue is the "High-Miles" oils now marketed. They tend to be slightly thick for their grades, contain extra additives and seal conditioners. Apparently the formulation of these oils works well in many instances.

 

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:28 pm 
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haha, sorry captain

 

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or you can be fast and reliable,but it wont be cheap

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 Post subject: Re: Economy Guide
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:29 pm 
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I don't think all 95 octane fuels are an ethanol blend. BP's 95 fuel, for example, is priced between 91 and 98 octane and I'm pretty certain it is not labelled as containing ethanol.
It's not cheaper than 91, as implied here.

You might be right, do you want to find out next time your there and let me know and i will update it :) thanks

 

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it can be fast and cheap,but it wont be reliable
it can be reliable and cheap,but it wont be fast
or you can be fast and reliable,but it wont be cheap

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:30 pm 
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Also LPG has a higher octane rating (not as high as 120 though, between 100 and 108 depending on mixture) But its energy density is less than an equivalent amount of petrol.
So no, in theory you require more LPG for the same amount of power, thus less economy. Reality isnt that clear cut though.

Octane refers to pre-ignition, not energy

 

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:36 pm 
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I was talking in terms of 'cash out of your wallet terms'.

You do require a greater amount of lpg than petrol, in a petrol engine, as its tuned for petrol. That could be added :)

 

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it can be fast and cheap,but it wont be reliable
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or you can be fast and reliable,but it wont be cheap

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:50 pm 
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Good work GAS MAN!

Very well written and informative, I agree - should probably be a sticky, - especially when u get it finished.

There will always be differences of opinion on the finer points of this subject, same as there are many different vehicles/driving styles. But isn't that why we have these forums?

Keep it up.

 

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:01 pm 
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Power: 143 rwkw

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Great read! I shall be trying a few of these tips in my work car. The boss has been riding me lately because my average fuel consumption is around the 17-19 L/100k's :? I'm sure he will be happy if I can drop that figure by a couple of points :)
As for my lane, well, it is built for pleasure so the faster it goes, the happier I am :D
Mick

 

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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:07 pm 
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Thanks alot guys, great to hear you enjoyed it !

 

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it can be fast and cheap,but it wont be reliable
it can be reliable and cheap,but it wont be fast
or you can be fast and reliable,but it wont be cheap

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