What are the hypermile "sleepers"

[cfg83]

oneinchsidehop -

Originally Posted by oneinchsidehop

With local prices of Hondas, Geos, etc skyrocketing...

What are the sleepers? The equivalents in hot rods would be something like an old Chevy Vega... with a 350cu V8 under the hood, or more recently a stock looking Civic with a hotrodded VTEC. You get the idea.

But we want a hypermiler sleeper, you know, cars that most people wouldn't think of being FE, but really doing a darn good job.

So give me your lists, what are the obvious, and what are the sleepers!!

I keep thinking the base model of the 7th gen Toyota Celica would be a good candidate :

Seventh generation / T230 series (2000-2005)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Celica


The base version was a 1.8 liter that got 28/34 in old EPA MPG or 24/31 in new EPA MPG. I am guessing there are bolt-on tuner ECU mods that could be applied to it for better MPG. Here's a few more vitals :

2000 Toyota Celica Specs
http://www.internetautoguide.com/car...ica/index.html

- Coefficient of drag: 0.32
- Weights: curb weight (kg) 1,100 => 2425 pounds

I didn't like the aesthetics of the car when it first came out, but it's grown on me over the years. I think it's got a very good slope on the hatchback for aero, so I am sure it could be cleaned up even more.

CarloSW2

[855R]

Originally Posted by tjts1

Volvo 850 wagon 5 speed. 35mpg at 65mph.
BMW 318i 5 speed with a few minor tweaks. 40mpg at 65mph.

I have GOT to do the manual swap one of these days! If you're interested to see your 850's aero tendencies, I just posted pics and video of mine with wool tufts:

http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=7519

[67 Satellite]

Originally Posted by Three6Eight

Cars equipped with GM's 3800 motor.

I agree,especially since that's what I have to work with.

[red91sit]

Perhaps the bubbley Ford Contour. Mine got respectable mileage, until the sensors died.



Drag co. of .31 Quite good! and plenty of room for improvement.

I think they are only available in automatics though, so that is not so great.

[ArtFox]

My 1987 Mercedes diesel wagon sleeps 2 adults...
...and can seat 7 with the third row jump seat.

We seem to be getting better than EPA... close to 26mpg combined hypermiled.

Seriously, this can haul alot of cargo. We surrendered our leased Dodge Dakota quad cab short bed (18MPG) and bought the used wagon. The auto leveling suspension can swallow 800+ lbs of bagged top soil or concrete mix without bottoming out...

[jcp123]

Disconnecting the rear O2 sensor netted me an easy 5mpg on my SVT Focus without any other efforts

[mdl76]

Originally Posted by 8307c4

the stout shocks help it corner so the performance aspect widens the velocity margins at which one can still corner safely.

But dont you love it when a truck "flies" by you just before the corner and then smashes their brakes which in turn causes you to have to brake? It makes my happy to know he is paying $100 to fill his tank.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

By the way, there's those 80s/90s GM FWD N bodies and A bodies with iron duke and quad 4 motors that get fairly decent highway, stuff like Buick Skylarks, Olds Cutlass Cierras, Pontiac 6000s, early Grand Ams, the later ones of that era weren't too bad for aero considering.

[spazzer]

Took the wife's 1995 Ford Taurus on a weekend trip to Reno NV back in March. It got 30 mpg with the cruise set at 70. It has the 3.0L engine. She gets about 25 mpg running around town and has a very short commute.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by spazzer

Took the wife's 1995 Ford Taurus on a weekend trip to Reno NV back in March. It got 30 mpg with the cruise set at 70. It has the 3.0L engine. She gets about 25 mpg running around town and has a very short commute.

Coefficient of drag: 0.32
Curb weight: 3,104 pounds

That's the same drag and ~100 pounds heavier than my little 2008 VW Rabbit. It doesn't have the latest FE technology, but I bet it has much better gearing than my VW. It does lose for being an automatic, though. With all routine maintenance up to date and some hypermiling strategies applied, I bet you could squeeze 35 mpg out of it, or at least 30 on the local commute.