New Guy with a Honda Element
Hi, as you may have guessed, my name is Bill and I live in Houston, TX.
I have a 2004 Honda Element and a 1999 Honda Odyssey. The Ody gets better mileage than the E on the highway, which has always made me wish for some way to improve the mileage of the E. The Element has at least two obvious things going against it, the Toaster-like shape and the high revs at cruising speed. It gets about 26 mpg around town, and around 26 mpg on the highway at 65-70 mph. A couple of months ago I thought I was going to have a change in jobs that would have resulted in a ~80 mile round trip to work every day, so I started looking into ways to improve the highway mileage of my car. That is how I found you guys. Reading the posts here and in some other places gave me the FE bug. You guys seem to have the best handle on aerodynamics and driving technique. Other places have some people who have spent a lot more time messing with the ECU programming. And I think one of my biggest inspirations and consternations was a guy with an Explorer who gets over 30 mpg at normal speeds on the highway. If he can do that, I want to find a way to do much better than I have been. I ended up changing jobs and avoiding the long commute, so I am a little less motivated than I once was, but FE is still an interesting topic to me, and I figure that one day one of my kids and I can use the improvements as a science project or something. My only modification to date is an air dam and front undertray that I have just completed. I have only had it on for a few miles, so I can't say anything too definitive. I will eventually post something about how I built it, and will also post some results when I get them. Oh, and I blocked the top grille. Besides being a tinkerer and a geek, I am a father of two boys, a husband, a Christian, and a backpacker. We love Survivor, Lost, baseball, singing, and shooting hoops in the driveway. I am also a chemical engineer and have had a lot of different jobs and interests that have led to an eclectic collection of knowledge and skills. Please be sure to tell me if I break any of the rules here. Thanks for letting me hang out. Bill in Houston |
Quote:
Welcome |
Quote:
Is that Explorer stock? :eek: |
Quote:
Quote:
All of the stickies have been very helpful. I need to go look through them again. Thanks for the guidance and the welcome! Bill |
Quote:
Here is the guy's "Quest for 30" thread. https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...ad.php?t=44372 And here is a link to his truck and the mods: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=137531 The mods are more extensive than I had recalled, but some are actually counterproductive for FE. |
Hi Bill - welcome.
Got a ScanGauge yet? ;) |
Awesome. I'm pretty sure the majority of that mileage comes from the 3.73 rear end swap, which goes to show how important gearing can be imo. Thanks for the links! The bad news imo is, given my guestimation of the BSFC map, the truck really can't do much better than it already is with stock'ish gearing. Dropping down to 55mph may yield a few mpg, but the BSFC drop is so severe it probably wouldn't be worth it for most people. Gearing tall enough to maximize BSFC and get into the 40s at 55mph wouldn't allow the driver to break 65mph... That Ford's as efficient as it's gonna get. :thumbup:
|
Quote:
|
Highly recommended!
A fuel economy enthusiast without FE instrumentation is like a wine taster without taste buds. Or a drag racer without a timer. |
Quote:
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:26 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.