DrivenByNothing, what are you driving?

Thanks for the congrats guys, helps my motivation for my next goal :).

Before tuning my carb (by ear for the first time, not sure how well I did) when I turned my engine off at high rpm I would get a hissing sound as if the engine was running backwards. It doesn't do that anymore, but yesterday when bump starting I started hearing "gunshots". I assume this is backfiring, pretty funny to see everyone around me slow down trying to figure out if their tire blew :).

I started starting with my ignition and got a sound that way also, though only once in all the times I started whereas with bump starting it happened every 3rd time.

Any idea at all what this would be? I am thinking maybe the engine is pulling in gas from the carb while spinning down that goes unburnt since there is no spark and then firing next bump start. Unsure of what I should do to alleviate the problem though.

I already posted on the fuel economy challenge...

I filled up the saturn wagon today.

322.2 Miles
9.711 Gallons
33.17 MPG

That isn't great mpg but it isn't horrible either.

93 4.0L 4x4 5 speed Jeep Cherokee with All Terrain tires.

If you can get 30mpg in the led sled, there's no reason I can't do at least that. Did I read that you have a 3 speed in that thing? That's impressive.

I'll go ahead and put the jeepster in the garage on here. I'm getting it fixed up to sell, though, so it's just a temporary, personal mpg challenge.

Matt

Yep, I have a three speed :). I have to wonder if something goofed and I didn't really get 30. When I was filling up it stopped at 15 gallons and I am standing there thinking "there is no way". I tried putting more in with the result of it pouring out on the ground :*(. I will know for sure that this was accurate on my next fillup though, if it comes out to some lowball number I will have to average the two out :(.

Go for that 30MPG! It is a great goal and would love to see you reach it. I think the biggest factor in me reaching 30 is EOC'ing at every opportunity that presents itself.

Yeah Forthbean you have to watch the carbed engines as they tens to keep sucking in gas and that washes down the lube in the cylinders and valves that are hot with can cause some wear on startup and reduces piston ring seal. It also puts a lot of unburnt gas fumes into the exhaust system and since exhaust valves open when the combustion process is still flaming it can ignite the exhaust system fumes in a loud bang. Also spark plugs fire when the coil magnetic field collapses which can happen when the points open OR the ignition is turned off. You could also be having some valve seating problems and be leaking. The hissing could be gasoline boiling or compression in a cylinder at the top of a stroke leaking out the intake valve or exhaust valve.

Anyone ever disable the fast idle control solenoid to stop the engine instead of the injector connections?

I did 33.87 mpg for the last tank, thats average, mixed city highway. And I wasn't even trying that hard! Not just a hundred miles either, my car has a large tank for its size. I got a record for me 501.9 miles from a full tank, and the light didnt even come on. so I could have gotten maybe 520. I can hardly believe the results. just a few tanks ago, I only drove 370 ish...

This thread isn't very active since the teams formed. Anyway I got bumped off the top ten. I was not surprised to get bumped, but was, how shall I say, surprised the new one was a 250 cc motorcyle ;) .

I am starting to think I will make it back. Running right at 63 mpg on the scangauge on the current tank. Maybe unhooking the alternator does make a differnce. I need to fix my front wheel well treatments too. They were too close to the wheel and got broken.

Hello...
 

Just reading about what you guys have been doing! Good jobs!

I have thought about doing some EOC...but the ignition switch can be a pain in the butt...don't want to get caught too badly with the engine off. I was trying to shut it off at lights...but found a better route where I am stopped less than a minute on average. Last tank was a little worse than usual...a bit over 27 mpg...50/50 city highway driving. Mostly just coasting in neutral when possible, staying at the speed limit.

If anyone knows a good way to do a engine start/stop switch on the old Bosch mechanical FE systems, I would appreciate the pointers!

I have a goal of 35mpg on the 190...best tank so far was just a tick under 30mpg. :-)

I think when I get the money, I will do a really good tune-up. Just got a cheap set of plug wires, but one was bad out of the box. :-( Still helped, but have a miss when it gets warm between 1800 and 2700 rpm.

For now, I am hoping that when I get a bit more serious and plan my routes better, that I will hit 33 mpg without any modifications to the car.

Rvanengen, that sounds like a very reasonable goal. I can attest to a tune up being a very good idea, though a tune up on my car is completely different than yours.

After looking around for good gas mileage cars I had decided on a Mercedes 190, but with a d at the end (for diesel). Problem is they are quite difficult to find for a good price in decent condition. I have since decided not to buy a vehicle right now.

My brother seems to be getting a decent improvement by coasting in neutral with the engine on in his civic.


Keep it up and keep us updated!

Fourthbean