WAI hard data collection thread
 

DO NOT POST ARGUMENTS IN THIS THREAD
If you want to respond to someone's post, start a new thread or take your post to another existing WAI thread. If you haven't tried a WAI, don't post. If you know of someone who doesn't post on GasSavers.org but has decent data, post a link to the data and as much of the format below as possible.

This thread is for reports on actual WAI experience. There's plenty of heated discussions about WAI, but it's hard during a discussion to gather data.

Here's the format (We'll adjust this as necessary):
Success: YES or NO
Year, Make, Model, relevant equipment
Link to gaslog
Miles in gaslog before WAI installed, weather, and approximate MPG
Chronic mechanical difficulties before WAI
Date WAI installed
Miles in gaslog since WAI installed, weather, and approximate MPG
Chronic mechanical difficulties after WAI
IAT increase
Description of WAI
Other notes (anything relevant - new driving strategies tried, city/highway driving, other changes to car, honest thoughts of placebo effect, etc)

Example (fictional):
Success: YES
1997 Saturn SL1 SOHC
https://whatever
2,000 miles before, New England summer and fall, ~35mpg
Installed on 9/4/2008
12,000 miles after, New England full year, ~38mpg
Gained about 30 degrees
Dryer hose to exhaust manifold, foil pan collector
In March 2009 I got a new job and my commute changed to include more city driving. I replaced the tires last June.

Success: YES
Year, Make, Model, relevant equipment: 2003 Saturn LW200 2.2 4-cyl automatic
Link to gaslog https://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/1115
Miles in gaslog before WAI installed, weather, and approximate MPG: 7143.68 average milage about 20+/_mpg
Date WAI installed: Feb 2009
Miles in gaslog since WAI installed, weather, and approximate MPG: 2366mi warm to cold full seasons
IAT increase average 80-100f above ambient
Description of WAI I cut a hole in the back of the airbox and routed a dryer hose to the exhaust manifold.
Other notes (anything relevant - new driving strategies tried, city/highway driving, other changes to car, honest thoughts of placebo effect, etc) had scangauge hooked up listing IAT, instant milage, tank average milage, and TPS. It died last month so no data feedback is available currently. I am not really driving for milage currently but I drive at 65 on the freeway (speed limit) and try to keep my foot out of it.

Success: YES

Year, Make, Model, relevant equipment:
1996 Saturn SL2 auto, wider touring tires than stock (185 stock vs my 205's)

Link to gaslog
https://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/1083

Miles in gaslog before WAI installed, weather, and approximate MPG:
4,397, KY weather, extreme highs and lows during the 4 seasons, MPG from gaslog before HAI is 26.11

Chronic mechanical difficulties before WAI
car using 1/2 quart of oil between gas fill up, roughly every 300 miles. The Saturn S-series is well documented in this field. No oil relief holes in the piston ring lands, rings gum up, engines get loose and burn oil. This had started getting worse and worse before the HAI.

Date WAI installed:
7/4/08

Miles in gaslog since WAI installed, weather, and approximate MPG:
probably 14k, live in KY so all types of mixed weather from 95*F in summer to 10*F in winter, MPG since WAI = 29.56

***All time high w/ 100% highway before HAI was 33mpg. After: 43mpg for the tank average.***

Chronic mechanical difficulties after WAI
nothing out of the ordinary, oil usage gradually on the rise (as expected). I don't associate this w/ the HAI because if you go to www.saturnfans.com and do a search for "s-series burn oil" there's a plethora of information there on why this happens. Also, about 5k miles ago the rear o2 sensor went bad and I cannot change it because I tried and the bung cracked in the exhaust. So without a welder handy, its staying that way until I find a way to fix it correctly. Rear o2 monitors LTFT or long term fuel trim. It has a direct correlation to increased fuel consumption.

IAT increase:
roughly 50-70*F depending on traffic and humidity

Description of WAI:
aluminum flashing used as heat shield, 2 1/2" aluminum dryer vent ducting used from bottom of airbox to header, relocated IAT sensor to read actual air temp, blocked old IAT inlet housing

Other notes (anything relevant - new driving strategies tried, city/highway driving, other changes to car, honest thoughts of placebo effect, etc):
tires from 32 to 50psi, rear 02 sensor went bad months ago and hasn't been changed but I still get good mileage, stay below 70mph on highway, best mpg comes from 55-60mph driving in HOT ambient temps w/o A/C use. Placebo was never a factor because I installed the HAI the day I took a 250 mile trip and was shown the immediate effects it has on mileage.

HONEST SIDE NOTE * This car has gone from using 1/4 quart of oil between fill-ups at the beginning of my gaslog at roughly 130k miles on the engine, to now at 153k miles it uses 2+ quarts of oil between gas fill-ups (or every 300 miles). The rear o2 sensor also failed month ago and hasn't been replaced due to a cracked bung in the exhaust.

Gonna try this:



Success: YES (but minimal)
Year, Make, Model, relevant equipment: 1997 chevrolet cavalier
Link to gaslog: https://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/1372?
Miles in gaslog before WAI installed: ~2000
Chronic mechanical difficulties before WAI:none
Date WAI installed:4-19-2008
Miles in gaslog since WAI installed: a bunch (24,844.2 and counting)
Chronic mechanical difficulties after WAI: none
Description of WAI: metal tape, window flashing, flexible exhaust tubing
Other notes (anything relevant - new driving strategies tried, city/highway driving, other changes to car, honest thoughts of placebo effect, etc)

I actually did A-B-A testing on my WAI several months ago and started a thread about it. all relavent data can be found there (link below).

the experiment took place april 13th through june 23rd of 2009
https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=11011

it is worthy to note that my car has over 195k miles on it and probably had 170-180k miles on it at the time of the experiment. this in no way changes the experiment but is more to show that it is an older car that I am speaking of.

Success: YES
Year, Make, Model, relevant equipment: 1999 saturn sl2
Link to gaslog:
Miles in gaslog before WAI installed:
Chronic mechanical difficulties before WAI: califormnia emssions pipe kept breaking had to fix it with aluminum foil and a big hose clamp, no biggie, it cause my ac was loose(last owner)
Date WAI installed:June 2009
Miles in gaslog since WAI installed:
Chronic mechanical difficulties after WAI: made my car run better
Description of WAI: discussed in detail in Let's Discuss WAI
I used caulking around the headlights to keep in warm air
Used a door handle cutter bit and painters tape to make this current WAI
gained 7mpg average

this is a WAI and not a HAI, as I like to call it, I'm taking air from over the radiator hose, and not from over the exhaust. If I had an automatic I would use a HAI

I was averaging 38-40 mpg every tank all last summer

bump

Success: YES

1999 Saturn SL2 Automatic

Gas log on ecomodder

60k miles driven before WAI, baseline MPG 32, best 40 mpg

No chronic problems, only minor acute problems

WAI installed about 05/15/2010

~2 mpg increase from WAI, other improvement from aero mods and hypermiling

No problems, just trying to reach 180 - 190 F while highway driving is difficult in when ambient varies from 60 - 90 F.

IAT runs about 80 - 90 F above ambient and a lot hotter when idling probably 130-140 F

Use 3 inch stiff dryer duct from start to finish.

I'm driving slower 60 - 70 mph (before 65 - 75 mph). Using more hypermiling strategies. Drive without shoe. Plenty of aero mods (grill block, hub caps, fully belly pan)

Re: WAI hard data collection thread
 

Hey again folkies!, after my departure, I managed to scrape up a 45-46mpg run at 70mph, it was over the course of 200+ miles or so, but that was at the peak of my WAI season in about may 2010 temps maybe 70-80 degrees outside, just figured Id let ya'll know. my previous was about 42 mpg.