Subaru Forester owner wants better economy
Hello everybody. I think you need a new category: AWD. I want to get the best mileage possible out of my AWD vehicle and I'm counting on your expertise. Now I'll go check out what the site has to offer.
L8R :) |
Sell it for an 80/90 quattro.
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I'm getting 20%-40% over EPA in my 1994 Legacy, with only the driver mod. I have a whole list of planned mods for the car that I think will get me into the 40's highway. Just depends on how much you want to spend really.
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Some folks with subarus have found that pulling a fuse lets you drive it in 2WD mode... think that's automatics only... don't know the details.
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I picked AWD because I have use for AWD. I also picked the Forester because I can use the ground clearance. Most of my driving is in the city. Even though it is a N/A engine it is very well powered. One touch on the gas and I can pretty much roll for a block but it doesn't hurt to try and maximize any savings that can be had. Soon I will be installing a throttle body spacer and a lighter crank pulley. I am considering eventually covering the underside because it is a tall vehicle and the underside may cause excessive drag on the highway (mostly I drive city, but I don't avoid the highway and I do rack up 2 or 3000 Km in weekend summer outings alone). It will take some $$$ to do it right, though. But I'd like to ask your advice on that. Do you guys agree that it might be beneficial for this vehicle? I don't have cross bars on the roof rack but the mirrors are pretty large so I am considering what to do there. If I could delete them and install a camera system instead I would do it when I saved up enough. I have to look into the Ontario laws that apply, though. I am also considering covering up the grill a bit more but I'm not sure how far I can go with that without causing problems with overheating in the summer. So, mostly I think my brick-on-wheels can probably benefit from some aerodynamic improvements, at least for long haul trips on the highway, but your advice is welcome. That's what brought me here. I thought you might be aware of stuff that hasn't even crossed my radar yet or at least help me to avoid mistakes (especially expensive ones). Quote:
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Future mods being considered are below: Fuel injector cut button Open/Closed Loop LED SuperMID Bridgestone B381 LRR tires Full moon hubcaps Wheel skirts (built to appear factory) grill block Full belly pan Hood/under engine belly pan insulation. Mirror delete Pulstar sparkplugs 2nd battery w/timer hooked to block heater (warm the car before I leave work at the end of day) Possible flow-turner aerodynamic mods at back and windshield pillars. "If I win the sweepstakes" mods: Custom built 13.x:1 compression EJ22 with custom ground atkinson cam (87 octane) STS remote mount turbo Staggered intake valve opening (to promote swirl) Standalone wideband (Insight O2 sensor) ECM Taller gears (don't really need 4.11's with that 3.78 1st gear) If I did ALL the mods and hypermiled, I'm pretty sure I could make 40'ish/50'ish city/highway. . .but it might not pass emissions. |
Thank you samandw. You have some stuff there that I am not even aware of. Thanks for sharing. I'll follow up with a few (maybe dumb) questions on another post.
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https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=7288 Now, do you have any feedback regarding what I asked in post #6? |
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[/quote]2nd battery w/timer hooked to block heater (warm the car before I leave work at the end of day)[/quote]Is it really worth it to have the extra weight on board? Quote:
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I look forward to having more info on the points I asked about. If those have already been discussed/described at length somewhere else just let me know and I'll search or follow any links you may provide. Thanks for sharing. |
Honestly, on the first point, your engine and tranny should learn you as a driver, and adjust shifting and such to you. If you always go easy on it, it should adjust by lowering shift points, meaning more MPG.
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Right now I just paid for the car and am doing a few mods to it to improve handling and fuel economy, so any further modding will have to wait. Eventually I'd like to buy a scangauge to get more info. Most of the people on that site seem to have the turbo forester and also seem to be more in tune with HP and torque than any real economy or fuel efficiency. That is why I was very happy to find gassavers.org. I think you guys are more in tune with what I am after an have more to offer. The other downside to having the baseline model is that most of the ECU remapping that I've come across is meant for the turbo. Like I said, I am about to install a few mods and I mean to ask the shop at that time what are my options in that respect, if any. I am not really after performance but I also don't want to detune or castrate this engine. I'm looking for efficiency wherever it is feasible but I also know that there are limitations imposed by the size and nature of the engine. Having said that what I mean is that I don't mind getting the mixture a little leaner in the city to put-put from point A to point B, but I also don't want to stomp on the gas when on the highway and instead of responding and getting me and my family away from the semi who can't stay in his lane (or whatever the situation may be) the car just goes limp and sits there. I do appreciate any and all feedback and I apologize for my earlier response. I saw your reply out of the context you meant. |
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If you can contact the company that re-maps the computers you could have them re-map it for fuel efficiency. It shouldn't be a problem if they are a good tuner. |
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Ok sorry Polish exhuast side while add swirl and tumble to the intake side promoting better air fuel mix.:) |
Thanks for all the feedback so far guys.
What are your feelings towards a narrower tire? Also... Since I drive mostly in the city and considering that this car has a pretty good low range but mid and high response can be a bit slow, would my FE benefit from a larger tire size (lower RPM), as I've seen referenced elsewhere, or is that more for people who travel mostly on the highway? Thank you. |
good to see other subaru AWD members here.
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https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?p=100468 Summary: All things being equal, a narrower tire will have higher rolling resistance drag. It will of course have lower aero drag. Quote:
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