Hello all!

[landspeed]

Hi!

Just found this website, after looking for tips on improving fuel economy!. Already I have found loads of useful info here, having only found it 24 hours ago!. Before visiting the site, I had already 'invented' by myself : Driving behind lorries, engine-off coasting etc!. I have now found a lot of new tips here, and tried properly using engine-off coasting today, getting 60 miles from the fuel gauge, where I might only get 30-50 miles. (and... my
thermostat is not sealing properly at all, meaning the engine would cool right down on the temp gauge after a
3.6 mile coast)

My car is a 1987 Nissan Bluebird 1.8 Turbo (8 valve). It is a 'T12' and in the States would most likely be known as a 'Stanza'. It uses a permanently open-loop fuel injection system, together with a low-compression engine, to get pretty poor fuel economy. Here, we pay $6.60 per gallon (I have converted to US gallons for this), and I get a fuel economy of 32.5mpg average. This is again in US gallons - so a lot of room for improvement!. My
current economy is actually markedly better than many of the people I know who drive this car, and is better than the official economy figures!.

Looking forward to finding out more about getting very good fuel economy
- it is nice to save money, but also to reduce the damage I am doing to the environment!. Maybe next spring I will complete the EV cycle I started this winter too!

Edit : My car also has LPG half-fitted (need to finish that off soon). It currently serves as a useful way to cut
power to the engine and bump-start it again, all under the LPG system control!

[GasSavers_TomO]

Welcome aboard GasSavers! It's pretty awesome that we are slowly gaining world-wide coverage.

[MetroMPG]

Maybe next spring I will complete the EV cycle I started this winter too!

Sounds interesting! You'll have to tell me more about this.

Again, welcome to the site. Glad to have another motivated tinkerer around.

[landspeed]

The EV is based on a mountain bike - I have got a sturmey archer 3-speed hub for the front wheel, and most of what I need to build it. The idea is to use it to commute around the workplace (I work on a large site), and maybe to/from work (26miles in total) - but I might fit a mirror due to the drivers who use the roads llike a race track).

It has a 200W motor, and two golf-cart batteries. I think the range will be about 26 miles, and the cost about 1p per day (about two cents) Rather than £2.50/day as I spend now ($5.00 per day)

On another car forum, one of the people is buying the diesel version of my car to get better economy. I have discussed fuel-saving techniques on that site, and haven't get a completely cold reception - once I start getting 60+MPG, I'm sure I can convince some people there to also save fuel!.

[MetroMPG]

Cool. I hope you'll start a thread in the electric vehicle section to document your progress on the mountain bike.

I just had my first ride on an electric bike last month. I'm completely sold on the idea. Electric bicycles: now legal where I live

[Ted Hart]

I caught your post this AM... Welcome to (one of) the best MPG sites inna world!
Scottish, eh? I'm in the USA...but I'm Irish by blood (some of me are! LOL!). Me better-half is so much a Scot...she's got plaid blood!
LPG in your ride? Kudos! I'm absolutely addicted to gasoline (petrol?), even tho' pure gasoline is long-since dead!
It certainly sounds like you are a tinkerer! We speak the same language! Bureaucraps (oops! Can't spell...or can I?) make life miserable for most...but they just "fuel our creative fires", right?
$6.60 a (US) gallon ?????? Ah! You've got 'em, too! Politics and corporations make "grate" bedfellows! Me? I'm still looking for a(nother?) planet to live on...!

[Ted Hart]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Cool. I hope you'll start a thread in the electric vehicle section to document your progress on the mountain bike.

I just had my first ride on an electric bike last month. I'm completely sold on the idea. Electric bicycles: now legal where I live

I, too, like the idea very much! Bring a raincoat! Bring the eyes for the back of your head! Bring your guardian angel, too! The last bike rider I saw who "argued" with a car lay sprawled out in the road...as the EMS people covered him! Was he dead? Hmmm....
As population density rises, bicycles become more & more vulnerable... Not a nice "mix". Pessimistic? Moi? Realistic!

[landspeed]

Safety on bikes is a big problem, therefore, my intention is to bring it to work, and keep it on site, and use it to commute around (can do up to 4 miles worth per day). And use my car (with SuperMID) to commute to/from work. Once the LPG is fitted, the SuperMID will still give a good indication of the fuel economy, although not perfectly accurate, so it will still be of benefit to getting good economy!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Ted Hart

Bring a raincoat! Bring the eyes for the back of your head! Bring your guardian angel, too! ... As population density rises, bicycles become more & more vulnerable... Not a nice "mix". Pessimistic? Moi? Realistic!

That view seems more "extreme" than "realistic". There are appropriate times, places, conditions and operator skill levels to suit many vehicle types in a transportation mix. It all depends on circumstances.

As population density rises, I believe it becomes ever more important to pursue transportation options other than the dominant model of one person per 3000+ lb vehicle.

[Peakster]

Nice to meet you landspeed. I was just checking out your gaslog and man alive gas prices are crazy where you live! How can you afford it?