I drive an '88 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 V6, automatic tranny, and FWD.
I do nearly all the work on it to keep it running (in a driveway - when it rains, I cover what I can with tarps and suck it up), and I'll be doing whatever mods I decide to do myself as well. I change the oil regularly (between 5k and 10k miles) and use "older vehicle" oil. I'd use synthetic but I feel like the benefit would be less than the cost difference, which in turn allows me to buy more gas... Oh, and I normally keep my tires properly inflated but come winter time I let that slide a little because the extra traction is WAY more important to me than a slightly improved FE.
There isn't much I can do to better my driving - I can't coast in neutral, not habitually, anyway (engine stalls out if I do it too much, rather not push the tranny too hard else I have to fix it), the majority, or what feels like the majority, of my driving is highway, and I drive between 55 and 60 mph (the speed limit is 65, 90% of people do 70 or higher) on cruise control, I never use the AC (plus, it's $80 minimum parts alone to fix it lol), unfortunately because I drive an old car and want to keep it running and don't have a coolant/oil thermometer (not one that I have access to, anyway) I always drive with the heat on, often on high, I accelerate as slowly as I think drivers around me can live with, I brake gently and well in advance of stops, I otherwise try to conserve my momentum as best I can while not driving in a manner that would piss me off if I was following, and I'm otherwise a very observant driver.
I probably do more subconsciously, but I'd like any suggestions. I'd draft, but everyone drives faster than me and I prefer to be lazy and slow, and safe(r).
Mostly, I'm interested in mechanical mods that won't anger my poor old engine and tranny, and won't turn my classic car of the era into an ugly clown car. Sooooo, yeah, there are limits, but I am very keen on anything that saves me some cash and doesn't make my lazy commute much more difficult (just a thumb on the wheel and open eyes for over 60 straight miles). Remember, I have an OBD-I connection that's damn near impossible to find a reader for, and thus monitoring my engine block's temperature (rather, in my case, doing whatever I can to keep it from overheating) is very important to me. Being forced to replace a transmission for a FWD vehicle without a lift in a driveway by myself is what I do *not* want to have to do any sooner than I have to already.
Right, so if you skipped all that, find me a few mods that don't involve making my engine hotter than its regular cruising temp. I checked out a few on the site but I'd rather just listen to your unbiased replies before narrowing anything down.
Thanks
(edit: if someone notices that I didn't use an acronym, please correct me, I'm too lazy to learn them by myself
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