Follow my progress with Wagonstein!

[91CavGT]

Yet another update!!


I didn't do much at all to the program on this tank of fuel so FE gains are minimal, but gains were still had!


291 miles driven
12.51 gallons used
23.26 mpg


The only thing I did on this tank of fuel differant is I leaned out the air/fuel ratio during engine warm up on the Haltech. This greatly helped to stabilize the idle even more during engine warm up.


This weekend I'm getting a weaker wastegate actuator from a friend of mine. With this wastegate, I should be able to set the boost down to as low as 2-3 psi! This means that I'll be able to run 87 octane fuel. I'm also going to set it so that boost comes on VERY slowly so during normal driving I can be a bit more agressive on the throttle without having to worry if the car is in boost. I'm also borrowing a wideband air/fuel monitor. Weekend after this one another friend and I will be tuning the off boost maps for 87 octane.


Tires during the entire time so far have been set to 35 psi. Today right before I filled up with fuel I raised that to 45 psi(max on the tires is 51 psi). For this tank I believe this will probably be the only change. Although I might take out a bit more fuel during warm up since it still smells like it's pig rich.

[Powerstroke IN]

I'm loving the work you're doing man. I can't wait to try to tweak my Cherokee the way you are!

Here's a piece of advice. Ditch the gasoline motor and go diesel. I'm getting the same numbers in the city in an 8000 lb truck that'll do 0-60 in a non-scientific (one mississippi, two mississippi) 6 or 7 seconds on 35" mud terrains and an 11 second 1/4 mile. Get it up to(I don't know how I didn't get arrested) 160 MPH racing a motorcylce on the interstate. He didn;t want me to pass him, but I did it anyway. And it seats 6 average sized people somewhat comfortably and has room to pack around luggage for 15. Not to mention the fact that I've hooked up to a 53' trailer and pulled a CAT D-6R 50 miles. Diesel is the way to go, man!

[91CavGT]

Originally Posted by Powerstroke IN

I'm loving the work you're doing man. I can't wait to try to tweak my Cherokee the way you are!

Here's a piece of advice. Ditch the gasoline motor and go diesel. I'm getting the same numbers in the city in an 8000 lb truck that'll do 0-60 in a non-scientific (one mississippi, two mississippi) 6 or 7 seconds on 35" mud terrains and an 11 second 1/4 mile. Get it up to(I don't know how I didn't get arrested) 160 MPH racing a motorcylce on the interstate. He didn;t want me to pass him, but I did it anyway. And it seats 6 average sized people somewhat comfortably and has room to pack around luggage for 15. Not to mention the fact that I've hooked up to a 53' trailer and pulled a CAT D-6R 50 miles. Diesel is the way to go, man!

When this motor grenades, I would like to drop a diesel into it. I've been thinking about the VW 1.9L TDI motor. Small, fuel effecient, and can be modified to produce some tire smoking power!

[Powerstroke IN]

Originally Posted by 91CavGT

When this motor grenades, I would like to drop a diesel into it. I've been thinking about the VW 1.9L TDI motor. Small, fuel effecient, and can be modified to produce some tire smoking power!

That's a good way to go, but I would reccommend something with a little bit bigger block or less displacement. Diesels can be modified to add up to 50% more HP with nothing but tuning. My 7.3L Powerstroke came from the factory with 262 HP, and I have a chip with a tune good for +140 HP. I haven't really done my homework on the smaller diesel engines available, so I don't know what's out there. But, in my personal opinion, I would go with the smallest engine possible if going into a car. There are always ways to get a custom air/fuel curve, as well as shift points if automatic, so a motor as small as half a liter could easily propel a car your size. But, then again, the bigger the engine, the more powerful and the less "throttle" needed to acheive desired speed. Find a happy medium and I can help point you in the right direction as far as upgrades.

[91CavGT]

Originally Posted by Powerstroke IN

That's a good way to go, but I would reccommend something with a little bit bigger block or less displacement. Diesels can be modified to add up to 50% more HP with nothing but tuning. My 7.3L Powerstroke came from the factory with 262 HP, and I have a chip with a tune good for +140 HP. I haven't really done my homework on the smaller diesel engines available, so I don't know what's out there. But, in my personal opinion, I would go with the smallest engine possible if going into a car. There are always ways to get a custom air/fuel curve, as well as shift points if automatic, so a motor as small as half a liter could easily propel a car your size. But, then again, the bigger the engine, the more powerful and the less "throttle" needed to acheive desired speed. Find a happy medium and I can help point you in the right direction as far as upgrades.

The reason why I was looking at the 1.9L TDI motor is because it is one of the smallest readily available small 4 cylinder diesels that is realatively new. If money were no object I'd get the diesel motor from a new Smart car, but they aren't available in the States. It is a very light and VERY small motor (I think a 1.0L motor) that makes about 60 hp and 75 ft lbs but can be modded to put out over 100 hp and 125 ft lbs or so. With its light weight it would be a weight reduction compared to the iron block 3.1L turbo V6 in the wagon now.

I'm a School Bus Diesel mechanic. All of our engines in the busses are brand new and computer controlled, but I'm learning more about the older diesels and how easy it is to modify them and how more fuel effecient the older ones are than the newer ones.

[91CavGT]

I picked up a weaker wasegate actuator today. I'll be installing it soon so I'll be able to run 87 octane gas. Boost will be set to a maximum of only 2-3 psi.

I also picked up a wideband O2 sensor/gauge. Next weekend the car is getting a good tune put on it.


Hopefully these 2 items will increase FE by at least 1-2 mpg.

[91CavGT]

Here's a picture of Wagonstein. What would be some effective aero mods to this car? A grill block is out of the question.

[Powerstroke IN]

I'm not too sure about the real benefits, but I noticed a small increase when I put a wind deflector on the back of my Jeep. It directs wind flow down over your back window. I can post a link if anyone wants check it out and let me know if I'm right.

What also might help is to block the holes on your wheels to keep them from paddling the air. Thats what my super mileage team did and we saw dramatic results. I just don't know how effective it would be on a real car.

Then, of course, there's always a belly pan. You might also consider a front facia and side skirts to keep air from going under the car.

[Hateful]

I taped up my hubcaps a while back, but didn't do any testing. I had the open space around the wheel blocked with tape and foam board, but it was trying to come apart. I found an inner tube by the road and attached it with L brackets.Some here on the site have said that the skirts reduce mileage,but it works for me.

[Powerstroke IN]

We used the heat shrink wrap you use to seal windows. I think if you taped a few layers on with some clear packing tap and then shrank them you'd be safe. Plus it would actually be hard to notice. Appearance means a lot to me...