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.

I appreciate the input but I can't afford that car. My best friend has an Audi and he has spent $$$$$$$ on fixing simple things. That car has aggravated him to no end and drained his account.

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.

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.

I've read a few threads in Subaru-specific forums and the fact that you still have to drag the back wheels and all that is attached to make them AWD pretty much negates any worthwhile savings.

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).
Driver mod? You mean going easy on the gas? Do share what you have planned, please. It will probably help me as well. Thanks.

Lot's of engine out coasting (EOC). Almost never let the car idle (I usually shut it off well before I get to a red light/stop sign). Follow semis on the freeway and generally drive slower. Also, I usually upshift at around 1750 RPM, it took about 10 tanks of gradually lowering the upshift point to get the ECM to learn it. Doesn't balk or shudder much at all now. I typically get 26-28 city and the car is rated at 18. I've done zero mods to the car as of yet, not even aired up the tires. . .all four at 32 psi.

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.

Thank you, now let me point you to another resource where people seem to be more focused on achieving the best possible fuel efficiency...
https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=7288

Now, do you have any feedback regarding what I asked in post #6?

I didn't know if you were "aware of stuff that hasn't even crossed my radar yet". Do you want to get into engine tuning, or just the easy stuff? Would you be willing to buy a wideband and tuning software to up your MPG? I think that a lowering would help, but then you lose the ground clearance you want.