Getting Better Gas Mileage…..3 Decades Ago!!!!

Some of you remember the oil crisis of the early 70’s; more than 34 years ago. Well I was not around then, but the idea has remained. Car and Driver Magazine published an article way back in 74 (Project Car: Crisis-Fighter Pinto) in which they attempted to take a Ford Pinto and eco-mod it out. Yes it was ugly and yes it was slow…but the good folks at Card and Driver managed to get 25% better MPG out of this car for only a couple of bucks.

The first couple of changes have to do with the cars aerodynamics. The most beneficial, was creating an air dam beneath the front bumper in order to increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the car. The topside of cars are nice and smooth allowing air to slip right by. But the underside of a car contains exhaust manifolds and suspension pieces among other things which trap air and thus slow you down. The second change having to do with aerodynamics; partially blocking out the grill. Well you may think that that could cause the car to overheat. But gas mileage was improved and the car’s cooling was not adversely affected. The next couple of changes include adding a rear spoiler and covering the headlights with plexiglass.

Next the team focused on the engine. Reducing parasitic load on the engine will not only free up some extra horsepower, but it also added to the fuel savings. This was done by making changes to the belt-driven cooling fan system. Present day cars run an electric fan and thus we do not have to worry about this. But you can remove the belt that runs the A/C and power steering (on some cars) to reduce parasitic engine load.

Finally the C & D group switched tires from a bias-ply tire (hell if I know what that is) to a steel belted tire. Of course all tires these days are steel belted; but there are LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tires which net better gas mileage for your car.

So with a relative few mods, the Pinto netted an increase of 25% on its MPG. You would think that over 34 years later we would be free from these sorts of exercises. But no matter how much time passes, one thing remains the same: “Those who do not learn from history, are condemned to repeat it!”

http://www.ecomodder.com/blog/2008/03/12/11-on-mods-plus-new-tires-car-and-driver-improves-mpg-by-25/

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