Posted Saturday, December 3/05 in Mods & Tests

Busted!

Let's get right to it. The second round of tests on the 3 filter types support the results from the first round. That is, there's no consistently measurable difference in MPG between the filter variations at a fixed speed.

So, performance filters don't work then? Oh, I wouldn't say that. While their web site mentions mileage repeatedly, K&N never explicitly promises reduced fuel consumption. There are could's and may's, but the only truly guilty party here is me, for being overly optimistic about the potential gains from shelling out the big bucks.

More below: details of the results; what else was learned from the tests; and why, despite all this, I may still stick with a high-flow filter.

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Posted Thursday, December 1/05 in Mods & Tests

At the completion of the first part of my recent air filter test, I found myself at the far end of the stretch of highway I had been using for my test course.

I was ready to head for home, but not wanting to "waste" the opportunity to collect more data on the return leg, I decided to throw in a one-shot aerodynamic test, just for the fun of it.

I chose a simple aerodynamic mod known as grille blocking, because it's quick and easy to set up. The results were surprising.

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Posted Monday, November 28/05 in Mods & Tests

Unencumbered by the thought process, I bought an $80 CDN "performance" air filter shortly after I got Firefly #1 (and that filter recently migrated to the new Blackfly).

My (minimal) reasoning at the time was that anything that reduces the amount of energy needed to pump in intake air should be beneficial to fuel economy. And that's what performance filters are supposed to do - reduce restrictive airflow into the motor compared to stock paper filters.

Since then, I've learned a bit more about engine air flow which cast some doubt on my original "thinking". So I was back to wondering, will a high-flow filter really result in higher MPG? To find out, I put 3 filter types to the test using the recently acquired ScanGauge.

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Posted Thursday, November 24/05 in Suzukiclone info

What is it with the Internet, Canadians, and their Suzukiclones? Automotive exhibitionists, eh?

Check out Mark's Metro to follow his ongoing adventures. He covers it all: from rationale for wanting one, to search, to purchase, to hurculean repair efforts, to MPG.

Ever searching for better mileage, he experimented with acetone for a few tanks and recorded the results.

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Posted Wednesday, November 23/05 in Suzukiclone info

Imagine it's late 1997. Two almost identical Pontiac Fireflies roll off the CAMI assembly line near the picturesque town of Ingersoll, Ontario. One is built in October, the other in November, both for the 1998 model year. They could practically be twins.

Fast forward eight years to 2005 and there's a reunion of sorts: both cars ultimately end up in my driveway with me as their owner. But their paths to this point couldn't have been more different.

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Posted Saturday, November 19/05 in General

The trouble with the Internet is that it's never "finished". (Though some would disagree.)

I'm continually bookmarking interesting Suzukiclone & efficiency-related pages and occasionally adding them to the MetroMPG links page as well.

I've also added a few bits of information to several older articles since originally publishing them.

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Posted Saturday, November 12/05 in General

As if we really needed another reason to hate winter.

Those of us living in northern climes have already started to notice the seasonal decline in fuel economy, even with careful attention to sagging tire pressure (probably the best known effect of the mercury's slide).

Yet, despite diligent all-around maintenance and continued careful driving, cold weather fuel consumption can be dramatically worse than in warm temperatures.

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Posted Saturday, November 5/05 in Mods & Tests

Quiz time! Fill in the blank: crack cocaine is to a drug addict as _____ is to a fuel economy nerd.

If you guessed "fuel consumption data", you get a gold star. Also, we can start our 12-step program together...

Hello, my name is Darin, and I'm a fuel economy nerd. I just bought a nifty gadget that shows my fuel consumption in real time, while driving. I've only tried it once so far (and only for a few minutes, I swear), but I can already tell that the folks at rehab are going to have serious trouble with me.

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Posted Tuesday, November 1/05 in Suzukiclone info

It took me several months of scanning the car ads and a couple of road trips to look at Suzukiclones before I eventually got the Firefly.

I missed out on a few incredible low-mileage cars during my search. There was serious demand for the ones that were in fantastic shape; four were snapped up by other buyers before I even had a chance to see them in person.

First, I missed out on these low-mileage examples...

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Posted Thursday, October 27/05 in Suzukiclone info

To put it simply, the XFi was the automotive embodiment of the less is more philosophy - and thus it remains the king before which all Metro fuel economy nerds bow down.

Yes - as hard as it may be to believe, there was once an even more stripped-down, even more efficient version of the already legendarily stingy Metro 3-cylinder hatchback.

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