hockeyhead019

Hey guys,

Just wondering what mods/tweaks people have done to help the efficiency of 944's (yes I know they're rather efficient as is but I'm curious) and also what kind of $$ they dump into the projects lol

Van

Russell Berry made a "mileage chip" if I recall...

odurandina

run a free flow exhaust, big tires, the odurandina nose and draft behind big rigs, delivery trucks, mobile homes, suv's, etc..... scrape, claw and draft, draft draft behind whatever you can get your dirty little paws on. i did 624 miles on a single tank between Jacksonville, FL and Fredricksburg VA. when i pulled into the station, i was out. 31.50 mpg. i kept about 80~100 foot behind some big rigs at least 1/3rd of the way.... and avoid i-40, 77, 81, 64, and 79 like the plague as they're biggest waste of gas evarr if you happen to be traveling in the east. but the Pennsylvania Turnpike, is without a doubt, the biggest ripoff road evarrr. bad gas mileage, tore up roads and 40 dollars in tolls.

hockeyhead019

haha thanks odu... I-81 is a mess... stupid road took me forever to go 30 mi on and it destroyed my gas mileage haha

@van, have a link for that by any chance?

odurandina

coming up i-95, pull off onto US 50 and go through Annapolis, then take the 301 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. instead of 14 dollars in tolls you pay only 4 at the bridge in Annapolis. it's only an extra 16 miles of driving and a very smooth, well paved road.

Ben951S

There's a point where you stop driving and are just 'transporting'.

If your 944 is your 'does it all' car, you can look at low rolling resistance tires, higher tire pressure, refreshed ignition components and functioning O2 sensor, even changing to a fuel efficient oil (thinner, like 5w-30), and boost and glide techniques.

Or, have a vehicle that is already efficient. I have a 90 CRX HF. Best I got was 52mpg to Norfolk, get 44mpg on my regular commute (higher speed). It's on 165/xx-r13. I think 70. ha. =). I dislike driving it in comparison, but it is easier to drive, but not as rewarding.

hockeyhead019

Good lord... you fill up what? Once a month? lol but that's awesome and to be completely honest I look forward going to a 944 since it's as efficient if not better than my current truck haha

@odu, thanks for the re-route info!

V2Rocket

a stock 944 with stock transmission, running 225/60/15 sticky summer tires, 20W50 oil, carrying 400lb of driver and cargo, with AC on full in california's july at 100mph over a 400 mile trip can get to 30mpg. BTDT

alternatively, most mornings i will use a full gallon of gas on my 18-mile commute to work at 330AM

how you drive and maybe taking some weight out are key.

hockeyhead019

Going down hill too? haha but that's awesome! Any big things that weight the car down? I know it's already a super light P-car but just curious if there were any bulky things that most people take out?

ZR8ED

Just don't get too caught up in "hypermiling" where some people start running lights/stop signs, passing cars in the merge lanes etc..

Your right foot is best friend for controlling your mileage.

On a slight tangent here, but what speed to folks find the best mileage. I hear lots of stories of 27-30mpg at 70+mpg. How about at 60/65?

V2Rocket

that included driving over the grapevine, several thousand feet of climbing/descending hills and curves over a few miles. the kind of road they tell you to shut AC off to avoid overheating.

rear seat top half, AC system (compressor, lines, condenser, blower fan are about 50 total), windshield washer bottle (even empty it is a few lbs, not to mention it gives alot more room in the engine bay), pop-up headlight system.

interior sound deadening is really heavy stuff - it is a combination of rubber sheet glued to carpet pad. if you tear that out and replace it with new pad there isn't much noise difference but you save 10 or 15# throughout the car, depending on what year car you have.
if you keep the RPM around 3000 on trips, 4th or 5th gear you will get the best mileage. that is torque peak and it uses barely any fuel to chug along.

if conditions are ideal (tailwind, no traffic, daytime so no lights up) i have seen as high as 38mpg at 80mph.

around town if you are careful and can cruise at 40-50 in 4th gear you can get over 40mpg consistently. dont know how the roads are back east but out west there are long main streets and lots of suburbs branching off, not much stop and go.

Cole

Sounds like a good excuse for lots of carbon fiber goodies and light wheels!

hockeyhead019

thanks guys this is some good info!

odurandina

got pulled over for gumballing (in Wisconsin) in 2010 (a long interview with the state police ensued).... but earlier that month i had broken the land speed record between Wilmet and Fargo.... so sometimes, it evens out in the end.

william_b_noble

FWIW, when my 85.5 944 was new, I would get 650 miles of freeway/highway driving per tank of gas (that's miles until the light came on), same car, today, wiht 250K miles on it, thrashed by a relative (I'm slowly bringing it back to life) gets 20 or so MPG around town, not running right, but running.