Geo Mileage update
I finally put 1000 miles on the geo so I can switch to mobil-1 5w30. My gas mileage has averaged around 39.5 from the last 3 tanks. 38.4, 39,3, 40.9 those are all mix of city and a backroads highway (stopping every 15 minutes for an intersection and traffic) I have yet to do any full out highway driving, but with gas at $2.80 a gallon I certianly will be driving it much more. Today I'm switching to the full synthetic and decided not to do the 0w30 oil many people are getting suckered into using. That stuff is nearly 8 bucks a quart. and does nothing for you over the 5w30. Think about it. the SAE rating of 5w30 means at 0degC it has a oil viscosity index of 5 and at 100degC it has a oil viscosity index of 30. so why do I want to pay a premium for the 0weight that is only used for a few minutes when the car is started?? it's going to cause more wear than a 5 weight oil will when it's cold and offer's no advantage at operating temperatures. Synthetics on their own will give you from 5-10% increase in fuel efficency and nobody has reported ANY increases that exceed that of 5w30. Inflating the tires to the max pressure certianly has a fuel advantage, but the wear disadvantage may offset my savings. I will have to research this further and still try to find a good aftermarket source for the honda insight stock tires, honda dealers sell them for insane prices (anything from a dealer is insane prices)
Note, do NOT buy belts from advance auto or Autozone. both squeal like banshees and the belts at advance felt like cheap crap the second I touched them.. they dont have rubber for the grooves but a spongy felt like substance. today I'm switching to real goodyear belts from NAPA.
I still need to figure out how to make a cold air induction scoop for the air intake. yes it has cold air induction right now, it sucks air from the front right wheel well, which should be cold air compared to the engine compartment. but getting air from a high pressure point at the front or hood will help, and if you increase HP you increase fuel economy if you do not use that HP. finally a word about the "high end" air filters. you know that K&N $48.00 air filter is 100% worthless on any car that is not a muscle car that can suck in a bolt from 3 inches away. all smaller cars do not have an air restriction at the filter, the engine just does not suck in air that fast to make a difference. if you have a muscle car making 500+HP and displacing 400+CU inch then yes that expensive filter will make a difference, but do not waste your money on any 4 cyl engine adding the K&N filter, it's not designed for the little engines.
I'll have another update on the geo in another 1000 miles.
Note, do NOT buy belts from advance auto or Autozone. both squeal like banshees and the belts at advance felt like cheap crap the second I touched them.. they dont have rubber for the grooves but a spongy felt like substance. today I'm switching to real goodyear belts from NAPA.
I still need to figure out how to make a cold air induction scoop for the air intake. yes it has cold air induction right now, it sucks air from the front right wheel well, which should be cold air compared to the engine compartment. but getting air from a high pressure point at the front or hood will help, and if you increase HP you increase fuel economy if you do not use that HP. finally a word about the "high end" air filters. you know that K&N $48.00 air filter is 100% worthless on any car that is not a muscle car that can suck in a bolt from 3 inches away. all smaller cars do not have an air restriction at the filter, the engine just does not suck in air that fast to make a difference. if you have a muscle car making 500+HP and displacing 400+CU inch then yes that expensive filter will make a difference, but do not waste your money on any 4 cyl engine adding the K&N filter, it's not designed for the little engines.
I'll have another update on the geo in another 1000 miles.
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