15 replies to this topic

[pyromaniac_yeti]

got a 1293 cooper engine, otherwise standard. given the current situation with fuel prices what could be done to make it use less fuel? (id already got being less heavy with the right foot on the list...)

id heard bike carbs are more efficient? than webers anyway, but what about a single bike carb?

megajolt ignition? theory being, better timing, more complete combustion therefore less fuel being wasted

smaller carb? i.e a 1.5 inch SU off a 998....not too keen on that one as it means loosing power...

any other ideas?

prefferably without sacrificing performance...but hey, if it comes down to bhp or not being able to use the car...


let me know what you think
yeti

[dklawson]

Even with current fuel prices most of the changes you mentioned will take a long time to pay you back in fuel savings.

What I would advise are minor changes. Start by raising your tire pressure. Run them at around 35 PSI. The ride will be bouncy but the rolling resistance of the car will be reduced. Perform a general tune up of ALL the key areas (set the valves, clean and dress the points, fit new spark plugs, advance your ignition timing a bit higher than stock). Replace your air filter with a high efficiency one. While you are at the carb, consider installing the next leaner needle and retuning to be just a tiny bit on the lean side.

Search previous threads here for vacuum gauges. Consider installing an inexpensive vacuum gauge to help you see what things you are doing that lower your gas mileage. Driving while monitoring a vacuum gauge after you've addressed the tuning changes I mentioned above will show improvements in your gas mileage that will reach payback quickly.

Changing things like cylinder heads, carburetors, and cams may improve your gas mileage, however, do the math and you'll see that the payback takes longer to break even with the expenses.

You may also want to Google the topic of "hyper miler", "hypermiler" or "hyper-miler". There's a lot of methods that can be used to improve gas mileage but a lot can be obtained by significantly changing the way you drive.

[pyromaniac_yeti]

valves plugs etc were done when i rebuilt the engine, roughly 600 miles ago, its running a K&N replacement element, ill have a sod around with the timing tomorrow when i can see what im doing, tyres ill sort at the petrol station tomorrow - that way i can balence em all on their digital thingy

not worried about the time itll take to save the money back, i mean if ive got a list of bits thatll make it use less fuel then ill keep an eye out at the mini breakers & ebay and wait till something pops up real cheap

plus, electronic ignition would make the car more reliable - no water in the dizzy issue

[bigmotherwhale]

a cheap way of increasing mpg is to use acetone, its found in nail varnish remover, add about 5ml to a gallon of fuel thats about a teaspoon full, and you will be amazed at the increase in mpg,(and power ) ) do not add too much and make sure you have a well maintained high quality fuel delivery to your carb, it damages some plastics (think cheap fuel filters, its been banned in vietnam) and while were on the topic of fuel filters get an activated charcoal filter (coconut charcoal is best) and put it in your fuel system with a filter after it to catch loose carbon, and this will filter the rubbish out of your fuel like parafins and breakdown inhibitors which are detrimental to fuel efficiency, expect a filter to last ten thousand miles at least. you can get them for filtering drinking water and for fish ponds, but i reccomend stainless holders not plastic, you can use brita filters but they wont last anywhere near as long.
water injection is a good idea, and you can lean your needle out to almost dangerous levels compared to petrol alone, but is difficult to achive or expensive, if i had a carb i would think about fuel water emulsion using ultasonics but this is for experts really, may be worth it if you can pull it off because you can divide your petrol costs in half becuse half of the stuff your putting in your engine will be free (up to 50/50 mix), and power will be increased, especialy if you increase compression which is a good idea whether you are adding water or not 10:1 is the max i think in a mini engine without special methods such as water injection - it can be as high as 12:1 even vizzard says there are benifits - and no your engine wont rust, water is a by product of petrol burning anyway.
a small electrolyser can be cheaply made from ss plates or tubes to inject small ammounts of hydrogen and can help considerably with completing the burning of fuel, there are lots of plans on the net look out for one that works well.
another additive to increase mpg is xylene or toluene but i havent tried it so look it up before beliveing me i may be wrong.
there are so many ways of increasing mpg, look on the net and you should have fun trying them all out, i was amazed when i first mixed water with petrol and detergent shook it up and put it in a small honda engine on my go kart - and my god did it go! baffled the window cleaner too seeing me pour a kettle of hot water into the fuel tank he sat there and watched for a good half hour in amazement as it continued to run.
good luck, i have the same problem a you, may have to go electric one day, crashed tesla roadster for sale anyone ?!

[pyromaniac_yeti]

the acetone thing sounds interesting, looking at other pages online theres good results

question ive got is has anyone actually tried it in a mini with a carb? cause everything seems to talk about injector gasket problems...

either way, ill think about giving it a go it a go for a tank. but i cant see it doing the carb any favours...

wouldnt those octane booster thingys do the same? and that way ive got something to come back on if it screws the engine up

Edited by pyromaniac_yeti, 19 June 2008 - 01:22 AM.

[m1n1]

Since i fitted the twin carbs mine is drinking petrol. but i refuse to swap them back to the single now on principle! If you have access to a gunsons colourtune try use that to get the mixture spot on and burning the right colour. Switching off at the traffic lights is also a good idea, as is keeping the revs down.
I'm not sure a small carb would use less fuel, as the venturi is small the engine is sucking in less air and more petrol ( the solex on my '53 2ltr landrover is about an inch in venturi size and that uses lots of petrol)

[Asphalt]

Take care of your right foot

That's the most efficient way to safe fuel.
This plus a well maintained and tuned/setup engine.
(Even STOCK engines can be tuned on a dyno and use up to 1.5litres less)

Either drive forward-thinking or don't mind fuel prices.

Cheers,
Jan

PS: I'm getting my fuel from swizerland - at £0,96/litre
Compared to £1,21/litre in Germany a real bargain - pedal to the metal!

PPS: I'm not used to the "miles per gallon" method so I use litres/60mls

Edited by Asphalt, 19 June 2008 - 11:24 AM.

[Rob Himself]

As an IAM license holder, by FAR the best and easiest way to save fuel is to alter your driving style.

Plan ahead, reduce unnecessary acceleration and braking, accelerate with moderation - not pedal on the floor, once you're above 30mph, see if you can comfortably drop a gear, ........ I can go on?

[bigmotherwhale]

mini carbs should be unafected by acetone, i use it in my injected mini and i have yet to have any problembs if you use the recomended ammount its so dilute anyway. go for it, gaskets for carbs are cheap and proabably wont be affected becuse there made of paper.

[dave20046]

As an IAM license holder, by FAR the best and easiest way to save fuel is to alter your driving style.

Plan ahead, reduce unnecessary acceleration and braking, accelerate with moderation - not pedal on the floor, once you're above 30mph, see if you can comfortably drop a gear, ........ I can go on?

Why would you drop down a gear at thirty? Do you not mean go up?

[pyromaniac_yeti]

at thirty im in fourth anyway, so without blowing four figure sums on a KAD five speed i cant see that helping....

RR it and get it propperly setup then... sounds best bet.

[Grayedout]

You can make all the hardware changes and maybe gain upto a 5% improvement but the biggest single factor in fuel consumption is your right foot. Don't run around in a too higher gear with your foot well down as your just wasting fuel. Need to feel the engine and learn how much throttle is required to give it just enough fuel to achieve the required speed.

If you want to spend some money then the best investment would be an IAM course.......will improve your driving no end !!!

[Rob Himself]

As an IAM license holder, by FAR the best and easiest way to save fuel is to alter your driving style.

Plan ahead, reduce unnecessary acceleration and braking, accelerate with moderation - not pedal on the floor, once you're above 30mph, see if you can comfortably drop a gear, ........ I can go on?

Why would you drop down a gear at thirty? Do you not mean go up?

Sorry that was what I meant

Currently doing an experiement... look in Mini Chat

[tr6_vance]

got a 1293 cooper engine, otherwise standard. given the current situation with fuel prices what could be done to make it use less fuel? (id already got being less heavy with the right foot on the list...)

id heard bike carbs are more efficient? than webers anyway, but what about a single bike carb?
megajolt ignition? theory being, better timing, more complete combustion therefore less fuel being wasted
smaller carb? i.e a 1.5 inch SU off a 998....not too keen on that one as it means loosing power...
any other ideas?
prefferably without sacrificing performance...but hey, if it comes down to bhp or not being able to use the car...

let me know what you think
yeti

Yeti:

As was mentioned elsewhere, driving style is the biggest variable. A vacuum gauge with some suitable markings can help. Also, a good tuneup - timing, valve lash, air filter, tire pressure, etc. Pull your spark plugs and inspect them. They should be a gray-brown color. If they are sooty black, then lean out the mixture on the carb (one screw, easy!) in quarter turn increments, driving the car in between and rereading the plugs. You can deliberately run your mixture on the lean side (plugs are a pale tan color) to get a bit more economy.
If you want to do more than that, then you are into modifications. A K&N air filter, LCB header and an RC40 exhaust system will definitely improve economy. The payback can be good (a year or two) and you get improved power as well. If you are really into it, raising the compression ratio will improve economy as well, particularly at cruise. Avoid bigger cams (they *kill* mileage), but porting the head is also an option.
How much difference will this make? Perhaps 10% if you go all out. Driving style is at least equal to this, and it is free.

Cheers,

Vance

[lewis]

i agree with tr6 fit a vaccum gauge

and mount it somehwere you can easily see it so you know when to back off the right pedal