chrisgunton Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I was having a think today (after filling up)...if you HAD to, how would you mod a Zed to improve it's economy instead of performance? I would imagine some of the mods for performance would also improve economy, such as the plenum spacer, less restrictive exhaust, and a remap. What else could be done? Just a note: If you now feel like replying "but the Zed is a performance car!" then just save it. It's just a hypothetical question and I fully understand the point of buying a car like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cragus Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Throttle controller in eco mode! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgunton Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Throttle controller in eco mode! But that's the hardest mod of all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'd mod my driving style. That is the BIGGEST factor in the Zed I've found. In the 5 years I've owned my Zed I've seen between 8 and 30 odd MPG. All dependent on my driving style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'd mod my driving style. That is the BIGGEST factor in the Zed I've found. In the 5 years I've owned my Zed I've seen between 8 and 30 odd MPG. All dependent on my driving style. +1. Driving style, throttle controller, and a remap. And make sure your tyres are correctly inflated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 if money was no object, then i'd take the 3.0 litre v6 diesel out of the audi a5 and drop it in the zed. that should see a combined cycle of around 50 mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 if money was no object, then i'd take the 3.0 litre v6 diesel out of the audi a5 and drop it in the zed. that should see a combined cycle of around 50 mpg If money was no object why would you care about fuel consuption Also audi 3.0 v6 mapped to 300bhp as fast as it is, souless engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu350z Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'd mod my driving style. That is the BIGGEST factor in the Zed I've found. In the 5 years I've owned my Zed I've seen between 8 and 30 odd MPG. All dependent on my driving style. +1. Driving style, throttle controller, and a remap. And make sure your tyres are correctly inflated. +1 Definately driving style! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I'd mod my driving style. That is the BIGGEST factor in the Zed I've found. In the 5 years I've owned my Zed I've seen between 8 and 30 odd MPG. All dependent on my driving style. +1. Driving style, throttle controller, and a remap. And make sure your tyres are correctly inflated. +1 Definately driving style! Driving style for me too. And its free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Mod your driving style to reduce the amount of braking and acceleration, but keeping a constant speed. During my Speed Awareness Course, I was set a challenge of driving thru a village and was given two conditions to follow. One was I was not allowed to stop and the other was I was only allowed one gear change. What it does to you as the driver is to be more aware of your surroundings and plan ahead, thus making your driving style smoother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Mod your driving style to reduce the amount of braking and acceleration, but keeping a constant speed.During my Speed Awareness Course, I was set a challenge of driving thru a village and was given two conditions to follow. One was I was not allowed to stop and the other was I was only allowed one gear change. What it does to you as the driver is to be more aware of your surroundings and plan ahead, thus making your driving style smoother. Wish people did that on the motorway - no more phantom traffic jams The amount of people that pelt it as fast as they can to the hit a queue of cars and slam their brakes on makes me furious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Weight is the biggest non-human factor involved here. Strip the entire interior, exchange seats for ones that don't weigh a ton, swap silly heavy exhaust for a lighter one, and get some really lightweight wheels on there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 With everyone else on this. Driving style. Don't drive like a muppet and then consumption reduces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ped Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Derv engine conversion.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Weight is the biggest non-human factor involved here. Strip the entire interior, exchange seats for ones that don't weigh a ton, swap silly heavy exhaust for a lighter one, and get some really lightweight wheels on there too. I like the bit which says "non-human factor". Having come from the "Seven" fraternity, the obsession there was with low weight, as it improves everything - performance, economy, braking, handling, ride, handling, etc. It gets quite obsessive with people getting excited about things like a different interior mirror to save 17 grammes and so on. One thing that always used to amuse me was that some driver/passenger combinations (myself and mate included) would then spoil it all by getting in the car. Lets put it like this - I have not always been overly fanatical on the diet front. So - the choice would be £400 on a carbon fibre nosecone or eat less pies As it happens I did neither. Anyway I still subscribe to Ekona's weight theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 something like this would do the trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evest Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Driving Style and here is some proof to back it up: Here are the results of an experiment I did today: Conditions: Daily commute = 52 miles (26 miles each way) Fuel = Shell V Power @ 135p/ltr Route is a mix of A and B roads plus a short stretch of dual carriageway and a handful of roundabouts. I haven't clocked average speeds but this doesn't really matter too much. My MPG average going to work this morning was 26.6, driving as per my normal style which is, er, spirited Returning from work, I made a concious effort to avoid sharp acceleration (which was hard!) and heavy braking, keeping it to 70mph on the dual carriageway, and generally driving conservatively (and probably a bit more sociable too...). I only went above 3000rpm once which was for a necessary overtake. My MPG average for the return journey was 33.1!!!!! Some sums (feel free to chip in if I've done 'em wrong!): Going on the initial MPG - I was using roughly a 2 gallons of fuel each day (outbound and return) which is 9 litres - as the petrol prices stated above this costs me £12.15 a day. Driving more economically works out at 1.3 gallons per day = 5.9 litres, which would cost £7.97 a day!!!! Savings: Daily = £4.18 Weekly = £20.90 Monthly = £96.14 (23 days worth of commuting) Modification = FREE! Not as much fun though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ped Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 That experiment has given me enough faith to trust that i can afford to run one on a daily basis thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I use my wife's car a couple of days a week, its a VW touran 1.9tdi pd and does nearly 50mpg. Seriously here is my big tip, PAY ATTENTION when you drive. If a roundabout is clear for example try to keep up as much momentum over it by not braking excessively, biggest problem with getting mpg in the uk is the other pillocks that slow down going down slight hills when they should be free rolling and stop for roundabouts and junctions when the way is clear. Getting good MPG is not all about going slowly its about maintaining a constant speed without having to use too much throttle. Has anyone looked into LPG conversions on Zeds? Surely that is a possibility? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evest Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Has anyone looked into LPG conversions on Zeds? Surely that is a possibility? I remember reading that somebody somewhere has tried it. Afaik it didn't turn out well in the end - and the obvious counter-argument is: if economy is an issue, buy a Toyota Prius! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Has anyone looked into LPG conversions on Zeds? Surely that is a possibility? I remember reading that somebody somewhere has tried it. Afaik it didn't turn out well in the end - and the obvious counter-argument is: if economy is an issue, buy a Toyota Prius! need to make sure its a reputable system preferably with self lubricating valves, and keep it well maintained. like any mod like FI etc it needs regualr check and maintanence. i don't know what the original person did, but alot of people think its a fit and forget mod. its not. if done properly (thats the key word) then it should be fine; do your research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Has anyone looked into LPG conversions on Zeds? Surely that is a possibility? I remember reading that somebody somewhere has tried it. Afaik it didn't turn out well in the end - and the obvious counter-argument is: if economy is an issue, buy a Toyota Prius! I think this is the dumbest argument going. Life isn't just all about the loud pedal. I have a roadster for the sound, handling and fun factor - why pay more than I have to to run it? It is just about the only roadster going for around £10,000 that is reliable and comfortable for people over 6'0" tall. Sure I could get some boring FWD cab but they handle badly and sound rubbish. I have had/tried MX5's, MR2 mk3's, S2000's and even the disgusting Audi TT but they are so cramped, maybe a BMW 3 series but frankly I doubt they would really be much cheaper to run anyway. If I had a spare £2000 lying around and I was pretty sure theoretically it was sound I would go for an LPG conversion straight away - it would mean I could use my 350Z every single day and not just 2-3 times a week. I'm glad so many of you would clearly turn down a £1000 a year or so saving just for the benefit of looking 'cool' on a web forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Has anyone looked into LPG conversions on Zeds? Surely that is a possibility? I remember reading that somebody somewhere has tried it. Afaik it didn't turn out well in the end - and the obvious counter-argument is: if economy is an issue, buy a Toyota Prius! need to make sure its a reputable system preferably with self lubricating valves, and keep it well maintained. like any mod like FI etc it needs regualr check and maintanence. i don't know what the original person did, but alot of people think its a fit and forget mod. its not. if done properly (thats the key word) then it should be fine; do your research. Thankyou for this sage advice! Very true about LPG on most cars, not only 350Z's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Throttle controller in eco mode! When I had mine I put it in eco mode once when the weather was bad... felt like I was towing a caravan If it gets to the stage that I can't afford to run the Zed I would rather get a cheaper to run car and drive it like I want to than drive the Zed carefully and sensibly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 if money was no object, then i'd take the 3.0 litre v6 diesel out of the audi a5 and drop it in the zed. that should see a combined cycle of around 50 mpg If money was no object why would you care about fuel consuption Also audi 3.0 v6 mapped to 300bhp as fast as it is, souless engine. the question never mentioned cost; and the audi engine is actually quicker than the zed; then engine may be souless but in a zed body it should make the combination alot better. it also means i wouldnt need to drive like a grandad to eek out mpg; could still drive hard and easily get 30 mpg, or take it easy and get 50 mpg. ... as for driving style the brake pedal is the hugest issue with fuel consumption, everytime you brake you have to use more fuel to get back up to speed. controlling the speed by just lifting off and reapplying the gas to maintain a speed is far more economical. leaving decent braking distances etc weight reduction etc all helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.