Gas mileage
Comments
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It's not because of the "election", the costs go up and down through a process called "supply and demand"...Econ 101.
Read about it in your local library.0 -
You might try advancing the spark. I've heard that originally, these cars were set up to run on gasoline that was much inferior to our modern gasolines. So, the spark can actually be advanced slightly with the modern gasolines, without the danger of pre-detonation, possibly giving you a slight increase in gasoline mileage. Perhaps someone will go into this on a deeper level.
Of course, you can always look into installing a more favorable rear end ratio or overdrive in your Kaiser, as well.0 -
Higher prices cut demand, less demand, more supply. More supply, less demand, lower prices! Econ 101 !0
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What kind of mileage do you get with your Kaiser? I would've thought the 226 was a thrifty engine.0
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More appropriately, who is controlling the supply. Business Smarts 101!0
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JasonNC wrote:Before the price of gas goes sky high again after the election, what can be done to improve the gas mileage in my old cars, especially the Kaiser? The Hudson isn't too bad, but I still would like to improve in this area.
Not much other than common sense stuff- Tire Pressure
- Clean Air Filter
- Tune-up
- Change the oil
- Lose Weight! (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061025/ap_on_re_us/obesity_gas_consumption)
But the one thing they wouldn't do is lose 50-100+ lbs of fat!
I bet many of us Hudson folks could probably stand to shed a few pounds and cummulatively start getting better mileage! (I resemble that remark!)0 -
The HET Club does the Loughlin Economy Run every year trying to get the best gas mileage out of their Hudsons..... maybe ask some guys who have gotten good MPG scores what they did to win..... ANYONE on the forum who particpates in that ?! I think it's in or near California. The company itself used to boast about having good gas mileage. I know my Pacemaker gets better mpg than our newer 2000 Dodge Pickup. Funny how mpg hasn't improved in 50 years. The legislators tightened mpg requirements on cars so what did the industry do? They built passenger trucks that had lower mpg requirements...but I digress.....The WTN has had past articles on the economy runs and what the winners say they did to boost MPG.0
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Coast down the hills... Of course, the best mileage can be gotten with the 3spd OD trans, the worst is the Hydramatic. I haven't noticed much difference between a well tuned Twin H and a 2bbl though.
Dan, you're 100% right, I resemble that remark too. I could lose a good 75lbs. Working on it now but it's a slow go.0 -
Aaron D. IL wrote:The HET Club does the Loughlin Economy Run every year trying to get the best gas mileage out of their Hudsons..... maybe ask some guys who have gotten good MPG scores what they did to win..... ANYONE on the forum who particpates in that ?! I think it's in or near California. The company itself used to boast about having good gas mileage. I know my Pacemaker gets better mpg than our newer 2000 Dodge Pickup. Funny how mpg hasn't improved in 50 years. The legislators tightened mpg requirements on cars so what did the industry do? They built passenger trucks that had lower mpg requirements...but I digress.....The WTN has had past articles on the economy runs and what the winners say they did to boost MPG.
The thing about gas mileage...I remember reading an article awhile back about how the Model T back in 1908 could get something like 25MPG and today's average for cars is 21MPG. My 1930 Model A gets better gas mileage than my 1996 Grand Prix!0 -
rambos_ride wrote: »Not much other than common sense stuff
- Tire Pressure
- Clean Air Filter
- Tune-up
- Change the oil
- Lose Weight! (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061025
6. Don't drive into the wind.
0 - Tire Pressure
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will be running tow 53 HORNET CONVS IN THE ECONOMY RUN ON NOV 11 . ONE A STICK OD, AND ONE WITH HYDRO. HAVE A NOVICE DRIVING THE HYDRO. WILL REPORT NEXT WEEK ON PERFORMANCE, BILL ALBRIGHT FROM THE TWIN H RANCH, FONTANA, CA0
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66patrick66 wrote:It's not because of the "election", the costs go up and down through a process called "supply and demand"...Econ 101.
Read about it in your local library.
In case you didn't notice, the price of gas went down at a time when the supply should have been lower (Katrina and the hole in the Alaskan pipe line) and the demand higher (during the summer months when more people are driving). See how fast the supply goes down and the demand goes up after the election. Political Science 212.
On a more positive note, I have put in new plugs, changed the oil, have not advanced the spark. and am on a 30 day diet (the kind you are always going to start 30 days from now). I haven't done the math to detemine exactly how many miles I'm getting to the gallon, but my guess is about 14 miles a gallon. (I filled her up Thursday, drove approximately 70 miles, and it took five gallons to fill her back up on Friday.) That may not be bad by fifties standards, but I just want to know if I can improve on it besides losing weight and not driving into the wind.0 -
Maybe also if you can find a "phish" carburator and use a magnetic fuel saving gadget you'll do something amazing. hehe0
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JasonNC wrote:In case you didn't notice, the price of gas went down at a time when the supply should have been lower (Katrina and the hole in the Alaskan pipe line) and the demand higher (during the summer months when more people are driving). See how fast the supply goes down and the demand goes up after the election. Political Science 212.
On a more positive note, I have put in new plugs, changed the oil, have not advanced the spark. and am on a 30 day diet (the kind you are always going to start 30 days from now). I haven't done the math to detemine exactly how many miles I'm getting to the gallon, but my guess is about 14 miles a gallon. (I filled her up Thursday, drove approximately 70 miles, and it took five gallons to fill her back up on Friday.) That may not be bad by fifties standards, but I just want to know if I can improve on it besides losing weight and not driving into the wind.
There are a few more things to check
Leaks
Gas: Look for any visible signs of leaking at carb or connections all the way to the tank.
Vacuum: Vacuum leak may not really show - but would effect overall performance and mileage. I doubt using a vacuum gauge on one of these cars would yield anything of value - but using a can of starting fluid and spraying around the base of the carb while running will tell you instantly if there is a vacuum leak because the idle will increase.
Gaps
Points-n-Plugs: I'd bet the point and plug gaps on these engines makes a significant difference in performance and power. And is an easy thing to double check.
On the issue of plugs - has anyone played around with the heat range in a Hudson motor?
Distributor: A lot of time distributors are overlooked in old cars. While you're looking at the points - see how tight the bearing is in the distributor shaft...if its moving it will change you point gap constantly while running0 -
I don't care about the gas mileage on my old cars and and I do drive them ALOT on the weekends. As mentioned, if the car has good parts on it,well maintained and tuned well, then it is what it is for a 60 year old classic. For you who like to tinker with this stuff, God bless you!0
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There's a lot of things that can effect gas mileage. Some are mentioned here, some others can include valve adjustment, compression ratio, camshaft,intake system,exhaust system, type of tires and gear ratio.0
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As mentioned, there are many different factors. I had the camshaft re-profiled in my '29 Hudson, and obtained 20% improvemnt in gas mileage, and 20% better performance. Cam specialist said if I increased the compression the results would be even more dramatic. Also of note the HUGE volumetric area inside the big F-head intake chamber actually went against good efficiency and economy. A smoothly curved and polished intake manifold goes a long way in improving intake efficiency. I used to struggel to get 14 m.p.g., and after the new cam was consistently getting 17 m.p.g. But in the final analysis, filling the fuel tank on a '29 Hudson (or any H.E.T really) is really only a means of converting "Petrol into pleasure".
Geoff.0 -
One of my good buddies here rebuilds and tunes carbs professionally and is currently driving a 65 chevy with a 235 six and 3 speed standard tranny. He is averaging 27-29 mpg. His main thing is to lean out the carb a lot. He tweaks them in other ways but won't share all his tricks. He does say tho that you get power but no mileage or mileage with less power. You can't have both unless you have a EFI engine in an import.0
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Hello all,
Some excellent suggestions here, but the cars themselves were never fuel miserly even when new. I seem to remember the road tests from the 50's stated 12-14 mpg city driving and 16- 18 on the road. When gas was 19 cents a gal, who cared?
I think a lot depends on the driver. My 52 308 with 2 bbl will get 20-21 mpg at a steady turnpike speed of 50-55 mph. I 'll get at least 15 mpg in the city, by starting out slow and taking my time. Fast starts, hills, varying speeds all tend to take away from the gas mileage figure, plus the suggestions entered here.0 -
PS: Further thought - When I ran the twin H, gas mileage dropped dramatically.
Despite the careful driving and attention to tuning, I never got more than 10 mpg city, and 16 mpg road.0 -
When I took a trip to Hot Springs I got 25 mpg on my 49 Hudson Commodore with the 254 CI 8, 3 speed w/OD. The mileage seemed way to good - don't know what I did wrong on my calculations, I took the entire trip ( both ways ) and divided the miles by the number of gallons. Only thing I can think of is that perhaps the odometer is off. The mileage from where I live to Hot Springs and back again was in line with what MapQuest estimated. I normally get around 15 mpg ( but that included some city driving ). Were the 8s better on gas mileage than the 6s?
BST RGDS
GARY ( happychris )0 -
Gary, I drove my 54 Hornet Special from Newport to Kingsport TN, then on to Charlotte NC then returned the way I went, 650miles round trip. I averaged right at 19 mpg for the trip. Figuring the miles driven divided by the gallons used. I had a low of 15mpg and a high of 23 mpg. It depends soooooo much on the terrain. This was from a 1954 308 with 2bbl and dual range hydro, and included mountains, flat lands and city driving.
Bob Hickson0 -
In my humble opinion the 8s did indeed get better gas mileage than the big 6s. My 41 eight with overdrive will always better my 54 Hornet (twin H) by 5 or 6 M.P.G.---Cliff Minard.0
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Did anyone notice that gas went up (4 to 6 cents in my neck of the woods) the day after the election? I guess the supply went down and the demand went up with all those voters going to the polls....0
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Promised Milelage From Llaughlin Economy Run. See Laughlin Thread. 308 Stick In 53 Cv W/od 27.55 Mpg 53 Heavy Conv With Hydro 19.2 Average 45 Mph Speed Bill Albright0
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Saturday we took a 387 mile round trip to a Hudson meet in Hawthorn Florida in our 49 262 four door.( Twin H with sloppy needlevalves,) overdrive and stock 4:56. Cruised between 60-65 with the air on. had a problem with the OD for about 20 miles..wouldn't lock in.. Total average mileage was 15.68. Sure would like to have a 4:10 rear.
Dave w0
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