AutoTechWorld Tips for better gas mileage for RX7 owners.

AutoTechWorld Tips for better gas mileage for RX7 owners.

Drive smoother:
Non Rotary: Be gentle with your gas pedal and your brakes.

RX7 Onwer: What do you mean gentle? Like with a brick on the pedal? All RX7 owners don't use brakes unless absolutely necessary. We downshift to slow down.

Non Rotary: There's no reason to speed up to a red light just to slam on the brakes. Aggressive driving will lower your gas mileage.

RX7 Owner: We don't speed up to the red light. We're coming to a stop after racing a Honda owner and showing him who is the king of the road.
Aggressive driving? - Is there any other?

Slow down:
Non Rotary: Most vehicles get the best fuel efficiency between 45 and 55 miles per hour. Driving more than 60 mph can cut fuel efficiency 7% to 23%.

RX7 Owner: We're just getting comfy in 2nd gear at 45 miles per hour. How can we stay stuck in 2nd?

Reduce idling:
Non Rotary: Turn off your engine if you're waiting for more than 20 seconds. Idling wastes more gas than turning off your engine and restarting it.

RX7 Owner: Once you've ported idling while waiting is the least of our problems. I had a bridgeported 12a that used to idle at 2k rpm lol.

Use lower grade fuel:
Non Rotary: Regular unleaded fuel won't hurt most vehicles even if premium unleaded fuel is required. Unless your engine starts to knock or ping when using a lower-grade fuel, stick to regular.

RX7 Owner: Can't fool us with this one. We won't hear the pinging with the exhaust so better safe than sorry and let's throw in some octane booster just in case.

Remove excess weight:
Non Rotary: An extra 100 pounds sitting in the trunk or back seat can reduce fuel economy by as much as 2%.

RX7 Owner: The extra 100 pounds is the tool kit and spares just in case we break down somewhere.

Turn on the ventilator and turn off the air conditioning:
Non Rotary: The most efficient way to cool your car is with the air that comes in through your flow-through ventilator. Air conditioning or open windows (because of the drag) make your vehicle less fuel-efficient. Driving fast with the windows open can burn more fuel than the air conditioner.

RX7 Owner: Air conditioning wasn't invented for RX7s. The fact that we can get our windows to go up when we're down driving is a miraculous achievement in itself. We don't need the added luxuries.

Replace or tighten the gas cap:
Non Rotary: Fuel evaporates through gas caps with broken or weak seals, potentially reducing your efficiency by 2%.

RX7 Owner: No problems here, our gas caps must be the only thing with strong seals. But we're running rich so much that the fuel still evaporates.

Keep the tires inflated:
Non Rotary: Tires that are not properly inflated have a higher rolling resistance, which reduces efficiency. Keeping tires inflated to the proper pressure can improve gas mileage by up to 3.3%.

RX7 Owner: Since we're not driving around in slicks we need just a little less air pressure in preparation for the next impromptu race.

Change the oil:
Non Rotary: Energy-conserving or synthetic motor oil can reduce engine friction, improving efficiency by as much as 2%.

RX7 Owner: Don't change the oil, plan to change the engine. Talk done.

Replace the spark plugs:
Non Rotary: Misfiring spark plugs can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 30%

RX7 Owner: We may backfire but we never misfire.

Hope you've enjoyed the contrast :)