2wd for gas milage

[vxfocus]

does anyone know if this is possible or has anyone done this.
with cas prices going up already i was thinking about taking the front diff assy out for the summer along with the drive axles and front drive shaft.
i figure that is alot of weight and gears that the engine would not have to move or turn.
i dont need 4wd in the summer anyway
what do you guys think??

[etlsport]

many have pulled the axles. doesnt help enough to make it worth the effort. as far as weight.. its probably less than a full tank of gas, so no substantial savings there

best way to improve your gas mileage.. think about it while you drive, coast when you can, if possible cruise around 60-65 instead of 70-75.

i monitor my fuel consumption very closely, if i drive 60 the whole way home, i get 17-18. if i drive 70 i get 16-17mpg. if i drive 80 i get 14-15 mpg

from obeserving my scangauge..

at 80mph im using 90-100hp
at 70 mph im using 75-80 hp
at 60mph im using 50-60 hp

[vxfocus]

but the whole weight of the carrier case and diff has to help not to mention the gears that have to be turned even if the drive axles are removed the engine still is using horsepower to move the drive shaft then in turn the ring and pinion gears??

[CoastieCosta567]

I have mine set up by over riding the TOD. I have a switch that turns off the TOD completely. I drive about 98% of the time on RWD and i tell you this, i don't really see a difference at all. Not worth taking it off, in my own opinion. Just drive like a grandma, not crazy and keep the tires well inflated.

[Gussie2000]

but the whole weight of the carrier case and diff has to help not to mention the gears that have to be turned even if the drive axles are removed the engine still is using horsepower to move the drive shaft then in turn the ring and pinion gears??

There's few things you can do to improve MPG.

Besides eric's suggestions i'll add a cold air intake,get rid of unecessary load in your trunk,keeping your tires @ the recommended PSI,have your VX's balancing/alignment in good stats and last but no least,using good fuel

[etlsport]

but the whole weight of the carrier case and diff has to help not to mention the gears that have to be turned even if the drive axles are removed the engine still is using horsepower to move the drive shaft then in turn the ring and pinion gears??

all true, but the weight is very small compared to the 4,000lb vehicle especially considering that you add 150-200lbs with a driver, another 150-200lbs with a passenger, probably 100-150 lbs with a full tank of gas

as far as the driveline drag, it is there, but the vx doesnt have any more drag than my civic, i cant imagine it getting much better

[VXjunky]

i purchased my VX from a computer engineer who installed an all wheel drive shut off switch....its activated in neutral with tranny in neutral and engine off....dont know the particulars but ill ad a pic in my gallery ....looks factory........

[CoastieCosta567]

I can turn on and off mine with a flip of a switch, i'll be driving in dry ground and then drive in rain 2 sec's later and turn it on with a flip and works perfect. I love it.

[VXjunky]

im a-feared to turn mine on and off , on the fly...the previous owner (who installed it)...said he'd always switched it off and on, with the engine off, in neutral....and like you Coastie, i dont notice any difference in gas mileage .

[Riff Raff]

Nah, a better way to saving overall gas money is to buy yourself a used cheapo gas mizer car and use it for your Daily Driver. Buy like a used Ford Festiva, Honda CRX-HF, Geo Metro, etc for cheap $$$. Save the VX for pleasure outings. If you must use your VX for your DD, then pretend you're hauling fragile eggs and gently feather the gas pedal at all times.

[LittleBeast]

I have both CV's removed, and the front driveshaft removed, and do not see any real improvement in the MPG.

I have not yet replaced my CV's that I blew while mudding, and just took the front driveshaft off because it was not doing much good anyway and the CV joints on it (yes our front driveshafts have CV on them, U-joints on the rear driveshaft) were completely shot from just being old, so I already have new ones, but am waiting for a real good reason to replace it all.

[VX KAT]

We all know the VX is a gas pig, but have you ever calculated the break even point on buying an ADDITIONAL car or doing some spendy mod?? Hope you can follow my calculations, they go from top to bottom in each example. Hope this is helpful to folks trying to make a decision.

A) Buy a cheap gas-miser car:
Assume it costs $2,000, and it increases MPG from 16 to 30 MPG....a full 87.5% increase.

~ VX: 16MPG x 22.5 gallons = 360 miles per tankful
~ Miser:30MPG x 22.5 gallons = 675 miles per tankful (assume the tank is same size as VX, doesn't affect calculations)

~ You'd gain 315 extra miles per full tank

~ 315 miles ÷ 30MPG = 10.5 gallons to travel that far

~ At $3.50/gallon x 10.5 gallons = $36.75 saved on a full tank....
~ At $4.00/gallon x 10.5 gallons = $42.00 saved on a full tank...

~ Another way of looking at it is:
with gas @ $3.50, you save .05 cents/mile ($36.75 ÷ 675)
with gas @ $4.00, you save .06 cents/mile ($42 ÷ 675)

~$2,000 ÷ $36.75 = 54.4 tankfuls....before breaking even
~$2,000 ÷ $42.00 = 47.6 tankfuls....before breaking even

If you fill up every 2 weeks:
~54.4 tankfuls (x2) would take 109 weeks =2 YEARS, 3 months
~47.6 tankfuls (x2) would take 95 weeks =2 YEARS JUST TO BREAK EVEN.....and only then would you begin saving any money



B) Do some modification to the VX:
Assume you do modification that costs $1,000,and it increases MPG from 16 to 20 MPG....a full 25% increase, which is doubtful.

~ 16MPG x 22.5 gallons = 360 miles per tankful
~ 20MPG x 22.5 gallons = 450 miles per tankful

~ You'd gain 90 extra miles per full tank

~ 90 miles ÷ 20MPG = 4.5 gallons to travel that far

~ At $3.50/gallon x 4.5 gallons = $15.57 saved on a full tank....
~ At $4.00/gallon x 4.5 gallons = $18.00 saved on a full tank...

~ Another way of looking at it is:
with gas @ $3.50, you save .03 cents/mile ($15.57 ÷ 450)
with gas @ $4.00, you save .04 cents/mile ($18 ÷ 450)

$1,000 ÷ $15.57 = 64.2 tankfuls....before breaking even.
$1,000 ÷ $18.00 = 55.5 tankfuls....before breaking even

If you fill up every 2 weeks:
~64.2 tankfuls (x2) would take 128 weeks =2 YEARS, 8 MONTHS
~55.5 tankfuls (x2) would take 111 weeks =2 YEARS, 4 MONTHS JUST TO BREAK EVEN.....and only then would you begin saving any money

Insurance costs and other misc. cost factors weren't applied in these calculations, but I hope it gives you a better overview of the break even points.

Found this website handy for tracking MPG, fuelly.com. It's kinda fun. Here's my VX:
http://www.fuelly.com/driver/vxkat/vehicross

[Grif]

Interesting analysis Kat. Thanks for that! Tho somehow I don't think I'd be spending nearly $100 a week on gas if I were driving my 1.8l Saturn SL2. Actually considered starting to drive it again. nawww.... lol

[etlsport]

I agree with you sue for the most part, but in my case I am fairly certain a secondary car is the way to go. But it must be the right car/situation.

I had an 05 civic that averaged 35-37mpg. If I could get that again at the rate im going I fill up at least 2 times a week.. I would brake even much faster, of course thay kind of gas mileage would require closer to a 5k car

factor in a vx oil change is about 35 dollars a civic would be 20, thats another 15 dollars a month, tires for the vx are around 800-1000, 400-500 for a civic.. a savings of 400 every 2 years or so.

Factor in the sadness that I feel every time I cross another MILEstone (hit 112k tonight) for me it makes more sense to get a little car. That said, allison offers me the use of her civic almost every day since she only works a few miles from our house. I haven't taken her up on it yet. I just love driving my vx far too much!

[VX KAT]

I agree with you sue for the most part, but in my case I am fairly certain a secondary car is the way to go. But it must be the right car/situation.

I had an 05 civic that averaged 35-37mpg. If I could get that again at the rate im going I fill up at least 2 times a week.. I would brake even much faster, of course thay kind of gas mileage would require closer to a 5k car

factor in a vx oil change is about 35 dollars a civic would be 20, thats another 15 dollars a month, tires for the vx are around 800-1000, 400-500 for a civic.. a savings of 400 every 2 years or so.

Factor in the sadness that I feel every time I cross another MILEstone (hit 112k tonight) for me it makes more sense to get a little car. That said, allison offers me the use of her civic almost every day since she only works a few miles from our house and I haven't taken her up on it yet. I just love driving my vx far too much!

Yeah, you're right, there are other factors like maintenance etc. Just plug your numbers into my calculations. You'll obviously hit the break even a lot sooner if you're filling up x2/week, but if you have to spend $5k for the car, you're talking a lot later break even point.. Don't forget to add the insurance for the 2nd car.

But there's an intangible figure here too, that you can't put a dollar figure on. It's exactly what you said, seeing the mileage add up on the VX. So a 2nd car IS worth it in some scenarios and it's not related to fuel costs at all.