so....gas prices are on the rise, and i bet we've all been looking for ways to save gas. I'll start off by saying what got me started on this idea. I have a friend who has a v6 ranger, he ended up with no plug wires and needed to get home (about a 3-mile ride) since i also have a v6, i figured i'd give him 3 of my plug wires, and i'll keep 3 so we can both get there. I beleive i pulled my 2, 4 and 6 wires, so i was only driving on 3 cylinders, 1,3 and 5. the truck ran pretty good on 3 cylinders, it was still running smooth, wasnt loping, or surging. it just had a deeper tone, and ran about as fast as my 22re.

so, then i got the idea or wiring the fuel injectors to a switch in the cab, so i would be able to turn off injectors 1,3 and 5.....or 2,4 and 6 for just cruising, but then if i'm wheeling, or merging onto an interstate i would be able to utilize all 6 cylinders. much like the idea of chevrolet's "flex fuel"

so would this work? or would i just be shutting off half the injectors, to have the other half dump twice the amount of fuel in?

or would i be prematurely wearing out the engine? or would it be more involved like having to shut off spark and adjust the valves to the non-running cylinders too?

again, i havn't really thought about it into detail, i just got the idea and its been playing in my head for about 3 days, and i figured i'd ask the pro's (you guys ) to pick apart the idea and determin wether its do-able, or just plain rubbish.

and also, do you think my 22-re would run on 2 cylinders? JK! (well actually, i know it will, but last time that happened due to bad timing, i got passed by a lawnmower)

 

hmm i want to stick around for this i have wondered the same thing before

 

E85 gets worse gas mileage although its cheaper. I honestly think it would be a waste of time. Only reason I would do it on a 3vze is if was turbo charged so you could run the advanced timing and higher boost which nets big horsepower.

 

Woops. Didn't even read the post LOL. You might get worse mileage since the engine is running harder. I had worse gas mileage in my 22re driving it with 3 injectors for a couple weeks.

 

I know what you're talking about but "flex fuel" refers to being able to run on 85% ethanol fuel blend. And flex fuel is BS and generally a terrible idea in practice. Chevy calls their cylinder shut down MDS or multiple displacement system. I am interested in a home brew MDS system too so I'll subscribe.

 

The only major problem would be a compression release for the cylinders that aren't firing.

 

Compression release would be the biggest mechanical issue to tackle. And it would probly be better to run it as a v4 instead of a 3 cylinder.

Electrical wise, your ecu will be confused. O2 simulator would have to be factored in along with the injector cut off. O2 sensor would probably be easy to fool though. You could shut the main one off and turn on a simulator.

How do we go about making a compression release?

 

GM calls it "active fuel manigement" they drop 4 of the 8 cylinders. I don't know if they lean out the mixture or cut it out all together. But if they cut the cylinders then they lose heat, you lose heat then the efficiency is greatly cut. I have a 2011 silverado and you can't ever tell when it drops 4 cylinders nor when they kick back in.

 

thats what i was talking about! got confused and just assumed it was called flex fuel, even though the name kind of explains what it is lol.

but anyway, what would be the point of a pressure relase? is that just to release the pressure of the un-used cylinders so the engine wouldnt "fight" it? Or does it have a more mechanical purpose, that would prevent the engine from blowing itself up?

either way, i know it ran just fine on 3, without a pressure release, but i only went a couple miles up the road. If i was to go more, would there be consiquences?

 

Cant say this for sure. But I really don't think MPG has a whole lot to do with the amount of cylinders. Ive seen V8's get better milage then 4cyl engines. Its more about work load, gearing, overall engine efficiency (engine technology). Shutting down cylinders in a V6 will throw off the balance of the engine firing order. And not to mention mechanical loss from dragging cylinders, even with a compression release.

Turn off 2 cylinders while driving and you'll have to push the gas pedal down further to maintain speed. You've just put the fuel from those 2 cylinders that were shut off into the other 4, plus some. Theres no way IMO this can yield any benefits. But in your defense this thought has definitely crossed my mind before.

 

thats exactly what i figured was gonna happen. Almost like the cylinders that ARE firing, will work harder and have to handle more load, and that after you calculate how much more fuel the cylinders would have to use, it would be equel or greater then when all 6 are firing. Plus factor in what the computer will "think" and what it would do to correct the "problem" and theres a few more mpg's out the window.

now how about re-building a vz, and just not puttin in the valves, pistons, connecting rods, and fuel systems for 2,4, and 6 and just having a "true v3"

that would make the 22re look good

 

Maybe?

 

For the compression release... I wonder if you couldnt just drill and tap into the dome and put some sort of little valve in there...

 

i think for the money and time tho, the turbo e85 thing would be awesome. Look at the ford flex with ecoboost