<VV> Conversion to EFI: Is it really cost effective?

Roger Gault r.gault@sbcglobal.net
Tue, 15 Jun 2004 22:18:04 -0500


Blaine,
If you're converting to EFI to save gas money, stop now.

First, you'll be lucky to do if for $1000.

Second, your math is doing it the hard way and understates the problem.
Take your miles drive per year and divide that number by your MPG to get the
number of gallons you burn per year.  Multiply that by the cost of gas per
gallon and that will give you your cost per year.
I take it from your discussion that you are currently getting 22 MPG and
drive 12000 miles a year.  At $2.25/gallon that's 12000/22 * $2.25 =
$1,227/year.  If you got it up to 24MPG, your fuel costs would drop to
12000/24 * $2.25 = $1,125/year, for a staggering savings of $102/year or a
10 year payback.  To get your costs down to $227/year for a one year
payback, you'd have to get 119MPG.  For that, you need one of those little
magnets you put on the fuel line to magnetize the fuel ;-)

I'd be suprised to see more than a couple of MPG gain in milage.  Even if
you got 5, that's still a 4.4 year payback.

In my humble but accurate opinion, gas money is just part of life.  Learn to
live with it and be glad you don't live in Europe.

Now, if you want to go with EFI because it gives you better performance and
is cool, that's a different matter...

Roger Gault
Getting 15 MPG in his 140 attached to a lead foot.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Blaine Sanders" <blaines@infowest.com>
To: <virtualvairs@corvair.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 9:15 PM
Subject: <VV> Conversion to EFI: Is it really cost effective?


> I am beginning to collect parts to do a fuel injection conversion...
Before
> I get too excited about this project & invest in the big $ items, I would
> like to hear some first-hand accounts on fuel economy.  If there is anyone
> on the list who is running EFI on their Corvairs, please share with us
your
> average MPG stats.  With the outrageous gas prices lately, it's starting
to
> make more sense to do this conversion... But it depends entirely on what
the
> expected MPG increase would be.
>
> I'm no math wizard, but this is the way I figure it:
>
> Assuming an EFI conversion costs $1,000, and assuming that gas costs $2.25
> per gallon:
>
> Then $1,000 buys you 444.4 gallons of gas.  On 444.4 gallons of gas:
>
> @ 20 MPG, you could drive 8,888.88 miles (assuming your stock Corvair
> averages 20 MPG)
> @ 22 MPG, you could drive 9,778 miles [a difference of 889.12 miles]
> @ 25 MPG, you could drive 11,111.11 miles [a difference of 2,222.22 miles]
>
> So for every $1,000 spent on gas, you would save:
>
> @ 22 MPG = 44.456 gallons of gas saved = $100 savings.  $1,000 / 100 = 10.
> 10 x 8,888 miles = 88,888 miles for conversion to pay for itself.
> @ 25 MPG = 111.111 gallons of gas saved = $250 savings. $1,000 / 250 = 4.
4
> x 8,888 miles = 35,552 miles for conversion to pay for itself.
>
> If you drive 12,000 miles per year, and the EFI conversion gained you 2
MPG,
> it would take approximately 7 years & 5 months to pay for itself -- hardly
> worth it.  If the EFI conversion gained you 5 MPG, it would take 3 years
to
> pay for itself -- much more tempting...
>
> {did I do my math right?}
>
> Ideally, I'd like to see it pay for itself in one year.  In order for that
> to happen, I'd either have to gain 15 MPG, or gain 5 MPG AND figure out
how
> to do it for $333 bucks.
>
> Anyone out there getting 35 MPG with their EFI corvair?  Anyone out there
> getting 25 MPG & done it for $333 or less?
>
> Am I nuts?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Blaine
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