I think 11:1 CR with water or ethanol injection might work okay to build more torque at mid range. I have not been following the Mega Squirt project lately, I think the economy key is in engine management software that enables more spark advance to work with higher compression.

I don't know if water/alcohol injection is a good idea for a daily driver, but if it can be minimized via computer that might do the trick. If you are the type which checks your oil weekly the water injection might be okay.

Tim, tell what you have heard about water injection, and oil. Does water get in the oil?
Sam

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hello sl6 sages- have tojump in on this feather duster discussion. i have had a totallystock feather since 89 and since then have seen a few of them. the sl6 came with the 2.93 7 1/4 rear. never saw an 8 1/4 in one. too heavy and not needed. mine is the aluminum overdrive. the automatic may have had a 2.76 rear, but that would be too tall for the od with its .73 4th. even so in od you have a final drive of 2.15 with the 2.93 rear. that is a very tall gear. i usually get 25 around town and 33-34 on the highway. that isthe same epa mileage on my 01 saturn L with 4cyl and 5 spd od. i actually get that mileage consistently with the duster and the saturn. folks may not realize it , but you could get the feather with a 3spd factory floorshift. have seen a few equipped that way or with the automatic which cuts the mileage way back. this feather duster is incredibly easy to work on the parts are so cheap. these fwd cars are a nightmare to work on and parts and labor on them are outrageous. if you have to get a new one as i did back in 01, try to avoid an interference engine and a hydraulic clutch with an internal slave cylinder. if the clutch uses a cable and fork release or an external slave cylinder for the clutch that is ok. these dealers and independents want 12-15 hundred to do that job. also try to find a fwd where you dont have to dissassemble most of the front end to remove the transaxle for a clutch job. am trying to keep the feather running forever. best regards bob f

Thanks for the feedback Bob. That is cool. We all hoped that was possible, and are glad someone has proven it. You have given all the slant six guys who are trying for better mileage a worthwhile, somewhat realistic target. I am convinced that the Duster had a serious aerodynamic advantage over the other A body cars, with the possible exception of the 67-69 Baracuda. My Duster got much better mileage than my Dart. I had a 72 Duster that got 26 MPG on the highway with an automatic. No mods except an economaster carb and an MSD box. I owned a Corolla at the same time, and the Duster got better mileage. If you factored in the larger gas tank, the Duster was the car of choice when going on vacation as the cruising range was considerably further than the toyota, what with gas shortages and such back then. I was a fool for ever selling that car.

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Its funny, but especially in the summer months you notice that your vehicle runs better at night because the engine intakes cooler moist air than during the day so my idea is why water inject when you could cool the intake air in some other fashion?

Sam,

Water injection cools the a/f mixture, it slows the flame propagation, it should not cause any problems. I've heard of a '60 GM turbo motor which had incidents of hydrolock because a valve failed allowing the system to drain into the motor overnight when the car was parked.

I think a computer controller could minimize the amount of water used. Alcohol also has a cooling effect. Water injection is a bit of a hassle in a daily driver.

I think you could tweak a computer such as the Mega Squirt so that the system used very little water. The stock slant six has a relatively low compression ratio, has anyone ran high compression with an RV type camshaft?

What IS a "propuh" cruise RPM, dahling?

I mean given the resources, where would a guy want to peg his dream highway machine?

TIA

I generally like to cruise at 75-85 MPH, but my slant powered van never gets above 60.

I bought a Feather Duster last fall and just got it on the road a couple of weeks ago. Mine has the 4 speed OD with 2.94 gears, manual steering, manual disc brakes and no AC. It is bone-stock except for the 2 1/4 inch exhaust system that I replaced the original rusted-out 2 1/8 inch system with and I installed 225/70 BFG TA Radials on the front 14" rallye wheels and 15 x 8 rallye wheels with 255/60 BGF TA Radials on the rear. I haven't checked the optimum highway mileage that it should get at 55 mpg on a level road with no stopping with the windows up, but I did fill the tank and drive it normally in town and on the interstate at 70 mph under varying conditions and it has been getting 28 mpg. My speedometer and odometer are reading slow also due to the taller rear tires, so my mileage is probally closer to 30 mpg. I plan to make a long, slow smooth run with it just to see what it will get. I have a supplement '76 manual that states that a Feather Duster with the options [or lack of them] like mine supposedly gets 26 city and 35 highway mpg's. By the way, it is for SALE!

Interesting article...

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Sa ... AScam.aspx

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Slant 6's my friends, that's what we are here for. Let's keep on track and let the politics go somewhere else. I won't bad mouth Canadians and their politics and hopefully you can do the same. Things will tend to get out of hand quickly if you continue to bad-mouth the country which many of us still love even with her faults.

Now let's talk slant sixes !!!

Rick