DX/LX/EX: Your Gas Mileage

[psyshack]

Just turned in a 46 mpg tank in my civic.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?pa...wuser=psyshack

[klipsch41]

Originally Posted by Intrepid175

Kudos on the details! Having reviewed your data, I'd have to say that, considering how you admit to driving, I think you're getting pretty darn good fuel economy.

You admit to being an aggressive driver. I'm assuming that means relatively aggressive acceleration? That uses fuel! You cruise at 70+ whenever you can? Just a little fact in case you didn't know, aerodynamic drag goes up as the square of the speed. In other words, if you double how fast you're going, you quadruple the drag. For every mph you increase your speed, you're increasing the drag on the car by that much more. That uses fuel!

Want to know how to approach 40 mph? I can think of two things right off the bat. 1) Take your foot out of the radiator on acceleration and 2) slow down on those trips! On a 50 mile trip, driving 60 instead of 70 will only take you about 7 minutes longer to get there and I think you'd be amazed at how much better your fuel consumption will be.

As for the oil change, by all means, get it done if it's time. Always maintain the car as best you can for best performance and economy but don't expect an oil change, in and of itself, to make a significant difference in your fuel consumption. The way you admit to driving, it's a very small percentage of what's going on.

I know this probably isn't what you wanted to hear and it's hard to break lifetime habits (been there, done that!) but it is what'll make a difference in the long run.

Good luck!
Steve R.

The one thing that sort of confuses me is how crappy gas mileage I'm getting when doing city driving (~22-25). When I'm on campus, I drive pretty slow as there's a whole bunch of cops there to specifically catch speeders violating the insanely slow speed limit of 25. I don't/can't do any harsh acceleration or gun the engine @ all.

All of my "speeding" gets done on the highway . Even then, my RPMs never really go above 3k, they stay around 2.4-2.6k the entire time. They occasionally go higher when I'm passing a truck or something, but for the most part, I'm @ a steady pace. As far as slowing down, whenever I do a longer trip, it's usually 60-70+ miles, & since this is my first new car, I barely even notice when I speed...so much smoother than my old car ('92 G20). Another thing is, in MI, speed limit on most of the highways is 70, so I can't help but go slightly faster .

Even with my driving habits, I thought I'd be getting at least an average of 35+ every tank as I usually do a lot of highway driving. My brother has an '05 Accord LX V6 Sedan & he's getting about 27-29 MPG & he's an even more aggressive driver than me - combo city/highway. One of the main reasons why I got the Civic over other cars (Corolla/Camry <- I'm a college student who needs to haul his crap back & forth from MN to MI so I kinda wanted something w/ space, was reliable, was relatively cheap) was for the gas mileage (& the look ).

My old G20 was averaging about 22-25 MPG, & that was killer, but for me to get almost the same amount on a few tanks is a little weird. The one tank that I was surprised about was the tank in which I got only about 18 MPG...that was even worse than my old car. Don't know what to say, I know the EPA estimates are always higher than "real" driving, but from what I've read, some of you are getting those mileages & even higher, I just thought I could get something "reasonably" close to EPA.

[truflip]

^^ I feel your pain 100%

[Rems07si]

how many miles do you have after the gas light comes on? on an SI

[truflip]

^^ dude. i think ur in the wrong thread.. this is for non Si Civics man

[psyshack]

Originally Posted by klipsch41

The one thing that sort of confuses me is how crappy gas mileage I'm getting when doing city driving (~22-25). When I'm on campus, I drive pretty slow as there's a whole bunch of cops there to specifically catch speeders violating the insanely slow speed limit of 25. I don't/can't do any harsh acceleration or gun the engine @ all.

All of my "speeding" gets done on the highway . Even then, my RPMs never really go above 3k, they stay around 2.4-2.6k the entire time. They occasionally go higher when I'm passing a truck or something, but for the most part, I'm @ a steady pace. As far as slowing down, whenever I do a longer trip, it's usually 60-70+ miles, & since this is my first new car, I barely even notice when I speed...so much smoother than my old car ('92 G20). Another thing is, in MI, speed limit on most of the highways is 70, so I can't help but go slightly faster .

Even with my driving habits, I thought I'd be getting at least an average of 35+ every tank as I usually do a lot of highway driving. My brother has an '05 Accord LX V6 Sedan & he's getting about 27-29 MPG & he's an even more aggressive driver than me - combo city/highway. One of the main reasons why I got the Civic over other cars (Corolla/Camry <- I'm a college student who needs to haul his crap back & forth from MN to MI so I kinda wanted something w/ space, was reliable, was relatively cheap) was for the gas mileage (& the look ).

My old G20 was averaging about 22-25 MPG, & that was killer, but for me to get almost the same amount on a few tanks is a little weird. The one tank that I was surprised about was the tank in which I got only about 18 MPG...that was even worse than my old car. Don't know what to say, I know the EPA estimates are always higher than "real" driving, but from what I've read, some of you are getting those mileages & even higher, I just thought I could get something "reasonably" close to EPA.

Your AT tranny and short drives are whats killing you. It will get better with spring and summer temps. You would be a perfect candidate for a warm air intake.

I keep telling folks that have to have a AT tranny to get the bloody hybrid. In your driving around campus you could feather the throttle into EV mode. Its hard in the Civic but can be done. The gas engine would shut off and then you could be stealthing it at 20 mph.

As far as hwy driving,,, slow down. Your not going to get good mpg at 70 mph unless you start using extreme hypermiling tactics like I use. Even then you are going to work hard for little gain. My 5MT Sedan in temps above 60f and no wind will get EPA hwy at 65 mph. At 60 mph it will get 40 mpg. Speed kills mpg.

Good luck
psy

[Bobber]

On a recent trip from Green Bay to St. Paul with 90% highway. I got 405 miles before my light came on(usually around 2 bars). Not to mention I was going 70+ the whole way there and back.

That equated to 38.4 MPG:SHOCKED:

I am hoping for a little better once the weather warms up and my engine breaks in I just hit the 8,000 mile mark.

[Shiggidy75]

I drive 75% highway and consistantly get 34-35 mpg. I drove to Chicago a few times all highway and got 37-38 going 75 mph. I'm really happy with it so far. almost 9000 miles now in about 10 months of driving.

[Bobber]

what does a gallon of petrol go for bloak in Lima, Ohio?

[Shiggidy75]

Originally Posted by Bobber

what does a gallon of petrol go for bloak in Lima, Ohio?

right now its going up and down between $2.69 and $2.79. I swear everyday it changes.

[Bobber]

its $2.89 in the Cheesehead state and on its way up for memorial day.

[Janizary]

Updating the running averages

With ~50 more responses, totaling 238 poll responses currently logged (as of 9:30 a.m. PDT, 4/19/07) using a weighted average of all of the respondents and the mid-point for each poll category, the current weighted average of all responses is:

30.8 MPG for all DX/LX/EX logged replies.

This is down slightly from the averages of 188 respondents (31.1mpg), but remains well within the trending average.

[K757]

Originally Posted by Janizary

Updating the running averages

With ~50 more responses, totaling 238 poll responses currently logged (as of 9:30 a.m. PDT, 4/19/07) using a weighted average of all of the respondents and the mid-point for each poll category, the current weighted average of all responses is:

30.8 MPG for all DX/LX/EX logged replies.

This is down slightly from the averages of 188 respondents (31.1mpg), but remains well within the trending average.

Well done math nerd

... sorry couldn't help this....

[Janizary]

I thought I burned that picture of me.

[crableg85]

could u get lower mpg due to a k&n drop in filter ??

[Intrepid175]

Originally Posted by Bobber

On a recent trip from Green Bay to St. Paul with 90% highway. I got 405 miles before my light came on(usually around 2 bars). Not to mention I was going 70+ the whole way there and back.

That equated to 38.4 MPG:SHOCKED:

I am hoping for a little better once the weather warms up and my engine breaks in I just hit the 8,000 mile mark.

Looks to me like you did pretty good! Is your car the automatic or manual transmission? I've got the manual tranny and have found that it doesn't take much of a head wind or tail wind to make 2 to 3 mpg difference. Highest strictly highway tank was 39.9 and lowest was 35 even.

Good luck,
Steve R.

[dallas_mike]

162 miles on the highway with cruise set at 72 mph, relatively flat roads, ocassional passing (up to 80 mph), 4 gallons of gas = 40.5 mpg

On the return trip, 39.9 mpg (same route back, cruise at 74 mph)

No A/C was used, 2 people in the car.

Average of 34 mpg around town.

2007 LX Auto 4 door. (1900 miles so far)

[crableg85]

hmm there is something deff wrong with my car.;.;.;.;im only averge in not even 300 milles to the tank and that is grannie driving too lol i never get on it the car has 1800 miles on it : ( what could it be i do drive mostly street

[K757]

Originally Posted by crableg85

hmm there is something deff wrong with my car.;.;.;.;im only averge in not even 300 milles to the tank and that is grannie driving too lol i never get on it the car has 1800 miles on it : ( what could it be i do drive mostly street

don't try to judge by going the total miles in a tank, that is not as accurate as calculating the exact mpg you are getting. And take note of how long you sit in traffic and light to light.

[cojaro]

I'm nitpicky, and the fact that the poll selections are in even ranges bothers me.

3mpg intervals from 15mpg to 30mpg, but after 30mpg it's in 2mph intervals, then at 3mph interval for 39-41, then back to 2 (42-43).