Official Gas Mileage Thread

gearbox · 03-09-2004

Okay everyone, due to numerous posts and problems with miles per gallon, I've decided to make a thread to try and raise mpg for those of us only getting in the low 20s.

I'm gonna start out a list of some things you can do to improve mileage. Feel free to add more things and say whether they've helped alot or not. Just give a rough estimate. We need to figure this out because I'm tired of getting 22mpg normally and 30mpg with all highway miles going 65mph.

--clean air filter (2mpg)
--new spark plugs (0mpg)
--proper tire inflation + 2psi more (1mpg)
--fuel system cleaner (0mpg)
--staying out of vtec below 3000 rpms

--warm up the car for a minute or less
--use cruise control on highway
--use AC sparingly
--remove heavy items from car (spare tire)
--use premium grade oils
--no excessive idle (over 60 secs)
--check wheel alignment

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abmerop18 · 03-09-2004

i get about 27-28 mpg, but that is mostly freeway driving to school at around 70-80 mph and i just use the cheap gas since it so damn expensive now. i dont really do anything you have listed, but i somehow still manage to get good mpg.

BaLisTek · 03-09-2004

I get around 32 mpg, and the funny thing is that I still havent changed the air filter since i got the car. I have put 21,800 on the original air filter. I am about to change that. Looking forward for the increase in gas mileage.

t3a5p00n · 03-09-2004

isn't 22 extremely low for civics?

do mods like intake/headers/exhaust increase or decrease gas mileage?

CuRiOuSfIsH · 03-09-2004

22 is low! Actually, tire pressure played a big part for me. I was (stupid enough) driving around with my front tires at 20 psi. Got around 31-33. Pressure back up to 31 or so, 35 mpg

dalaw · 03-09-2004

Yeah I get around 32 mpg in mixed driving and I think I hit 38 once when I went to vegas. My car is completely stock.

More ways you can minimize fuel cost in addition to what Gearbox said.

1.Fill your tank in the cold morning, since gasoline is denser when temperature drops, and gas station measures it only in volume.
2.Drive your car until the tank is nearly empty so that you don't have to carry all the extra weight of the gas.
3.Put your stock wheels back on to minimize rolling resistance.
4.Wash and wax your car so that your surface is slick to minimize aerodynamic drag.
5.Listen to traffic reports so you can take alternate route instead of stuck in traffic.
6.Lose some weights on your body.
7.Piss or take dump as much as possible before you drive.
8.Avoid street races and drive granny style.
9.Turn off your radio and fan and dim your dash lights so that the alternator doesn't have to work as much.
10.Drive 55 mph on the highway.

Keep in mind, safety first before you do some of the stuff up there!

01EXplain · 03-09-2004

They increase mpg. I drive an 01 EX coupe w/5spd and an Injen RD Intake, and get 28 in the city, sometimes 40 on the hiway, but the trick is to keep your foot out of it, buy good gas if you can, be in the right gear, and have all the maintainance like what gearbox listed.

skarteez · 03-09-2004

do the DIY VTEC light, when that sucker comes on, let off the gas a bit

just installed mine and now im afraid to see the red LED hehe jk!!

03HondaEx · 03-09-2004

I usually get somewhere between 23-28mpg depending on how late I am for college in the mornings...my cam re-grind is the reason for my decrease in mpg though, since it raised my idle RPM...

gearbox · 03-09-2004

Yeah when I had my SRI on there, I got 2mpg more. I really don't know what else to try. Does the alternator really drain the gas? I always have my system on.

BrotherSound · 03-10-2004

i generally average from 38-40mpg in my 2k2EX cpe. i set my trip odo everytime i fill up so i can monitor my mileage. the other day i got my best results i drove 475mi on 11.7 gallons. the gas light came on when my trip hit 450mi. oh yeah and since its wintertime my tires are at 30psi.

Boilermaker1 · 03-10-2004

I've been tracking mine in Excel since January. I'm gonna get some more tanks in it before I try to figure anything out from it, but my running average is right about 33 MPG. Its combined City/Highway, the tanks that are mostly cruise control highway are more like 35-36. Shell 87 octane is the only thing that goes in my gas tank, so I'm eliminating that factor from this... the only thing that will have a major effect is the temperature going up... I'll get better milage once it hits 55 or so...