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I have an 01 civic ex coupe. auto tranny. everything is stock except aftermarket rims. 70k miles. I get 25mpg 100% city driving. I'm jealous at some of the members who claim they get 35-40mpg. I change my oil pretty often. My tires always have good tread. Basically I do a pretty good job with maintenace. So what else can I do to improve my mpg?

 
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One way, putting an aftermarket air intake on your car. You could increase your mpg a little not dramatically. You say your getting 25 city, thats probably the best your going to get. I dont know what hondas your talking about that are getting 35-40, but they probably have a v-tec or i-vtec which are very fuel efficient

 
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Search results for "increase mpg"

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...er-41-mpg.html

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...s-mileage.html

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-thoughts.html

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/4...ing-wires.html

 
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^ lol.... yea thats about right. he already has the vtec version which is very fuel efficient..our cars average about 27 mpg city milage so....i duno wat to tell u. this topic gets covered at least once a week. searching will yeild better results than starting a thread.

 
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make sure your tire pressure is acurate.

 
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^^^Thanks TRIZ, I forgot one.

 
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I thought the whole aftermarket intake thing was all a myth?

 
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can you explain "myth" a little better?

What about it is a "myth"?

 
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couldn't have said it better myself

 
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My vic IS a v-tec. So is 25mpg city still a good number for a car with my specs? https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...r-civic-2.html
This link has a guy that gets about 32mpg with aem sri intake and iridium plugs. But his is a manual tranny. On that note, is MT more fuel efficient than an AT in general? Also will changing my plugs to iridium plugs improve mpg? I don't really see how it can improve mpg. Care to enlighten me?

 
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Here we go, one at a time:

So is 25mpg city still a good number for a car with my specs?
YES
is MT more fuel efficient than an AT in general?
YES, the MT has 5 or 6 gears you have 4. Their final drive gear is higher so they turn less rpm to do the same speed as you. Less rpm's less fuel.
Also will changing my plugs to iridium plugs improve mpg?
YES, a little if you have not changed your plugs in a while it is a good idea any way.
I don't really see how it can improve mpg. Care to enlighten me?

 
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the best way to improve gas mileage is not to drive like a ricer

 
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On that note, what pressure should I keep below the maximum recommended psi?

 
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keep tires between 30-32psi max. any higher and youre gonna have a really rough ride and possibly wear the tires out faster and unevenly. car is rated for 30psi. i usually put in a bit more so when they lose air its not a big deal. you dont want them below 30 tho.

 
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look at the tire placard on the driver door jam

 
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on 17s i run at 35, but 30 on stockers is appropriate, and i have the non-vtec motor a1 for u senior members, and i get about 35 mpg in the city, which by city, we dont really have a city here, but its close enough... hwy i get about 42

 
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can someone tell me why every shop i goto always overfills the tires. i cant understand this, and it doesnt matter whether its the best shop in town or a local whatever. first, you cant correctly measure the air pressure after i just drove all the way to the shop and the tires are hot. second, keeping in mind that tires are hot and the pressure will be more than it normally is, why would you add MORE air on top of that??? wtf are they stupid? every time i get my car back, i have anywhere between 35-45psi cold pressure and sometimes its not even the same in each wheel! and i have to deal with it til the next morning before i can let out a bunch of air and have people walk by asking why im letting air out the tires. do the mechanics just do it for kicks? idk, its obvious they must know that the correct pressure is in the driver door sticker, so why? please tell me

 
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not everyones gauges are accurate, plus i think that most techs just tend to add air, that way peoples tires arent left low

 
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If your aftermarket wheels are larger (and probably heavier) remove them for stock to increase mileage.

It can increase your mileage, just like it can decrease your mileage. More than likely, the temperature, barometric pressure, driving, luggage, etc was different and you got a better or worse MPT.



Proper air pressure is written on the end of the drivers door. If you want to decrease rolling resistance and make the ride more harsh, put more air in them. If you want a smoother ride, decrease the pressure a little.

Correct, but not only does the ATX have less and taller gears, ATX's offer more driveline loss which soaks up power and gas. RPM isn't the sole teller of how the gas is being used. Load is the biggest part. You can spin 8,000 RPM and still use less gas (or the same) with the car spinning 4,000 RPM.

As far as plugs improving mileage.... If the current ones are bad, I can see it, but the stock plugs aren't anything horrible. In fact, I wouldn't doubt they are Iridium from the factory considering Honda doesn't recommend replacement until like 100k miles.


Actually, they are pretty smart. First off, as you've noted, the tires are hot which would net higher pressures. When it cools down, your pressure will drop. I don't know if you've ever done your research, but tires are SUPPOSED to be inflated cold. I only inflate/check my pressures after the car has sat in the garage for some time.

Secondly, a slight over-inflation below max COLD temp (written on your tires) is just fine and they will not have any problems with lawsuits when the customer drives off the lot. A low tire is more likely to cause an immediate tire.

 
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when i inflate tires at my job i just put in 32 for car tires and 35 for truck tires unless someone tells me otherwise, i dont have time to look around to see how much psi is required or wait for them to cool down. Every gauge is different too, the one on the tire machine usually reads more than what my gauge says, and my gauge cost me $125 from snap on. Its not that they are retarded its mostly cause there gauge can read something way different than yours...and personally when i have cars to work on...3 psi over or under is the lease thing on my mind after i do brakes or engine work

 
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the pressure for 3 of my tires is ~29psi. but I can't get an accurate reading on one of them. the pressure fluctuates depending on how i insert the gauge. if i insert the gauge hard into the valve, the reading would jump all the way past 50psi. but if i insert it lightly, the pressure would be from 20-40psi. has that ever happened to you. think i have to change the tire? it looks pretty good after inspection though.

 
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thats for the 14s, so i'd rec. stay with 32 psi like gearbox, if you get a car load of ppl, or a trunk with a aload of speakers, and crap, go 32 and 24-25 rear due to the weight increase! other than that..nothing else

 
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ya this is around 30 psi for ideal conditions meaning you just drive yourself and empty car around. its gotta be adjusted for extra weight which i think is mentioned in the manual. and if the tire pressure reading is changing, you might have a damaged valve stem (the lil rubber tube thing that the cap goes on and sticks inside the rim to the tire air).. not sure what you could really do except get it replaced and see if that fixes it.

 
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what 14s, my ex came with 15s