Kyle23

Last winter I started a log to record my mileage out of curiosity. When it was all said and done, I and ended up with a steady and consistent 5-month gas log averaging a little over 38mpg.

A few items to note:

- WI
- 2004 Ex, 5MT, stock besides remote start & sound system
- 87 octane, typically from the same two gas stations
- approx 90% hwy
- 70-73mph (when weather permits)
- never use cruise control, just keep a steady foot position
- drafted other vehicles when possible - especially when it was windy
- 3-4 minutes of idling to let the engine warm up (Feb-Apr)
- started using Lube Control's - FP60 and LC20 about halfway through


Summary:

- avg 38.03mpg
- lowest: 33.9mpg which was when I changed my coolant (lots of idling)
- highest: 41.4mpg July, wind typically at my back or nonexistent.

** please note, my increase in mpg cannot be solely attributed to Lube Control's products. While I'm convinced they did help, warmer weather with less idling and snow storms likely played a much larger role.


https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bxq...ut=list&num=50

Please enjoy, comment, and share.

- Kyle

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thats pretty good, winter can kill mileage even with mostly highway driving. highest ive gotten in the summer was 42 mpg (but usually around 40 average), and highest in winter around 34mpg all highway. check the new post i made about hybrid features. there are few things you can do to increase CD a bit more. our regular civics have a 0.38 cd, hybrid has 0.28 cd due to more aerodynamic parts.

Kyle23

Thanks Gear, I'll have to check that out. Your threads/posts are typically top-notch so I'm sure there will be some good info in there.

Don't you have an Lx auto?

MindBomber

Wtf..

Gearbox, your post has a link to General Motors site embedded in it.

lordhelmet

iTrader: (3)

Why don't you use cruise control?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

usually humans can get better gas mileage than cruise. until adaptive cruise is implemented, the current version is the exact opposite of what you want. if the car comes up to a slight hill it will mash the gas and downshift two gears. if you are driving and see the hill, you can gradually speed up, stay in same gear, and make it up the hill maybe dropping 5mph but saving a ton of gas.
alos even on flat ground the cruise always keeps the throttle pushed. our cars have a fuel cutoff when you let go of the gas pedal and thats what you should be doing down hills or coasting to a stop. think of it like hybrid auto stop but while the car is moving. do not shift to neutral, then you will be using gas to idle the motor. if you are in gear, the fuel cuts off completely and you run off the cars momentum. if you pay attention to this and always try to take your foot off the gas, you will see better mpgs.

thats not my link, its an ad link put in by this forum.

i have an ex auto. moonroof should give it away

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Your google link doesnt work OP

And besides, u can track ur exact MPG on Fuelly.com

& what gearbox said is right, on a slight incline, the CC just gasses it

lordhelmet

iTrader: (3)

Manual>>>>>>>Auto. OP said nothing about hills. I just assumed the freeway would be mostly flat. Think I-5 in the San Joaquin Valley.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Not all highways are as smooth and flat as the I5

Especially the highways from the bay, to Santa Cruz, or Reno
Up and down many hills and mountains

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

besides the point. i already mentioned the cruise keeps constant open throttle. this will waste gas just by doing nothing where you could be letting your foot off and still maintain speed without using gas depending on conditions. ive always been able to beat cruise if i control the gas pedal. there is really no point at all to using it unless your foot is tired in which case you should prolly stop driving.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

You have no idea....
CC saved my foot from a 12 hour drive......
horrible

Sorry, I'm kind of ADD, but sometimes when your driving for so long, and being bored...
You ever think about stuff like
"I am sitting in a seat, of a 2500lb piece of metal, going at about 80~100mph, and all i have to steer it, is moving my arms"
dunno, random things occur to me and random moments

Kyle23

The highway isn't completely flat where I drive, there is still plenty of hills, slight grades, and such. Gear's post pretty much covers the reason why I do it. The CC can't anticipate the road ahead, so it reacts abruptly - reducing mileage.

Sorry about that spreadsheet. I even had the sharing set to anyone who had the link... check out this PDF instead.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

So much easier when I just use Fuelly.com lol

But dang, 11k miles in 5 months, that's some intensive driving

& your gas is cheap! :O

Brian1037

Is CC different in a manual? Gearbox you said it would downshift and then floor it when CC gets on a hill, but it can't downshift a manual (right..?) so CC in a manual should be better

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah manual would seem to be better, but im trying to figure out how it would maintain speed in a locked gear. it is programmed to maintain speed no matter what so it may just keep opening the throttle til youre at redline. it could actually be worse than an auto depending on the hill. auto will downshift to 2nd if it has to, but in manual its stuck in 5th or whatever youre driving in. anyone with a manual try this?

Kyle23

I have a ScanGauge II and one of the four displays is TPS (throttle position) so it's easy for me to keep the pedal in a constant position.

To your manual CC questions: the car stays in whatever gear you are in and mashes the throttle. When I'm driving at highway speed, the TPS typically shows 19-21. If I see a small hill is coming up, I can press the gas down slightly more (22-24) to gather enough speed in advance to maintain my cruising speed.

If I have the CC on, my TPS will stay at 19-21 until I start to climb the hill and lose speed. At that point the CC will kick in (once I'm going 68 instead of 70) and mash the gas to 35-40 in an attempt to get the car back up to 70 ASAP. It's incredibly inefficient.

Kyle23

Yeah, the gas in WI isn't too bad. But this was also 9 months ago...

I'm actually surprised I was able to get ~34 mpg in the winter since it's almost impossible to keep a constant speed if the roads aren't completely dry. Everyone is always speeding up and then slowing down.

I've never driven so many miles in such a short period of time in my life. From May 2004-Feb 2010 I put on 76k. From Feb-July I put on 11k.... It's because I just finished college in Dec 2009 and started a new job 40miles away. I don't mind racking up the miles but it's all the extra maintenance that kind of bugs me. Fluid changes, brakes, tires, belts, and everything else comes a whole lot faster now.

Brian1037

Well whenever I've driving manual with CC on and come up to a hill, the car will give gas no matter how low the revs get. Usually I just tap the clutch myself and the car will roll over the hill with its own momentum, then I'll "resume" the CC.

What I'm more curious about is how the car slows down when it's going down a hill in CC. Are the brakes applied, because the brake lights don't go on?

Man I know what you mean. My school is 70km away (there and back) and my gf is 150km away (there and back). I can easily do 1000km per week. I got my car at the end of August with 95,000 km, and I'm already at 108,000 km. I had to do an oil change at 103,000 and I'm going to find myself doing another really soon. Two oil changes in about 3 months.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the cruise control has access to the transmission range switch, which gives it access to all the gears (at least in an auto). it also has control of the vss. now its possible that going down a steep grade, auto trans cruise may downshift to a lower gear. otherwise i think it just uses engine braking to slow down on a hill. sometimes it doesnt always work exactly because ive gone down hills before that were too steep and it went well over the set speed. cruise is def not perfect by any means, mostly because it cannot "think" about the best way to maintain speed and does not have control over all the cars sensors and functions.

i had to look this up:

-cruise receives operating condition info from ecu, vss (manual), trans range switch (auto), and clutch pedal position switch (manual). the control unit sends signals to the actuator to open or close the throttle. cruise will maintain any speed above 25mph.

there is no other mention of control besides the throttle body. so im assuming that when coasting down a hill in cruise, its the same as taking your foot off the gas.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, thats interesting to know

Because I know when going down, my CC downshifts, as i can feel it, very curious about manual.

I shall ask my friend today to try out his manual CC on his GSR, since he's heading up the mountains for black friday sales :P

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

jeeeeeze.....how are u guys getting 40mpg?

r u like driving at 65 or something?

i have a manual, everything in the engine/exhaust, headers...etc is stock except for a V2 sri....and i barely get 35mpg with 70%highway 30%streets.

and i have a light foot too

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Tell me about it, i've been seeing people getting 45~48mpg with our 7th gens....
Manual prolly makes a 8 or so mpg difference...
but......


That's lame

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well as i mentioned, the auto cruise is tied to the transmission range switch. basically this means it can move the gear shifter however it wants without physically moving it. manuals are only tied to the vss and cannot change gears. this is also why an auto can downshift going up a hill using cruise.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

go the speed limit, its not hard lol. and learn how to drive

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

in California, if u drive the speed limit, you are going to be very very unpopular with everyone else on the road. im just saying....

the average speed here on the freeway is 80mph....and about 3mph during 4pm-7pm

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

hahahahaha, true that, true that

If you drive 65 in Cali, you better be prepared for lots of fingers, and road raging.
I coast at about 75

You can always spot the Oregon folks driving a mile away

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

well, that's socal anyways, i cant speak for norcal.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah big city freeways are suck. i remember driving 65 on the far right of a 4 lane highway in chicago and still getting honked and tailgated. speed limit was 55. average speed in middle was 75, fast lane was 85-95.

Kyle23

There is a hell of a lot less traffic here in WI than there is in LA which really helps. Even during "rush hour" (if you can even call it that here) I can still go 60-70 mph most of the time. The only time we have slow bumper to bumper traffic is before & after Packer games.

Also, I was doing about 90% highway; if it was 70/30 then I would probably get 35mpg. I laid out almost all the details in my orig. post. 73mph with neutral coasting and in-gear coasting. During my actual driving I get 36-38mpg but make up the extra few with the above techniques.

Kyle23

I can't believe I didn't know about this before. Thanks for the link! I've uploaded my log.

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/pfafkl13/civic