Jza

Alright so awhile ago, mid-winter, I made a post complaining about my gas mileage. Summer has come around, gas prices have went up and my mileage isn't improving.

The car has under 75 000km (46 600 miles) and I'm getting roughly 400km (248 miles), before I hit e-light. I can run the car for another 50km (30 miles), until I really need to fill the tank from just about empty. Roughly, this adds up to about 9km/L ot 21mpg, horrible numbers in my opinion.

Now I'll be the first to admit I beat on my pedal. But I've heard of people who do the same and still push higher mpg. I'm running aftermarket audio and the system is often bumping, but again, I just don't think that it could affect my mileage as much as this.

All these problems occur even on regular full synthetic oil changes, etc.


There has to be something else. I've heard it might be the fuel filter or that 'the timing might be off'. If anyone could please elaborate on possible problems I'd love to start trying to fix them. If you think this is the mileage I deserve, feel free to post that as well cause I'm not ruling it out as a possibility.

Thanks for reading.

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

"Beat on the pedal" please describe.

Once i got 21mpg out of my car. I was on the backroads holding it atleast at 5,000rpm's and just stomping on it out of every turn, and redlining the straights... but damn, not doing that and getting 21 on highways sounds bad.

Whats your idle at? You should pull your throttle body and clean it up- they get dirty and especially the valve on the side of it- if its dirty it'll effect your idle.

Intake filter... replace it

Gas.. what octane are you filling up with, and where are you going?

MT or AT?

Jza

Well I'm unfortunate enough to drive an automatic, on the highway, I rev steady at 3k RPM. I put the pedal to the floor a lot when starting up from a light, or whatever.

I run 89 octane and I drive about 20km to work and 20km back from work a day, most of that trip is highway so not that much stop and go.

Even when I was driving to school on small roads I wasn't getting better mpg...

All my air filters were replaced not even 10 000km ago...

I heard about the throttle body cleaning, I think you're refering to the IVAC valve?

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

IVAC yeah.

89 octane.. is that one step above regular? Why dont you use regular gas... which is usually 87 octane. Using higher octane wont give you better performance, and will just clog up your motor. You should switch to a lower octane and stop adding any additives if you are. Run a cleaner through your system like seafoam.

Learn how to cruise... gas/break is so annoying to see drivers do that. Like dont gas it all the way to the point you need to break... coast. You should be able to coast more then you need to gas it in the city. On the highway you should be able to drive 100miles without using your break once.

Jza

sorry, I meant 87 octane. I don't use any additives either.

I almost always hit hit 120km/h (reving at 3k RPM) and run cruise control for as long as I can. I don't ride my break or anything like that, I just like to get up to speed quickly.

jimmym86

Now I'll be the first to admit I beat on my pedal...

^^^There's your problem...

I've got an auto, as well, and get about 36 MPG around town (very little hwy). And on the interstate easily 40-45+ all day long.

Take it easy on the gas and learn to drive more MPG friendly. Drive the speed limit...Coast as much as you can...don't accelerate like your at the track all the time. And being hard on that A/T is only gonna make it crap our sooner!

Jza

Doubt it, Jimmy. I've talked to other 7th genners and I see how they drive, I'll compromise on mpg to a certain extent to drive as I drive now, but I know I'm losing gas somewhere else.

popee

iTrader: (9)

not sure.... what to say.... but i do 100km back and front to work.. i go about 110 kmph (70mph) i get about on a full tank 650-700km on a full tank
03lx 5spd

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i get 20mpg in the city driving slowly around 3k rpms in 2k2 civic auto. everything is well maintained and like new lol. oh well

jimmym86

The main thing you can do to improve your MPG is personal driving habits...If your car is in good running order (no CEL, and maintained by the book) then the fault would lie on your right foot. There are certain things that can go wrong that could really hurt your MPG, and in that case you would get a CEL, and that would be the source of the problem. It sounds like your car is in good enough shape, but keep in mind certain "performance mods" can negatively affect your MPG. And also added weight will negatively affect your MPG.

A few things that clue me in that it is more than likely operator error:
Now I'll be the first to admit I beat on my pedal...
I put the pedal to the floor a lot when starting up from a light, or whatever...
I run 89 octane...
I just like to get up to speed quickly...

Just my personal take on the matter...I've heard these comments many times before, and can say that atleast 75% of your bad MPG is from your driving habits...the other 25% could come from weight and performance mods you might have. But there is no real way of proving this...

You could check many forums on how to get good gas mileage, if you would really like to improve on your numbers... http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/

ScanGauge is a neat tool to help you keep track of your MPG, as well as many other things going on with your car. And it will give you a more accurate reading since it calculates based of of your cars computer readouts, versus dividing miles by how much gas you added...

Not trying to bash you or your driving style, but if you are really wanting better gas mileage, learn how to drive more MPG friendly. If not then keep running your car hard, and pay the extra money for gas.

I prefer to accept my civic is not built for speed, and take advantage of the great MPG they are capable of.

Jza

I don't run 89 octane, corrected myself already, I've already said that I'll take the MPG if it's 100% caused by the way I drive, but as I've said again and again and again, I've talked to other 7th genners and they get way better MPG, driving similar to me.

jimmym86

No two drivers drive EXACTLY the same. In addition, some people tend to over exaggerate or under exaggerate their driving styles to make themselves seem either more cool or more mature depending on their audience, when you "talk" to them.

This year (or last year), EPA had to change their MPG Estimate tests to reflect changes in driving styles/habits. If you take a look at the EPA MPG estimates for the new civics, their hwy mpg is rated around 35 MPG. Where our 7th gens are rated at 40 hgw mpg. People driving on the R18s can easily get the same MPG as our D17s, even though EPA estimated much lower.

It is hard for some people to comprehend that your own driving style can reflect so much on the MPG you get out of your engine...But it can. This is how alot of people can get 5-20 MPG better than what EPA estimates.

If you do not have a CEL, and your engine is running smoothly, then based on your driving habits, 21 mpg may be all you get. Using synthetic oil does help slightly with your MPG, as well as changing your air filter when needed, and making sure your spark plugs are in good shape (I changed my factory plugs around 40K miles).

ScanGauge isn't cheap, but it is a neat way to track your MPG on a trip, tank, or daily...And if you wanna drive like grandpa for a few weeks to see if your MPG improves, it'll allow you to track all that.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

our 7thgens are rated at 38mpg highway

Jza

Which is why 21mpg seems kinda' low, even for the way I'm driving.



Do you all calculate MPG from filled up to e-light?

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

whhaaat?

To calculate MPG..
The next time you fill up- reset your trip counter
When you have to fill up again check the pump for the gallons that were pumped into your car.

Divide the miles on the trip odometer by the gallons on the pump.

Say you drive 300 miles between fill ups, and the pump reads 10 gallons... 300miles/10gallons =30 miles/gallon.

*bow*

I hope this is how your calculating MPG... but if you havent been, this is how to do it. Dont try dividing your mileage by the gas tank volume rating (12 gallons). I could see you getting 21mpg if your stomping on it and driving 250 miles between fill up till before your empty warning light goes off, and then dividing by 12.

Aside from all that- make sure your doing conversions correctly. Your sold in liters right, not gallons? And your odometer reads in KM and not miles.

It doesn't matter how many miles you drive between fill ups. You could calculate your mileage per gallon on driving half a mile of driving if ya wanted...

To get the best results- dont overfill your tank, and fill up at the same place and the same pump to kill any variance.

gte445n

His calculation on mpg is purely based on driven miles/13.2 gallons (straight from Honda Civic fuel capacity specification).

I promise you that driving 30miles past E-light is nowhere near 13.2 fill-up at the tank.

As said above, a simple way to get a decent estimate is resetting your trip mileage when you fill up, use the same station/pump fill until it stops, drive thru on that tank, fill until the pump stops, record the number of miles you have drive and divide by the number of gallons you filled with. Do that thru a few gas tanks and average it out.

Check your air filter and tires.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah be sure to use the same pump each time. make sure its one that has a proper functioning nozzle. ive had some cut off even tho the tank wasnt filled. that will mess it up too.

Steven Eisler

Seafoam will do nothing .. it is old school and not meant for fuels that have ethanol or alcohol in them. Its ideal for 2 stroke motors. Gumout is a much better suggestion as its made to work with modern fuels.