39.56 MPG Aveo!

[Christ]

I used to be pretty conscious of other drivers on the highway.. until I realized one thing - there's another lane.

I still do the speed limit most times, but around here, the speed limit on some highways is still 55, and people still do 70-90 average. I keep it at 55-62, even on the highways that have a 65mph speed limit. Sure, people hate following me, but they usually get the hint that I'm not going to speed up, and go around me.

I have also noticed that when I drive at the speeds that everyone else drives at, I get stuck in the "slow downs" that everyone else gets stuck in... like heavy merging traffic from an on-ramp causing some congestion on the highway... I keep a steady speed through it all the time, and usually end up passing all those foo - no, people - that passed me before hand.

I also find that driving slower, I enjoy driving more. I get to see things that I normally wouldn't be able to pay attention to b/c I'd be focused on going faster than everyone else. I can also take solace in the fact that I'm getting better gas mileage than even some cars much smaller than my 2000 Caravan, and I'm causing less wear and tear on my engine/driveline with my driving than those other drivers.

It's only the young fools that will get super close, act like idiots, whip out into the other lane, cutting someone else off, then accelerate like a cheetah with a dart in it's butt, just to make it where ever they're going 10 minutes faster... Keep in mind, the time difference between 70mph and 60 mph for a 30 mile trip is less than 10 minutes, and the average highway trip is less than 30 miles.

30 miles:
70MPH takes 25.71 mins
60MPH takes 30 mins.

"In 1995 Commuting overtook social and recreational trips as the longest distance trip type, 11.8 miles on average."

[windchoco]

Originally Posted by cottonfox

Hijack away! Even though it's hard most times, my biggest gains have come since I've started EOC. My gf lives in Detroit, so I've seen some heavy city traffic/angry drivers when you're going too slow.

Even just a little bit can help.

Thanks a lot..

But how can I EOC when my power steering goes off together when i cutoff my engine? Maybe I m not used to it, but it seems v difficult to steer without power steering (its still heavy even when coasting around 50km/hr). I was able to bump start smoothly though..

Should I try to make myself comfortable with the power steering off? I can imagine it will be hard to turn quickly, - say to avoid traffic with power steering off.

My tire sidewall (Yoko S-Drive), says do not pump more than 270kPa, but yet when I see the posts here, it seems that >50 psi is common ??? Will it explode or something?

Sorry for the noob questions..

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by windchoco

Thanks a lot...
My tire sidewall (Yoko S-Drive), says do not pump more than 270kPa, but yet when I see the posts here, it seems that >50 psi is common ??? Will it explode or something?

Sorry for the noob questions..

Well, here's what I do. And consider, before I got the Civic I was a driver of an old Volvo, which is all about safety. My point being, I'm not a person to take huge risks.

I run my tires about 10% over the sidewall rating. That is, mine now are rated 44 psi and I run them at 50 psi. I measure them when cold in the morning, before driving. They go up about 4 psi from driving and also go up about 1 psi per 10 degrees F. as the day gets warmer. Sorry, I'm no good at translating to kPa but I think you get the idea.

Some cars get very tough to steer without power steering. However I did find that increased tire pressure makes the steering lighter.

Make sure you use a good gauge when running high pressures. A cheap one might not be truthful.

[cottonfox]

44 psi is about 300 kpa (if my conversion is correct).

There's also a nifty tool here (unless you really like the conversion equation)

PSI-KPA Pressure Converter


this one does BAR's too in case you wanna compare your tires to atmospheric pressure...
BAR to PSI to KPa Converter

[windchoco]

Thanks... I guess i will try to increase the pressure gradually after every 2 trips to the gas station or so... to build up some confidence... Hopefully it will not cause the tires to wear unevenly (which will result in rotation and alignment costs)

Is there anyway to make the power steering continue to work even when I EOC ? For example like the audio and air-cons, which would still work even when engine is off...

[cottonfox]

Most power assisted steering systems are ran by a belt which runs on the engine. So, if the belt isn't running, then no steering fluid is pumped...thus you have to put some weight on it to turn the wheels.

If anyone knows of a nifty work-around I would certainly be interested.

[wagonman76]

Good job with the Aveo. I've heard from many that it is hard to get good mpg in one because of the gearing.

I've been between Detroit and Ohio a few times, it was the same experience driving 65-70 in the 70 zone. It's been a few years but I wouldn't imagine things are any better.