Becoming discouraged

[davidlewallen]

Hi,

So after stumbling onto this website I took a radical change to my driving habits. I saw how .much I was spending and wanted to change. I did countless amount of reading and thought I got it. Even though it's still a learning in progress. I do everything I can possibly do for MPG and hardly getting over EPA ratings. Granted it's cold out and having snow tires but I feel like I should be getting more. I drive a Honda civic ex mt 07
EPA is 26/34 most of my commuting is about 50/50 So I figured it should be about 30mpg combined.

Most of my tanks lie above 35mpg with my most recent tank being 38 yes this is a 27% increase but I feel that for the effort I should be getting more

I pulse and glide. I have torque for my phone where I watch everything. I don't accelerate over 85 lod and try to keep it at that. I shift under 2k and always. In neutral. If anyone could share some knowledge on why my MPG isn't higher that would be wonderful

[jakobnev]

I shift under 2k and always.

I'd try shifting higher.

[Rokeby]

Your 27% FE improvement is a major achievement.

Don't forget to pump up your tires. Up to the max pressure
as shown on the tire sidewall should not be a safety issue.

Also, FE in colder months is reduced due "winter gas" with
ethanol.

You're on the right track, reprogramming how you drive has
the greatest potential for long term FE improvements. It takes
considerable time and effort to incorporate/internalize the many
little tricks and use them effectively in the dynamics of everyday
driving. I think that you've reached a FE plateau from picking
the "low hanging fruit."

Keep up the good work

[GRU]

It's a 27% increse, if it was summer it would be closer to 40%

[BHarvey]

I'm at the same point, 27-30% over epa, and am just now started looking at other things I can do to bring it up more. Keep up the good work and start looking at the smaller things, like pan heaters, wheels, tires and such.

27% over epa is nothing to sneeze at, but it takes a lot more work to achieve what some of these guys do.

[Frank Lee]

Stick with it through summer and then tell us what you think. The cold really hinders things.

[Ladogaboy]

Psychologically speaking, people tend to remember the points that they want to remember (be they positive or negative) and dwell on those to the exclusion of other, pertinent data. I would suggest keeping a fuel log (this site has a great tool for that). That way you can track what is going on in an unbiased way and see where to go from here.

[slowmover]

27% is a heckuva gain.

I didn't see comments about the reduction of total miles. That is, having combined small errands into one longer trip (and used MAPQUEST or other "routing" software) to achieve the same results in fewer miles, thus fewer gallons.

If this is being done, then the 27% savings and fewer miles traveled is adding up nicely.

As above, it really is about records. I've always driven for economy to the majority of years driven, but only with this truck did I become more serious. And yet again after joining here, and, then again. Records show this. A nice change over the past nearly five years.

I would suggest learning how a cents-per-mile calculation is done, and once fuel is understood, then entering all other pertinent data to a complete understanding of what it takes to operate the vehicle every mile. My fuel cpm is currently estimated at 16-cpm, but the actual is nearly 50-cpm.

You will want to have both time and miles understood to do this: how long will you keep the vehicle, and how many miles will it accumulate?

With this sort of context those pennies saved really add up.

.

[jsatter]

What kind of mods are you using? Grill blocks? Smooth wheel covers? A block heater to keep he engine warm in the winter? If you haven't done any of these, they are relatively easy and will net you some gains.

[Cassem]

I don't know where you are located but Im sure that if you are near anybody they would be willing to take you out on a drive. Where are you located?