Does this sound right? (20 mpg from 1999 Honda Civic)

[MetroMPG]

His Civic is an automatic.

Block heater, transmission heater, grille block, belly pan, instrumentation, route adjustments. All good ideas.

[MrMark]

My commute to work is 3 miles each way (3 stop lights) and I average about 23-25MPG (at about 35mph) without mods to my Honda Civic (auto trans) with close to 300k miles. I'd love to bike my commute but the road has no bike lanes, no shoulder and a lot of idiot drivers talking on cell phones. Far too dangerous a commute by bike.

To the original poster, 20mpg isn't bad from my experience for such a short trip. Oddly I've found with my Civic that using regular unleaded causes much poorer fuel economy than using premium. I use premium all the time because in the end its cheaper per gallon for me. Regular on that trip I get about 5-10mpg but premium I get between 23-25mpg.

[F8L]

You may want to have your car diagnosed. There is no way you should get 10mpg better fuel economy between 87 octane and 91+ unless there is a problem with the car. Higher octane contains less energy due to reduced burning efficiency. You may have a problem with a knock sensor which causes a reduction in ignition timing and therefore efficiency. In very high mileage "engines, the build up of carbon deposits on the pistons can cause similar issued by raising compression ratio or creating hot spots.

No matter what the cause, there is no way that you would observe such a difference in mpg in a properly running vehicle (designed for 87 octane) by the simple addition of higher octane fuel. This has been tested quite thoroughly.

[Fr3AkAzOiD]

If I worked only three miles away I'd prob buy a junkyard car and turn it into an electric car.

Just leave the Civic for the longer trips.

[TXwaterdog]

I hear you on crazy drivers trying to run over bicyclists. So I vote scooter/ moped. You can get a brand new Honda or Yamaha 125cc scooter for 3k. That will get +/- 100mpg stock. I'm suggesting a 125cc because well they're just more fun to drive and more practical for multiple uses. Then you can save your Civic for other tasks that require more passenger or cargo space.

2012 Yamaha Zuma 125 Specifications, specs


2010 SH150i Overview - Honda Powersports

[Frank Lee]

Regular on that trip I get about 5-10mpg but premium I get between 23-25mpg.

no way.

[MrMark]

[offtopic]Yes there are issues with the car. I just recently took over maintaining/using it from a family member since they can't drive much anymore. They had it for about 5 years and did NO maintenance (not even fluid or oil changes). It ran worse than now. Too many repairs needed to list. Considering the shape and miles of the car.. 23mpg isn't bad at all lol. [/offtopic]

Originally Posted by F8L

You may want to have your car diagnosed. There is no way you should get 10mpg better fuel economy between 87 octane and 91+ unless there is a problem with the car. Higher octane contains less energy due to reduced burning efficiency. You may have a problem with a knock sensor which causes a reduction in ignition timing and therefore efficiency. In very high mileage "engines, the build up of carbon deposits on the pistons can cause similar issued by raising compression ratio or creating hot spots.

No matter what the cause, there is no way that you would observe such a difference in mpg in a properly running vehicle (designed for 87 octane) by the simple addition of higher octane fuel. This has been tested quite thoroughly.

[GRU]

I've been biking as much as i can now and it feels great. It's a little cold in the morning but i'm not in shape so i warm up 5 mins into the ride lol. I also have a CBR 600 so i do ride it to work sometimes but i feel bad for my neighbours starting it a 730am

[GRU]

Also, i ordered a oil pan heater so that should help the car on any trip i take

[RobbMeeX]

Look into a warm air intake for faster warm ups?