Yeah, I've read the tips. I do try to follow them to some extent. I'm working on my light timing and trying to resist high speeds, especially on the side streets where I can do 45 without fear of getting shot at
Things that improve highway MPG are pretty ideal for me tho since my house is less than a mile from 2 on ramps and highway driving represents at least 85% of everywhere I go.
As for changing my driving style I'm working on it, getting pretty good at light timing. But I won't know what amount of throttle or what shift points net the best MPG till I can get a Scangauge or the like. Certain things I am a bit apprehensive about are things like P&G. I'll glide down hills but I'm not really willing to put that level of wear on my starter (my car doesn't start instantly, it takes a second), or possibly even on my clutch and transmission if just pulsing and gliding without killing the engine. I'm very particular about wear, I'm pretty proud of the fact that when I changed my gear oil for the first time at 80,000 miles (yeah, way too long) that there was no metal what so ever on the magnetic drain plug and gear oil was still in great shape. I know I can rev match to help ease the engagement portion of p&g, and I'm pretty good at it, but increasing my clutch usage / gear engagement by a factor of 10 is something I'm not totally comfortable with.
One fun thing about this car tho is that it has a pretty close ratio 6 speed but with a decent torque band and the 6th gear helps you get that extra bit of higher speed mileage compared to the 5 speed version. One thing I do wonder about is if you apply any amount of throttle beyond a few percent at engine speeds below about 2200rpm the car makes a noise that sounds like a playing card stuck in some bicycle spokes. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or if its normal. I hear it in a lot of cars, but that doesn't mean its a good thing. Maybe some of you other low rpm cruisers can enlighten me as to what that noise is and what it might indicate.