[Hubert Farnsworth]

I've had the car since October 2009, and its been my first car with a manual gearbox. I've put on over 25,000 miles since I acquired the car. My average F/E has been 34.52 mpg over that time with many tanks coming in around 37mpg but some lower. I currently have a highly variable commute as half the year I've been interning someplace where I've got a 106 mile daily commute and therefore have needed to refill the tank every two or three days to ensure I'm not caught short. The other half of the year currently gets spent commuting to university, and usually involves less driving, but also worse fuel economy, particularly in winter.

I've seen as high as just above 40 mpg but the alternator wasn't working properly at that time, the next highest I have achieved is 38-39 at 70 mph

I'm wondering what simple things can I do to improve on these baseline numbers. I'm trying to think of a way to seal some of the gaps in the body panels. I already try and coast in neutral with the engine running, or engine brake where possible to extend the time under way without using the brakes, however this isn't always possible around town here.

My mileage didn't seem to improve much if at all by slowing down to 65 from 70 mph (just around 3000 rpm). I can improve the results marginally off the cruise control with a light foot, but its usually not by much given the fact that with a manual the cruise can't really rev the car up and down as much or change gear as an automatic would have.