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Old 06-06-2011, 12:45 PM   #61 (permalink)
California98Civic
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Coastal Southern California
Posts: 6,299

Black and Green - '98 Honda Civic DX Coupe
Team Honda
90 day: 66.42 mpg (US)

Black and Red - '00 Nashbar Custom built eBike
90 day: 3671.43 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by InsightfulRay View Post
Well, I have two tanks under my belt after installing the airtabs. So far the average for my last 3 tanks BEFORE installing the airtabs was 48.9 mpg. My two tank average AFTER installing the airtabs is now 50.8 mpg.

That works out to an approximately 3.8% improvement. By "tank", I mean a fill. Typically I take on about 10-11 gallons whenever I fill up. Now, of course, we all know how unreliable a one tank calculation is since I'm subject like everyone else to air pockets in my tank, how many "click off's" past the first auto shut-off I dispense, etc. So, even though I try to control as many factors as possible when I fill up, I feel more confident with a larger data set like several tanks worth before I break out the champagne thinking I've improved my fuel economy.

At this point, I'm somewhat more confident in saying that the airtabs do improve FE. I've previously reported in this thread how they are definitely keeping my rear window and hatch cleaner. However, I'd like to get 5 tanks worth of experience before I'm really convinced. It is suggestive that the 3.8% improvement I'm showing so far is about what the company quotes on their website.

Someone may suggest I take them off and continue the experiment by gathering an additional data set sans Airtabs. I'm not planning that because peeling off each airtab, even though it can be done (I had to trash a couple because I made mistakes during the installation), does ruin your chances of getting it back on. The adhesive tends to peel the backing off of the airtab body, so it's kind of a "once it's on, it's on" kind of a deal.

As far as the driving techniques, I do mild hypermiling. Tires are at 45 psi, gentle acceleration, glide whenever I can, anticipate traffic flow to avoid using my brakes, combine errands so as to avoid short trips, stay at 55 mph in far right lane on freeway, avoid the A/C. I don't draft trucks or turn off the ignition (FAS) though.
You're making me wonder anew about airtabs and a rear defuser. I am trying something a little bit inspired by this to test the raised trunk lid prototype I just made. But I'm not sure of the "whole tank" method. It seems like there are too many variables remaining unaccounted for if I average over a tankful for days, such as how many seconds with one or another coasting technique, average weather temps, average draw on the battery from breaking or headlights, humidity... My thought is to limit myself to six freeway miles on my regular commute and record separate data for each day. The time of day being the same daily will help control for weather conditions. A controlled route limits breaking and acceleration variability. I'll do no hypermiling. If I drive this strip over 10 days on my way to work, I'll have some good averages. Do you have a scangauge? I use the Ultra Gauge, and I have been amazed at how it has changed my perspective on the regularity of my fairly disciplined driving technique.

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See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.



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