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Quote:
Originally Posted by honduh
I recently picked up a 97 civic DX 5 speed and I have caught the MPG bug, thanks to my good friend and his diesel passat. My best tank so far amazed me at 36.4mpg with ZERO mods, just driving like a granny. My goal right now is to get my car into the 40mpg zone to beat my friends diesel.
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What do you mean with driving like a granny ?
Slow accelerations are not good for Fuel Economy. When accelerating, you want to be in the conditions where you make the most HP for the buck (gas) - i.e. at the best BSFC - and that's at a fairly high engine loading.
Driving slower (at a continuous pace) helps FE, though.
OK, maybe that's a bit like granny, but I often tend to pass
faster drivers again when they've slowed down for whatever reason (lights, bends, traffic, ...)
Gradually inflate the tyres to the sidewall max.
It'll harshen the ride, but if it makes the car too bouncy, back off a bit.
Are you coasting already ?
If you're not, try it out.
No need to shut off the engine at first, though you might want to try that as well.
(Power steering quits, brake boost is gone after a few dabs at the brakes, so try it somewhere safe.)
See the Volvo S40 in my signature.
That's 20% above the European rating (which is far less realistic than the EPA rating) without any mods other than inflating the stock LRR tyres to sidewall max and driving technique.