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westb87 · 04-26-2018, 08:29 AM

Hey everyone! Long time lurker, network engineer, and "Rocket City" resident here. Sold my beloved 2004 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 and purchased my sister in law's 2004 Honda Civic Coupe LX Auto-trans (55,000 miles on it); because I do nothing but commute with my vehicle and my wife and I bought an SUV to accommodate the kids and tow the boat. The car was in decent shape, but not anything spectacular; needed a lot of mechanical love, some minor exterior love, and a deep interior clean. I'm looking to try to eke 40mpg (hopefully more!) out of this car and so far with some hypermiling techniques (neutral coasting as much as possible, some FAS, DWL, etc) I've been able to squeeze almost 34mpg out of this car (which is EPA highway) around town. My work commute is 15 miles of a handful of stoplights and some swoopy hills and averages around 40-60mph (I refuse to travel over 60 when I'm concerned with FE).

I'm concerned that something else could be wrong with the car and that's why I'm finding myself only able to currently squeeze out EPA HWY mileage while being so diligent with maintenance and FE techniques. I've changed coolant, thermostat, rad cap. Purchased an SGII. Checked, cleaned, and regapped spark plugs. Air filter replaced. All brake components from the lines to the rotors/drums replaced. Transmission fluid has been drained and filled 3 times now to bring the fluid up to snuff (Currently using Mobil1 Synthetic ATF, will change to Amsoil Fuel-Efficient ATF). Power steering fluid drained and filled 3 times with fresh synthetic fluid (there was notable PS whine when I bought the car). Tires aired up to sidewall max plus 5psi. I haven't changed the oil yet because my sister in law just had the oil changed with a synth-blend Valvoline before I bought the car and I just don't have it in me to change perfectly good oil atm. Once it goes to 60,000 miles (~5000mi from now) I'll change out to Mobil1 5w-20.

It's good to meet everyone!

EDIT: Where do I get one of those SWEET ecomodder signature images that displays your vehicle, MPG, percentage over EPA estimate, etc?!

04-26-2018, 08:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
westb87 No idea what I'm doing Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 53 Sleek - '04 Honda Civic Coupe LX 90 day: 36.38 mpg (US) Broomstick - '18 Volkswagen Atlas SE w/ Tech & 4Motion 90 day: 21.66 mpg (US) Thanks: 15 Thanked 16 Times in 13 Posts	Hello from Huntsville, AL! Hey everyone! Long time lurker, network engineer, and "Rocket City" resident here. Sold my beloved 2004 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 and purchased my sister in law's 2004 Honda Civic Coupe LX Auto-trans (55,000 miles on it); because I do nothing but commute with my vehicle and my wife and I bought an SUV to accommodate the kids and tow the boat. The car was in decent shape, but not anything spectacular; needed a lot of mechanical love, some minor exterior love, and a deep interior clean. I'm looking to try to eke 40mpg (hopefully more!) out of this car and so far with some hypermiling techniques (neutral coasting as much as possible, some FAS, DWL, etc) I've been able to squeeze almost 34mpg out of this car (which is EPA highway) around town. My work commute is 15 miles of a handful of stoplights and some swoopy hills and averages around 40-60mph (I refuse to travel over 60 when I'm concerned with FE). I'm concerned that something else could be wrong with the car and that's why I'm finding myself only able to currently squeeze out EPA HWY mileage while being so diligent with maintenance and FE techniques. I've changed coolant, thermostat, rad cap. Purchased an SGII. Checked, cleaned, and regapped spark plugs. Air filter replaced. All brake components from the lines to the rotors/drums replaced. Transmission fluid has been drained and filled 3 times now to bring the fluid up to snuff (Currently using Mobil1 Synthetic ATF, will change to Amsoil Fuel-Efficient ATF). Power steering fluid drained and filled 3 times with fresh synthetic fluid (there was notable PS whine when I bought the car). Tires aired up to sidewall max plus 5psi. I haven't changed the oil yet because my sister in law just had the oil changed with a synth-blend Valvoline before I bought the car and I just don't have it in me to change perfectly good oil atm. Once it goes to 60,000 miles (~5000mi from now) I'll change out to Mobil1 5w-20. It's good to meet everyone! EDIT: Where do I get one of those SWEET ecomodder signature images that displays your vehicle, MPG, percentage over EPA estimate, etc?!