98 Civic and mpg-targeted route planning
 

I have been trying to follow the PaleCivic of PaleMelanesian and "maximize without modding." So I have been employing route planing as a hypermiling technique for my 98 Civic manual and on some runs I have regularly topped 60 mpg. On a few runs I have crossed into the 70s. If you are curious, check my trip logs. I stay ff the freeways and use Engine off Coasting, mpg targeted hill climbing (DWL), and Pulse & Glide techniques. Route planning has enabled me to get around some of the worst hills in my hilly region. And I have been willing to extend my distance moderately if the net effect is less gas actually burned and higher mpg. Hope this is revealing/helpful to some of you all. It has been a big discovery to me.

Very nice! That you're so close to 60 most excellent.

It took me over a year to reach the 60 mark. It looks like you're ahead of the game.

Nice!

Does your new route have very little traffic lights that allow you to P&G at lower speeds? I've tried taking local streets to avoid the hills on my freeways, however, the streets are plagued with street lights at every corner and each light is magnetically activated so it's difficult to "time" them to keep a slow and steady pace.

Thanks PaleMelanesian for the notice. This site is a valuable accretion of a lot of really useful knowledge. I've learned from it. Very cool.

I hear you jedisol. In my area of southern Orange County CA, we have lots of hills but we also have long distances between lights. I climb a hill getting 30-something mpg and slide down the other side, at or near speed limits, with the engine off for a quarter or half a mile at a time--getting infinite mpg. The average is excellent.

I do have one worry, though: I bump start quite carefully, but sometimes the restart seems like more of a jolt than other times. It's mild but you notice it. I wonder about the clutch and transmission.

I wouldn't be too worried about the transmission, if anything your engine/transmission mounts will get the brunt of the abuse from bump starting and wear out sooner. But they are cheap, with all the money you save getting 60 mpg you should have no problem replacing them!

Hey! Southern OC, kinda my neck of the woods. I'm around Tustin/Irvine area. My daily commute is the 5 freeway between the 55 and sand canyon/5.

Southbound is a very slight uphill grade, so my mpg is good, but not great. However, going Northbound, depending on traffic, I can get home in only 2-3 pulses while EOCing the whole time.

Bumpstarting, perhaps you are popping the clutch too slowly? Make sure you are in 5th gear. For me, popping the clutch quickly hardly creates any jolt whatsoever.

I know that route pretty well, having lived in Santa Ana previously. The 55/5/405 was my test loop for my WAI test last month.

I have similar scenario, in reverse. The elevation above sea level increases from home to work. My big milage gains are coming home.

I have been using 5th, 4th, and even 3rd at times--depending on speed. On the way home tonight I took this advice and used 5 exclusively. I think it is better.

That's what causing the jerkiness when you bump start. You always want to use 5th gear for a smooth bump start. Think of it this way. if you are driving 20mph and you want to bump start, 5th gear will be the lowest rpm when you pop the clutch. So there will be less jerkiness. Now imagine if you wanted to bump start in 3rd gear. The rpms would be higher. So when you pop the clutch, the transmission jerks the engine up to that higher rpm, hence the jerkiness.

I've bump started in 5th all the way down to 10mph.