Finally hit my goal of 40+...

[ZachUA]

Finally hit 41mpg in the Civic, but I'm still a little disappointed considering the amount of effort I put in. It is a 98 Civic EX 2 door with all options and 170k miles. Has new plugs/wires/distributor and a fresh oil change.

Shouldn't have been difficult to break 40 since I was already averaging 34mpg mixed city/interstate or 37.xx all interstate.

This tank was about 75% interstate 25% hwy..

Here is what I did:

1. Tires inflated to 45psi
2. extra weight removed from trunk (tools, clutter, etc)
3. neutral glide used on almost all downhill and some on flat ground
4. EOC on any downhill where it was safe which was surprisingly quite often
5. Never shifted above 2k rpms
6. No A/C
7. No radio
8. Windows down (didn't help but it's too hot here, was sweating even with them down)
9. stayed between 60-65 on the interstate but decelerated to 55-59 at end of EOC or glides.

I was expecting to see 45+ mpg and was a little disappointed it was only 41.

It was a lot of work to stay at the right speed, and to remember to push in the clutch everytime I could coast or to remember to shut off the engine on nice long slopes. Also, driving 60-65 when everyone else is doing 80 is down right nerve racking. I tried to do most of my traveling at night since traffic was lighter.

Any ideas on what I could do to break 45mpg?

[SVOboy]

I would just continue to hone your driving technique. It doesn't come all at once, even if you start trying in a concerted way,

Is it stick or auto?

[Blue07CivicEX]

If you find a truck (big rig) doing between 60-65 if you feel safe tuck in behind them about 3 car lengths away. You have to pay close attention for any debris that might come off the back tires but doing this you can get nice long glides and some EOC'ing on good hills but you have to be careful and watchful of what's going on.

Also, look for places on your car that are low hanging fruit for streamlining (big holes under the car that could be easily covered). I did minimal modifications on my civic (just the fog covers and lower grill block so far) and was able to hit just under 47mpg on a 300 mile trip. You should be able to easily get up this high with some tweaking.

[ZachUA]

It's a manual.

I will do some aero mods soon. Prob start off with a partial grill block to start with. Also would like to lower the car some, but not sure how long the ROI would be as springs aren't cheap.

[greenwar]

Originally Posted by ZachUA

It's a manual.

I will do some aero mods soon. Prob start off with a partial grill block to start with. Also would like to lower the car some, but not sure how long the ROI would be as springs aren't cheap.

Get the scangauge II if you can. I noticed that my civic sometimes get upto 38mpg while driving at 70. With my civic driving slow doesn't always result to good MPG, staying in the power band is important as well. I find a big suburban or expedition or van and just draft those at posted speed. It helps me do pulse and glide as well (with engine running) Doesn't give me 40mpg but doesn't make me a nuisance on busy traffic as well. I do this while driving during busy traffic only.

[Volones]

Congrats on reaching your goal.

Now, on to the next goal (sounds like you already have one).
Good luck!

[Daox]

The amount of effort really goes down once you keep driving like you are for a while. About one month into starting to use P&G constatly I was thinking, "is this worth it? Its a ton of work." I kept at it, and now its just normal driving. I don't think too much about it and it seems really weird if I don't engine off going down a hill. So, it does get easier. With a little more practice you'll see much better mileage. For instance, just look at my mileage for the Paseo (click sig). It has slowly increased for a long time now, and I really haven't ecomodded it at all yet.

[ajax_6531]

From experience, shifting at around 2500 will do better for you, since the engine doesn't lag at the low end of the next gear.

[claytori]

I think 41 mpg should be easily attained with your Civic. I have been working on my driving technique for the past year, and just today made a return trip of 350 km total and averaged 6.05 l/100km (39 mpg). At one point before re-entering the city the Scangauge read 5.8 l/100km trip average. The car is a 2000 Saturn LS-1 with 2.2 litre 4 cyl. engine 5 Speed manual. This is the highest I have ever achieved, but I think there is still room for improvement. I used pulse and glide, engine off coast, etc. but was running at between the speed limit and 5 to 10 km/h over. I had a brief go a drafting a big rig, but I found it about equal to P&G. As the Civic is a smaller and lighter car, it should do considerably better. By the way, windows open adds lots of drag. The best is to open them only 1" or 1-1/2" and only the rear ones if you can survive the heat.

[Jigsaw]

Tires should be closer to 60 psi. Go 55 psi if your scared (but my little 13 inch tires are handling 60 psi no problem), should get you 2 mpg right there. Drafting (and I don't mean nascar bumper to bumper kind, just stay in their wake) should easily break u into the high 40's. Also a Scangauge will net you 4 mpg by virtue of making you drive more consistently.