Have you ever given 1-on-1 ecodriving instruction? (Here's how I did it.)

[ps2fixer]

33mpg in the city with a corolla is pretty good, was the car fully warmed up for these laps? I have noticed the first 20-30 mins of my drive, my instant mpg seems to go up, temp sensor is always the same, and intake temp slowly goes up as well. I made a warm air intake based on this, and it didn't effect much except on really hot days where intake temps got 120+ F.

Anyway, glad to see the elderly showing interest as well, they won't just go slow, they will get great mpg as well .

[MetroMPG]

Hi ps2fixer... the car was warmed up.

The demographics in this little city skew to the retired end of the scale (gutted manufacturing sector... aggressive rebranding as a retirement locale on the St Lawrence). So it is good to see that segment taking interest.

Also interesting: this is the first driver "of a certain age" who already had the habit of shutting off the engine at long traffic lights (before doing this session, I mean). He is really having fun playing the game!

[ps2fixer]

Haha that is always great to hear someone having fun with the "game" . Just don't look in your rear view mirror... you see the unhappy people that are getting the low scores!

[shorty_boy]

Metro,

Good work. Thank you for educating the community. My wife use to be a nay sayer about eco driving (she still is at times) but she has seen the difference. After complaining about how I some how get better gas mileage than her and well above EPA, she has started to learn a few things. She has always commented on how much a an alert driver I am and she too has notice that just employing a few techniques, she is also more alert.

I think that this should be part of a driver's ED course and/or a required course to get a license in this country (USA). In the bid to reduce our carbon foot print, we have started designing boring cars that are no longer fun just to compensate for people's bad habits. I want to see more insights (first gens), CRXs, and metros on the road. Are these cars under powered for most people's taste... maybe, But they are fun to drive and with a few eco-modding/-driving techniques, you wont miss having a car that goes twice the posted speed limit with 200 more HP than you should ever need.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by shorty_boy

She has always commented on how much a an alert driver I am and she too has notice that just employing a few techniques, she is also more alert.

This is the most common comment I get when I show people these techniques. It's immediately obvious that it's a much safer way to drive, because it forces you to quit driving on autopilot. You really have to pay attention to what's going on!

One "student" said: "Wow - imagine if everyone paid this much attention! We'd have a lot fewer accidents."

Congrats on being a good example for your better half!

The other thing that surprises people: they expect that ecodriving is S...L...O...W.... But I've repeatedly shown that you can get better mileage and even have a slightly higher average speed. (That's why I love using the ScanGauge when I do this.) In the city, it's not about driving slower, but smarter.

[ps2fixer]

Totally agree about the city driving. Ever since I was a kit, people yelled about the lights in town being timed just perfect to turn red right before you get there.... well they all are speeding 5-10mph over the limit, I drive though there at the speed limit and very rarely have to stop at one light. The whole way people are tail gating wanting to go faster, but I'm actually helping them drive more efficient...

[MetroMPG]

Went out for another session: this time with an occasional EcoModder member. 2007 Civic sedan 1.8L, 5-speed.

Nicely done: he scored the highest MPG result (for a non-hybrid) at 36.7 mpg (US), 6.4 L/100 km in a car rated for 26 mpg (US) city by the EPA.

(You know you're giving a session to an EM member when... the owner has already removed the car's "sport" decklid spoiler and aftermarket sunroof deflector! And... he beat the tougher NRCAN city rating on his baseline lap.)

And this was despite several truly unpredictable forced stops from speed on his final lap (eg. a driver coming to a full stop to turn LEFT from the CURB lane of a 4 lane road!) I figure the number would have been 38.x mpg without that interference.

The main changes were:

- planning a little more in advance to avoid rushing in to stops;
- upshifting sooner (even cruising in 5th in town) when power wasn't required;
- keying off at long traffic lights (sometimes short lights);
- sometimes using deceleration fuel cut-off in gear instead of coasting in N when more slowing down was called for.

[shorty_boy]

Good work. You really should tour the US! or make a web series. Ever looked into recording your driving sessions? Ia ma quite sure that there is a lot for me to learn. Also are you required to use Ethanol in your fuel in Canada? The forced ethanol has hampered my mileage over the last two years. I find my self down shifting on hills that I other wise would not maybe 5 years ago.

[MetroMPG]

No videos! I plead the 5th!

(EDIT: joking aside, we're seriously not doing anything "advanced" in these sessions... with the exception of the BMW owner/EM member from last fall. This is plain vanilla ecodriving - the majority of drivers don't even key-off at long stoplights. Only if they're comfortable with it - I always ask first.)

We've got 10% ethanol at most pumps. "Premium/super" blends are usually ethanol free, last time I checked with the major companies (a few years ago).

[Philscar]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Went out for another session: this time with an occasional EcoModder member. 2007 Civic sedan 1.8L, 5-speed.

Nicely done: he scored the highest MPG result (for a non-hybrid) at 36.7 mpg (US), 6.4 L/100 km in a car rated for 26 mpg (US) city by the EPA.

(You know you're giving a session to an EM member when... the owner has already removed the car's "sport" decklid spoiler and aftermarket sunroof deflector! And... he beat the tougher NRCAN city rating on his baseline lap.)

And this was despite several truly unpredictable forced stops from speed on his final lap (eg. a driver coming to a full stop to turn LEFT from the CURB lane of a 4 lane road!) I figure the number would have been 38.x mpg without that interference.

The main changes were:

- planning a little more in advance to avoid rushing in to stops;
- upshifting sooner (even cruising in 5th in town) when power wasn't required;
- keying off at long traffic lights (sometimes short lights);
- sometimes using deceleration fuel cut-off in gear instead of coasting in N when more slowing down was called for.

Thanks for the great instruction today.Learned lots of interesting mileage tips.
We just have to figure out how to get some sail power onto the Civic and we can drive by all the gas stations

Phil