Hello

[stargazer]

Hi,
I'm a SAHM of 3 young ones, so I need my minivan. I have a 1996 Honda Odyssey and it's great. It's only 4 cylinder and compact size, not like the huge minivans of today. Anyway I'm new to the board and am looking for any input as to how to get the best mileage. I live in an area that has a lot of hills, so I tried when going downhill to not hit the gas (I didn't go into neutral as that is kind of dangerous) and my van went so fast! I am trying to drive slower and planning trips together. I saw on the news that UPS maps out trips just using right hand turns. Anyway, I heard of this product called BG44K, it's supposed to improve mileage, clean out the gunk, and improve performance. Anyone else know about this?

[digitaldissent]

I have not heard of that product, but essentially you want your engine to be in tip-top shape to have the lowest emissions and the best MPG. After you have more than a few miles on your car cleaning the throttle body and injection system is a good idea, to make a long story short good proper maintenance is about all you need in that department, there are no miracle cures...

Driving habits will do you wonders!

Welcome to ecomodder

[stargazer]

Also I wanted to ask when you are at a stop light, do you put the car in neutral and then shut off the engine? Or do you put it in park? Is this bad for the car or the starter?

[MetroMPG]

If I'm stopped at a light in an automatic, I'm usually in neutral with the engine off, foot on the brake. It's not bad for the car, but you need to be extra vigilant that you're running & ready to go before the light changes. Also if you're a defensive driver, you won't kill the engine while stopped if there's a risk of a rear crash (which you could avoid by taking evasive action).

Welcome to the forum.