How to drive Integra, Help!

[hockey3592]

Hey Aaron,

The biggest thing that I have changed in my driving is to coast and look ahead to upcoming stop lights and traffic situations to minimize re-accelerating. Since we both have GSR's (5speeds) we can use the engine as a brake when you let off the throttle in any gear to slow you down. When you do this the engine pumps air in the cylinders but no fuel is injected hence the reason for slowing down. If you push in the clutch and brake as you come to a light the car is idling and burning fuel to stay running.

The fuel log I have tabulated on ecomodder represents my drive to work which is really city driving 75% of the time but by minimizing my stopping and using controlled smooth acceleration I can achieve 30+ consistently city. I would recommend MPGuino since you're gsr is a 94-97 model and shifting at the recommended point in the manual of 3200ish rpm's. With our cars they really dont like being too low and you end up giving it more throttle instead of being smooth.

At the top of the forum is the 100+ hypermilling tips that will be very helpful and even a search on google will help get you as much info as possible. It will take time to accumulate enough tanks to determine if something is working well for you. In my profile garage I have the mods currently on my car that do have an effect on drag by being lowered. Proper maintenance and inflating tires to max psi allowed on the sidewall (cold) will minimize rolling resistance and make them easier to turn.

I'm a member of a forum called team-integra.net and recommend you check it out as it is by far the best intergra specific forum around. Ive been a member since 2002 and my username is 4drtegra. Check it out and ask me whatever questions you may have and Ill be happy to respond.

Thanks,

James

[endurance]

Originally Posted by TheIVJackal

So im on the ClubIntegra forums and I have 2 different people on there claiming they drive at over 3k in all gears and upshift at 4-5k, 50% city driving, and are averaging mid 30's/mpg. How is this possible? Goes against everything ive read...

First off, if they're driving the non-GSR model it's not all that surprising they could be getting somewhere in the range of 32-33 if their idea of city driving involves a fair amount of 35-50mph steady state driving. My best mpg in my 92 Integra was 37mpg, the best in my 94 Integra was 36mpg. Most of my driving at the time was true highway and i averaged somewhere in the low to mid 30s (31-34range).

Another thing to remember is people's mpg claims are to be taken lightly unless they're data-obsessed nerds. I had a coworker in 1999 that insisted his 1995 Ford Explorer averaged around 25 mpg. Eventually I got to know his wife and over a few beers at a BBQ she said that he never checked the mileage except when traveling on road trips. The best she could remember was 23-24mpg, but she was always having to fill it up (implying it got lousy mileage).

If claims sound too good to be true, they probably are. It takes a helluva lot of work to beat the EPA numbers. It can be done, but it's not done at 4-5,000 rpm.

[The Rooster]

My 94 Integra will get 29-30 MPG when I drive it like a raped ape, and I tend to get 32-34 as long as I keep the speed on cruise around 60 MPH.

One thing I've noticed, which I NEVER expected, was I picked up roughly 2 MPG by changing where I fill up. I figured it out quite by accident, I was just really low of fuel one day and didn't want to chance driving all the way to the cheap gas station and filled up at a 76 station. I ended up going 440 miles on that tank, and since then I've ripped off a few 400 mile tanks, which was nearly impossible with my cheap gas alternatives. Now I only fill up at 76.

Otherwise, you may want to consider a tune up?

I played with EcoMods for a little while, but I ended up seeing no measurable benefit from any of them. Tire pressure did nothing extra beyond 36psi, so I just run 36 now. 50 PSI made the steering really light and felt unsafe that way.

I tried a grill block, but that did absolutely nothing. At first I thought it did, but it turned out to just be my driving style, because I took it off to do some bumper repairs, never put it back on and my MPG didn't change.

I even tried engine off coasting...and I have many hills to coast down. Even THAT did absolutely nothing for FE. I think whatever I saved with the engine off, was used up in enrichment mode when the engine restarted. I have a section of hill I could cost down for 2 full minutes. No benefit.

I've just become content with my 32-34 MPG, but keep in mind it's virtually no city driving and mostly 55MPH speed limit two lane highways.

[twelvevoltman]

Hey, we have different engines and gear ratios in our Integras. The tranny in my 90 Integra has longer 1st & 2nd gear ratios than your GSR tranny. Our final drives are the same, 4.40. So, with you staying out of Vtec, we should get about the same highway mileage. In the city your lower gears will cause you to consume more fuel. You will want to work on lightening the weight of your car. Don't haul around unnecessary items. Keep your tires aired up, I keep mine within 10% of the Max inflation pressure. Try not to shift too soon and bog the engine down. Make sure the engine is running in its optimum state. Work with the basics, plugs, wires, valve adjustment, timing, air filter, and oxygen sensor. I have found that an incorrect valve adjustment will cause a major change in fuel mileage. I use NGK plugs and wires. NTK oxygen sensors. AEM cold air intake with a K&N filter thats kept clean. I also have a cheap header and a full cat back exhaust. I now use Synthetic oil and have 239,000 miles on the car. PM me again if you have anymore ??'s

[TheIVJackal]

Thanks for all that, helps me think of where to pay more attention when I drive. I have done a valve adjustment, run tires at 40 psi, Short ram intake. Dont know about the O2 Sensor but wonder if it is a little lazy as when I bought the car, the Thermostat was stuck open so who knows how long it was dumping extra fuel in. Haven't checked the resistance in the wires and the plugs appear to be in good condition although I'll replace them to be sure when I hit 90,000 miles later this year.

Im currently upshifting at 2,500 and dont notice it bogging and downshift at around 1,500rpms. I take around 3 seconds between shifts in acceleration. Can't think of what else I should change. Ill use the current method for a couple tanks and see what happens unless you guys see something I should change now? Thanks again!

p.s.
I use to be on Ti.net for atleast a year, I was a regular, but MorningZ is a real jerk and banned me, I can give you my story if youd like.

[listentozappa]

Aaron,

I have a '90 Integra, and I've been managing upper 30's lately, and got over 40 once just by shifting as early as the engine will tolerate, and coasting in neutral as much as possible. I generally shift at around 2k rpm, and I often skip 4th gear, making it into 5th by ~20mph. I don't have any instrumentation in my vehicle yet, and I also share the car with my girlfriend, so my testing methods are not as scientific as they could be, but from what I can tell the best thing you can do is to learn your routes really well and avoid traffic so that you can do as much coasting as possible. Good luck and thanks for starting this thread - I'll be keeping my eye on it for ideas too!

-Benzo

[TheIVJackal]

I've been working on shifting earlier, coasting in Neutral when beneficial or fuel-cut off when heading towards a stop. My newest question is, what is the top speed I can go on the freeway before my MPG's start to fall off? I know it differs from car to car so just curious. I did read some of the threads on here about MPG vs MPH and RPMs so please dont link me those. Thank you to everyone so far, been a real help.
- Aaron

[TheIVJackal]

bump

[TheIVJackal]

bump on new information out there? Any new Integra drivers on ecomodder?

[Ecky]

I have a B18B coupled with a B16 tranny in my Del Sol. It's a bit lighter than a GSR, the transmission is a little shorter and the motor doesn't have VTEC, but they're not night and day different.

I have tried shifting at 1800-2200, and at 2500-3000, and honestly I've not noticed a very significant difference in FE between the two. I recently started downshifting to slow down at stoplights and saw a decent improvement, and my car responds very well to pulse and glide due to the short transmission. When I first got the car, I averaged about 30mpg at the end of a tank. With improved driving habits I find I can get a trip average (in the city) of 34-38mpg, the upper number using a moderate amount of pulse and glide. With engine-off coasting I believe I can probably approach 50mpg, with 45 being a typical trip across town.

This is without any actual mods like grill blocks, alt/ps delete, etc.

My highway mileage (driving at a steady speed) sits a hair over 30 due to my terribly short transmission, but grill blocks and a smooth underbelly combined with pulse and glide have great potential to raise that.