BP carries Amoco gas which has historically been the only gas in NC that is actually better. Many of the other stations actually just take whatever tanker is available so you don't know what you are getting.

Are you related to Steve at UNC Dental?

 

The base fuel is all the same. What differentiates the brands are the additives each use. At a fuel terminal the tanker loads are automatically controlled by a swipe card keyed to the brand formulation. Most often the tankers are independents, sometimes company haulers and sometimes suppliers do share trucks. Be sure thought that if you see a BP tanker at an Amoco station it's dumping the Amoco formulation. If those formulations are the same or not??? I've no idea as to the BP - Amoco business relation.

 

Volvo used to recommend Amoco gas. Don't know if they still do. At the time I talked with some Volvo engineers who said that Amoco had better detergent additives and also was filtered to a much greater extent. I still buy Amoco when I can.

I suspect that some of the independent tankers are sold after they take on a load. Especially when supplies of gas are tight (March of 2010 in the southeast) I don't think you can know what gas you are buying.

 

If I could find Shell closer to me I would use it, specifically for the additive pkg. Gasoline is a commodity and is moved around as such. The additive packages make it propriety and linked it to a brand. So you're right - you never know who refined it.

 

Yeah actually, how do you know him?

and as far as sticker mpg goes, I got 26 average, and 31 road trip going 65 on flat. Sticker says 28 city and 35 highway, so no, it's not in line.

 

I'll also use BP fuel next week when I need to fill up, but it does "seem" to be doing better now that the tires are inflated, haven't checked since I haven't gotten gas, but the gauge certainly seems to be moving slower.

 

I worked with Steve when we were on the faculty of Emory University Dental School in the mid 1980s. My current dentist in Greensboro (who worked in Steve's lab at UNC while he was in dental school) mentioned him recently . Steve is one of the best scientists I've ever known. That's why I remember him.
Yes, you clearly have a problem. I get 41 on a flat interstate at 60mph. And I get 38 in rural/ suburban driving. Even with short local trips with a cold engine I get about 33mpg. My wife also drives a Fit and gets the same mileage. If the tires don't fix the problem, you should bring up the issue at your next scheduled maintenance at a dealership. I use Crown Honda in Greensboro but I'm not familiar with the dealers in the Triangle. There is also a shop in the Chapel Hill/Durham area that is good with Hondas but I don't know the name. I can ask my daughter (she lives in Carrboro) if you need the name of the garage. Don't give up on the Fit. It really is an outstanding car.

 

There is a difference between brands. The only thing they have in common is that it came from oil. They have similar ingredients but in different amounts. Having 1 oz more or less of something changes the whole fuel. BP (ultimate) takes an extra steps and takes out the bad stuff that the EPA says its ok to leave in. I talked to a refiner and BP ultimate is exclusive and is not shared. Most premiums are exclusive from most of the name brands. They do share regular but use different additives amounts that make it theirs. Then You have the wash out they recoup and sell as generic. Some of it is good like premium but it also has some diesel too that they as regular.

 

I find that running it up to the rev limiter in a couple of gears periodically will get you more ignition advance when you are driving it more sedately... Driving my 2007 manual while it was almost complete stock at 3500 to 4500 RPM on the highway yielded 37.5 to 39 MPG very consistently but I almost always ran the revs up to red line at least 2 or 3 times in 100 miles of driving and usually more times than that.... If you don't rev the engine up high while under load every so often the ECU will not advance ignition timing as high at low revs.... It is better to hold a gear longer with very light throttle than it is to lug around in a gear that prevents the engine from experiencing maximum advance and higher fuel mileage averages.. I like to buy whatever fuel cleaner and conditioner I can get the cheapest and put it in the tank at 1/4 tank or less, drive it hard and shut down the engine with the parking brake on while engaging the clutch with the throttle pedal down... This insures that there is going to be a concentration of fuel and cleaner in the combustion chambers, injectors and fuel line from the pump forward sitting and doing it's thing to loosen up what needs to be blown out the exhaust the next time you are ready to drive... Then you drive with the pedal down and revs up for awhile before topping off the tank with fuel.

 

I have to try that on the wife's car. Its running worse than a diesel truck right now but does start OK.

 

I had positive results using that technique on my VW diesels and cars and motorcycles with Bosch injection followed by GM Vortech V6s... You need to get into bed Glenn.... I went to bed early and woke wide awake up at 9:30...

 

Haha that's crazy. yeah he's my dad. And as far as the car goes I'm not giving up yet, as it does seem to be doing better, and I will use different gas and a additive next time. I love the fit, it's so versatile that it's perfect for what I need, but if the mpg don't improve, I can't justify keeping it vs a different vehicle.

 

I didn't see anyone here mention the effect of winter blend gasoline. You will see a normal drop of 2-3 MPG's as a result. Add on top of that the colder weather and it can be even more. Since the original poster just got his Fit he probably shouldn't judge the MPG's until after spring and see if it improves when summer blends come back to the pumps and warmer weather get's here. My Fit drops from an average of 36-37 down to around 32-33 when the winter blends come out around October. Happens every year.

 

I use tons of different gas stations and brands and generally don't see much of a difference. I go through about 2 tanks of fuel per week and consistently see 33-36 MPG Hwy which is most of my driving.
My 07 M/R manual is so much fun to drive I usually beat on it pretty hard especially with the Northern VA traffic A-Holes.
Anyway back to the point of the OP... When I first purchased my little red monster it had about 65k on the odometer and was completely stock. I was pulling about 28-32 MPG and I was confused after all the reviews and of course the sticker which stated a whopping 38 MPG. Put in short ram intake, changed to BOSCH Iridium plugs, lowered on Tein S-Techs (more aerodynamic?) and with keeping on top of tire PSI I can drive it however I want to and am very happy with my 33-36 MPG Go-Cart. Not to mention I just turned 100K last week. WOOT! WOOT!

 

I'm not familiar with Fredericksburg but if it is as hilly as some of the places I have been in Virginia I would have to say you are getting very good fuel mileage... My car was set up much as your's at the time I was getting my best fuel mileage driving in a hilly area about 1/3 of the time and relatively flat the rest of the time... I drive for enjoyment, meaning I kept the throttle pedal down more times than not at that time.... Anything past 1/3 down on the throttle can be too much even when entering the flow of traffic on a Dallas freeway since I got the KWSC kit and did a mess of other stuff to it... I got 30 MPG on my last tank and 28 to 33.5 is about what I get most of the time unless I am being crazy.

 

Does anyone else get mileage this good? I don't! AT with 30ish city and 33ish highway.

 

I don't really drive in the city, so my mileage is not a direct comparison to yours. And you live in the mountains, so even your highway mileage should be lower than mine. Also, winter temps in Asheville are quite a bit lower than in Greensboro so you are starting out each morning with a colder engine.

 

I am (close anyway), since new tires and an alignment. 09 Base AT. Last 3,000 miles have been consistently, tank after tank, 36mpg with one 37. This is 75% freeway and 25% "ground roads" metro Atlanta. I also changed to using 0w20 the same week. Of the three I suspect alignment was the biggest gain (mechanic noted it was pretty out of whack, and the factory dunlops only lasted 30K). I run the tires 33psi cold.

Before the tires and alignment I was getting 32-33mpg consistently.

I can see where 100% highway would be over 40mpg. The days when I fill in the morning and drive only freeway, the MPG by computer is 40mpg+ (about 50miles total). This returns to 36mpg after a week's driving combined city/hwy.

This is confirmed manually calculating at the pump. I'm pretty OCD but I don't "hypermile." I leave the display on avg MPG for the feedback. This helps I think.

 

Yes, I'm either in stop and go in town, or up and down on the highway. The Fit starts struggling whenever I go uphill! I did get decent mileage on the Parkway---maybe the downhill coasting helped!

 

I'm still figuring out how to hypermile in my Fit. I've had it for almost two months. The AT is a drag---I would definitely be shifting at different times than the AT does.