got 41mpg on a vegas trip a few weeks ago. and that was doing 70mph most of the way. if i was doing 65 w/o the a/c it would've been 45 for sure.

you must have an AT.

you REALLY don't know what the Fit is capable of!

 

Yes i do have an AT, it is the first AT i have ever owned. I commute 80 miles round trip every single day. That is why I went away from the MT, plus if i want to grab gears I will take the pony out.

I claim is I have not heard of anyone else getting these numbers, I used to be a Honda tech and I am a big believer in the Honda engineers and if they say the Honda Fit base and sport gets 28/34, well I have to believe them over you, plus your MT versus my AT is not a 15 MPG difference. So, no I do not believe that any FIT off the showroom floor will get what you claim.

 

sure, if i stayed on the street most of the time, i'd get 29-32mpg. on mostly highway, though, it's really easy to get 35+mpg.

it's very interesting for you to say w/o even looking in the EcoFit section that you doubt that the Fit in incapable of high MPG numbers in an MT off the showroom floor.

call bullshit all you want...you can't get near the MT numbers w/ an AT anyway, even if you tried. that's why the Fit is rated the best dollar-per-MPG car available. the pony is somewhere on the list......near the bottom.

 

See now you are misunstanding me, never once did I say that the AT's were comparable to the MT's I know the MT's are better on gas but it all depends on who is behind the wheel. But you guys are talking about getting 500 miles on 10.8 gallons. Forgive me for having a hard time believing that. Honda claims that car will get 34 on the highway, and you are claiming 44. I am not trying start a huge argument here but c'mon.

And hey don't attack the Mustang cause it is not on a list. It is a 91 5 liter ex highway patrol car, yeah it gets 10 miles to the gallon but it is only driven 3000 miles a year tops. I am lucky to get 310 out of a tank in my AT, and I mainly drive on the highway at 70 mph, 15 miles of my commute is down a surface street at about 50 mph sometimes there is traffic. But you can't tell me there is a 200 miles per tank just for having a clutch. What is the elevation where you are, I am in phx so I can't be much higher that you even if your below sea level. Whatever man this is retarded that we are arguing back and forth on this nothing say will change my mind, refer me to a legitimate magazine article that can verify these numbers and I will put foot in mouth.

 

My fiance's AT sport got 41 mpg on one tank.

 

nah, i didn't mean to attack the mustang. i'd actually like to see it! i'm stupid for even bringing it up for comparison. i still see a five-O every now and again on the freeway...some are kept in better condition than others.

what i'm saying though is that there a good number of Fit owners (including myself that have at least broken the EPA rating barrier for MPG on the highway. I average about 34mpg, based on the way i drive. i had an 05 nissan sentra that was rated the same exact MPG, but it was an AT. the best i could get on the highway was 29!

my best is still the 41mpg. i did 365mi on like 9 gals. i've never gotten 44mph,...but if i ever had enough patience, i'm very convinced that it's possible.

i guess i'm getting a bit preachy...but w/ the prices shooting up the way they are,..i'd really like people to know about how well the Fit does on gas and maybe get them to change their driving habits. who knows!

 

Man your not lieing about that, I bought my finance and myself one, so I have two of them. She was always getting like 4 mpg more than me on average (both AT) so finally I forced my self to drive different and my best is 32.9. But that is driving daily back and forth to work, the last time I did a 300 + highway trip I got 33 and I was pissed, but then again was was doing 80 and having to floor it to pass and I know that is what killed me. I just enjoy laughing as all the SUVs pass me when I am doing 5 over the speed limit, dont know how those peopel can afford to drive tose things anymore.

I dunno man we are both FIT owners not enemies. I tell you what I am gonna drive mine like an old lady and on my next road trip I am gonna hit 35+. I really just dont think I could get the number you are in the city I live in, too much stop and go. Also, what kind of gas are you running, at these prices I only do 87, but my 90 accord only liked 91 or it would ping. But so far the fit hasnt pinged.

 

i run 87 mostly. for fun, i'll throw some 89 in there, but i doesn't make a difference. i did 36mpg today. i'm actually getting tired of doing the math because i've been getting the same numbers over and over again! good luck with your MPG endeavors guys!

 

Now that I have broken 1k miles and things are beginning to break in and loosen up a bit, the throws are a bit rubbery and click when going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. On cold starts in the mornings, I've also experienced the "popping out of 1st gear" sensation that has been mentioned in the Fit Talk forum section. Seeing as everyone who owns a 5MT has been experiencing this, I've chalked it up to the car's inherent design behavior. That being said, I've come up with a nice shifting combination (that suits my somewhat conservative driving style) and I no longer get the jerks, throttle lag, or high revs. I've also managed to get a really good MPG ratio of 35mpg in mixed driving on my last two tanks driving like this.

Coming to a stop, I leave the car in gear while coasting and down shift accordingly as the speed and length of time to stop permits me. The compression helps me come to a nice steady stop. By leaving the car in gear instead of coasting to a stop in neutral, I've found that the shifter will go into neutral seamlessly without any fuss as you come to a stop. It's also a lot safer to stop this way because the Fit's shifter can be hard to get back into a lower gear should you have to suddenly accelerate to avoid a situation. By leaving it in gear instead of neutral and dropping it lower to accelerate out of a situation while coming to a stop won't have you fighting with the shifter to get into gear.

Now that I'm stopped at a light or any complete stop, the shifter is in neutral with the clutch fully disengaged. Those who like to use the foot brake or hand brake can do which ever method works for them while stopped. I personally don't use the handbrake until I park, but that's simply my preference and easiest for me.

When starting from a stop, I fully depress the clutch and move the stick to 2nd and then to 1st gear just before I anticipate the light turning green. This shouldn't be a hard thing to do and have become routine if you're paying attention at all times while driving. I slowly disengage the pedal until I feel it grab, and slowly level out the throttle. As mentioned above, no more jerky starts. This method seems to allow a seamless transition into 1st gear and a consistently smooth take off.

I shift from 1st to 2nd almost instantly as the revs like to climb super fast. When 2nd gear engages, the rpms are just above the 2k mark and I barely have to apply any throttle while slowly letting off the clutch and she stays smooth and accelerates nicely.

When it's time to go from 2nd to 3rd, I let the rpms climb between 3-4k and repeat the sequence above to get a good amount of acceleration and power. The shifts again are super smooth with no jerking at all and the car continues to gain a nice amount of acceleration.

3rd to 4th for me has become a no brainer. My car in particular loves to shift from 3rd to 4th higher in the power band and I do so about 4500-5k rpms.

Freeways and open expressways let me get into 5th gear. And like 3rd to 4th, the 4th to 5th is the same thing, but I let the rpms climb to just above 5k before I shift.

I find that I'm usually in 4th gear on a regular surface street and doing the speed limit or just slightly above give or take 5mph within 5-6 seconds total. By using this shift sequence I've never burned the clutch, never over revved, get smooth shifts and acceleration, and maintain a nice mpg ratio.

I posted all of this in the hopes that some of the members new to manual shifting or those old schoolers having a hard time with the Fit's stubborn drive by wire lag can see the results that I have

HAPPY DRIVING!!!

DAN

 

The Fit most likely has a much lighter flywheel than the Audi and the Audi has a lot more low-end torque.

It's not a "problem" with the Fit, it just takes a bit more precise timing and quicker shifts to shift a smaller engined, revvy car like this with a light flywheel smoothly. I noticed the same thing when I first got my car, but now I can shift smoothly enough not to spill a drop of coffee from a cup filled to the brim.

The lighter flywheel is a compromise, A heavier flywheel keeps the momentum up, but it takes more torque to get it spinning so a car with a lighter flywheel will rev more quickly/freely, but spin down quicker too so you have a little less time to shift in that sweet spot RPM-wise. A light flywheel is what you want on a Honda 4 cylinder though, trust me. You'll adapt to it with time. The key is not to be shy with the gas pedal and shorten the pause between shifts a little and it will be smooth like butter before you know it.

 

Rev-matching also makes it a lot easier to down shift smoothly without staying in gear or double-clutching.

 

I wonder if some people just have a knack for driving a 5 speed - I am not sure I do, even though I am appreciating these posts and am trying to learn from them. Some of these posts show your technical knowledge because you're using technical language (torque, throttle, shift rate, RPM) My best friend drove the Fit recently and right out of the drive, drove it like a charm. Going from 1st to 2nd, this is the gear that has me the most baffled. Are some of you saying that the Fit requires a swift shift? Of all the things said, I somehow relate to the suggestion not to overthink. That's what seems to be happening. One joy I was hoping to get from driving the MT is just simply driving it as I go through the gears and not thinking about when to shift at what speed, etc.

 

i learned how to drive a mt on the fit...it took me a while to get it down right, i think i was over thinking it. i find i shift a lot better if im not concentrating on it. youll get it down eventually.

 

The Fit is designed for 87 octane, this fuel actually has MORE energy in it so theoretically it will take you farther. Lots of threads on this, putting in high octane fuel is any car that does not require it is a waste of money.

I drive mine like a bat out of hell in the city, have a retarded amount of mods which have boosted the stock power by 20-25% and I still easily get 33-35mpg around the city Mine even gets over 30mpg on the track days at WOT for hours.

I am not an eco-freak either, I just don't care that much (FUN > MPG). I documented a couple of tanks with some new modifications here;
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/eco-...w-mileage.html

 

If it is your first manual it will take you a while, but it is a rewarding experience and most people come to love it. Literally it is just practice required.

Basically as a manual driver you have control over where you want to shift, if your mood is laid back and you want to conserve fuel then shift before 3000, if you are feeling spirited then bring the revs up a bit higher to 4000... if you need to merge on a highway then go all out. The higher you go the more power becomes available to you.

 

Driving a stick shift will come as second nature to you eventually, it just takes a while to build the muscle memory. After a few years of driving stick you will have a hard time driving an automatic smoothly! If you want to be able to shift up through the gears without thinking too much about it try putting a piece of cardboard over the face of your tachometer. For some people the tach becomes their sole focus in driving a stick. In truth it really isn't that important at all, as long as the engine is running you are doing OK. You might also find that driving by sound works as an alternative to watching the tach. To this end I would suggest a cold air intake (CAI) which removes most of the sound insulating effects of the original intake and gives you an audible indicator of how hard the engine is working. Good Luck and keep practicing!

 

This is very true. 2nd hand experience is never a substitute for the real thing.

 

OK, so it's not just me. I just got an '07 and was worried there was something wrong with the throttle. Often when I shift up, the throttle stays open for JUST a split second when I get on the clutch, which results in wasteful revving. I don't notice on downshifts because I'm an old-school blipper anyway.
Any fix for this, software, hardware, etc?

 

It's the electronic wireless throttle.. It would be nice if they had a fix for it.. Chip update or after market chip.. Any one know?

 

it's TBW (throttle by wire)

and yes, it sucks