Does anything really increase MPG?

Well we do know some things decrease MPG so avoid-
idling or sitting warming up your engine
Dirty air filter
Low tire pressure
Dirty spark plugs
Heavy or wider tires and wheels
Anything that increases weight- heavy audio/video upgrades
Low quality gasoline (not top tier unleaded)
Fast acceleration
Automatic transmission
Heavy loads (cargo or many people)
Running the air conditioner all the time
Short trips

 

You forgot the biggest item beside taking the tires to sidewall pressure, the way a Fit is driven is the largest item to increase FE. MT Fit's that are 100% stock, have recorded 67mpg for a full tank. 50mpg is not a big deal...

 

I wonder how many fit's in socal (who reside in large cities such as LA), can achieve over 40mpg's on average without being shot at, yelled at, gestured at or run off the road...
I'm impressed with what people can get, but unfortunately not everyone gets the idea that driving slower can save you gas and you get to your destination within the same time (give or take a few minutes at most). So driving these little cars (which doesnt give you much authority on the road) i seriously wonder whats up with these hypermilers.

I hear much discussion about hydrogen, ethanol, and various other fuels to power the car, but i havent read much discussion in detail about using premium unleaded. I get the idea that our engines have a compression ratio of 10.4:1. Isn't that a bit on the higher side of the spectrum? So could the engine benefit from using higher octane - causing it to run more efficiently? I realize this may not save money to justify a switch to premium, but has anyone done a comparison? I plan on draining this tank to as low as possible and trying premium for a few tanks. In theory the car should start up quicker, idle smoother, and be more efficient.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This is a great example of WHY the ECO area of the Fit Form is void of Eco knowledge. Try and help and you get this over and over.
good-by

 

Wait...what?
I wasn't making a post to try and insult anyone. I have valid questions, and i appologize if my comments were over-the-top, but they're certainly valid as well. I singled no one out.

Did you try to help me and I somehow insulted you? I really think not.

 

As for fuel. Use what Honda recommends- 87 octane reg unleaded is fine.

Using Premium if not recommended and don't expect better performance or better mpg. You are welcome to try.

It would be different if you had an S2000 or a high compression engine with turbo or supercharger that required premium.

And Yes, how you drive plays a major role in your mpg. Using my best driving behavior and scan gauge II my Fit Sport AT gets about 26 mpg in mixed driving. I've never ever seen higher than 32 even under the best of conditions.

 

pcs0snq, this will probably rub you the wrong way, but oh well... Despite all the helpful information you have provided to me and many others, please don't assume we have all read all of the "back posts" before asking questions. A natural part of curiosity is questioning what we learn.

nodrogkam, there is nothing wrong with your questions. pcs0snq has gotten a little sensitive to criticism on the EcoFit category recently. We are all new to the topic of hypermiling/improving gas mileage at one time or another. Using the techniques listed on the EcoFit category, I have been able to improve my mpg from 37 initially to over 44 consistently. I have achieved as high as 48.9 on highway trips, and I hope to break 50 one day.

My techniques are as follows:
Tires inflated to 45psi from 28psi. I have been able to coast as much as a mile farther than before I did that. My 16 mile daily commute includes driving over a hill, so I have downhill sections where I can coast for about 2 miles now.
On long downhill sections that are steep enough, I shut the engine off and rely on electronic power steering plus stored vacuum for the brakes for safety. Running the engine again is a mere "drop the clutch" away if need be. On downhill sections that are way steep (like the Grapevine (Tejon Pass) in SoCal), I coast downhill in gear with the engine on. The computer shuts off the fuel injectors when coasting, so this is just as fuel efficient as shutting the engine off, and it keeps me from going way too fast.
On downhill sections that are not quite steep enough to shut the engine off, I employ "pulse and coast in gear"-- I get the speed up to just over 60, then coast (hence injectors off) until I'm down to about 55mph. Repeat.
On straight, flat roads, I use cruise control for 55-60mph, depending on my mood. If possible, I will drive at 1-2 seconds behind a semi or other large vehicle.
I always drive in the right lane, so people should not take exception to my slow speed. If they do, f*ck em. I can be a stubborn sumbitch, and I refuse to bow to their irrationality. Hitting me will damage their vehicle and cost them time, so I refuse to bow to intimidation; it's all bluff.

And yes, I live in Los Angeles. I commute from near Glendale to Mission Hills every day, but I also drive down to Irvine and up to central and northern CA on a regular basis. I put over 2,000 miles a month on my car, and I've been driving for over 30 years.

pcs0snq is absolutely right about one thing: the way you drive your car is the biggest factor that affects your gas mileage.

--Barry

 

I think there's a conspiricy with gasoline in California... lol... not really a conspiricy, but there's been assumptions that California state laws regulate gasoline for "cleaner burning" at the expense of effiency. I've noticed it when I filled up in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the law was more laxed that California. I used a whole tank both ways driving in similar conditions, but found that I had more gas coming back from Nevada to California.

 

I've noted that the gas in Louisville, KY gives me an average of 14% worse fuel economy (and costs a lot more) than the gas I buy nearer to home. It's a "reformulated" gas that is supposed to yield better emissions. It was forced on the citizens because of the poor air quality in the Ohio River Valley. This at the same time that they're giving more and more tax breaks to industry to move there and pollute...

For instance: UPS lands hundreds of planes in Louisville daily, throwing tons of pollutants into the air, but the city elders bend over backwards to kiss their collective arses.


On Topic: Best mod I've made is slowing down. Best tank to date was 49.46, with a string of 44/45 mpg tanks. Base AT

 

Thanks BDrake and Mini-Fit for your answers to my questions.

Mini-Fit - i'm sort of surprised you havent gotten anything higher than 32. Although maybe in Hawaii, Highway may not really mean what highway means in california. hehe. I've even pulled off about 39 mpg driving about 75mph on highway 101 and 5 combined for about 200 miles.

BDrake - haha going DOWN the grapevine is not the issue...going up is a nightmare. I've been used to V6's, and i even lowered cruise control to about 65 (slow lane - almost in the dedicated truck lane) and my auto was holding it at over 5K rpm's. haha. I tried to shift it to other gears, but it'd just lug and go back to 3rd i think. I felt bad for the car, except when i recalled its a honda!
I've always aired up my tires, but i've found 45+ psi creates far too much road noise. I'm currently running between 40-44psi. I refuse to run below 35...thats just sloppy. haha.

Again thanks for the information. As a college student, i'd like to penny pinch where i can - i feel that unless i'm on the race track, fuel money is better spent elsewhere.

 

Ok, since most are new and haven't read the whole thread here are proven mpg increasers:

- inflate tires at least to side wall max(mine are at 60psig)
- shift at 2k(yes you can do it)
- P&G
- FAS
- DWB - act like you don't have brakes thus slowing down a head of time
- Accelerate slow
- almost forgot drive the speed limit or below, slower is better for mpg especially for the FIT


In addition to this I also have the Skunk 2 short shifter and a K&N air filter not that it will affect things much but I did not want to leave things out.


Also, have 39K on the car/tires and not even close to the wear bar on the tires.

 

Here are the things we have measured to increase mpg:
1. lightweight wheels, 15x6
2. lightweight, skinny tires, 175/65x15
3. lightweight oil, 20W
4. taped over door seams
5. good wax job, using airplane wax
6. high pressures, 50 frt, 46 rear.
7. proper underbody streamlining, fabed, not purchased.
8. fender skirts, a la Impulse
9. Side skirts, not spoiler or wings
10. Accessory hybrid package; 4x12v lead acid batteries recharged nightly to run 1-2 hp electric motor driving accessory belt with dash switch and auto cutout on brake switch. (we atually did this on a Geo Metro Xfi to increase mpg from 50 to 64 mpg). It needs to be automatic rather than our manual one. Ours was harder to use than talking on a cell phone. Tried to sell our technology to major companies but were told to take a flying leap. We think its a really good potential solution to the gas crunch. All it really needs its a more complete engineering approach using computers.
That part can be patented; ours could not, no parts unusual in application. Then at least half of out 210MM vehicles could be 'hybridized at much lower cost than Prius or new Impulse coming from Honda, and faster, too.
Schemes from the outfield.
cheers.

 

I've been over 40 MPG for over a month, but my last 3 tanks were more like 38. I just put on a set of 15x6.5 Konig Heliums with 195-55-15 Kumho Ecsta ASX's, inflated to 52 PSI or so. I can already see a huge difference in rolling, and the steering is much, much lighter. We shall see if it makes a difference in fuel economy.

 

Funny that. I usually drive at the speed limit on freeways during my comute, 60 to 65mph. On a couple of long trips I've put the cruise control at 70 to better flow with the rest of the speeders. And it seemed to me that I got a bit better mileage. So I'm trying a new maximum of 70mph on my commuting runs, just to see what happens.

None of this is to say that I wouldn't get better MPGs if I was willing to drive 50mph instead of 65mph. Doubtless I would. I also understand the physics of higher speeds and increased drag. But the gas pump has to adhere to the laws of physics too. And who knows, maybe the difference in speed puts the engine in an RPM zone where it hits its efficiency stride. We'll see.

 

Almost everything that will reduce the effort the engine will have to do to accelerate or maintain speed will promote fuel economy to a certain point as long as it does not need extra fuel (within reason!) to work...

-Giving an engine better breathing capacity through the use of intakes, throttle bodies, headers, etc, will promote fuel economy as the engine will use less of it's own energy to suck-in and blow-out air... try to breath through a coffee straw and afterwhile through a large straw and you'll get the point! Plus, it's more or less expensive...

-You may also want to try top notch lightweight synthetic oil (AMSoil, Red Line, etc) and install a lighter crank pulley and wheels... to comparate, try to do a marathon naked and afterwhile with 20lbs weights fixed to your wrists and ankles... It's easier without those weight, heh? Another time, it's pretty inexpensive and a good insurance too...

-Also, make sure that your car is lighter then possible... Objects at rest tends to stay at rest, objects in motion tends to stay in motion... but if they are lighter, they will also require less energy (gaz!) to put in motion... It will help more with cars that do a lot of city driving... May be inexpensive if you remove parts... (Seats, carpets...) can be pretty expensive if you replace parts with fancier ones... (Lexan windows, carbon fiber body panels...)

-If you do most of your driving at highway speeds, you should try to make your car more aerodynamic as drag will put a brake on your car at greater speeds... Excess air going under the car will brake it as the car's floor is far from smooth... you can lower the car and\or install a lip and side skirts to prevent air from going under the car... I used to have a ''Monster airdam'' like this on my neons with great results... One could make a similar part fot a Fit in a ''Less ugly'' version...

-Try also to increase your tire's pressure (Within Reason!) as stated earlier... Reducing the rolling resistance is always a good idea... ...as long as you don't risk an accident...

-Surely the most important part... Keep your car in good working order and well tuned!! Everything here will yield minor results if your air filter is clogged and your spark plugs are worn-out...

Marko!!


P.S. How's my english?? As i'm french Canadian, it's far easier for me to read in english then to write in english as you would assume!!

 

From So Cal to Vegas youre ascending and from Vegas to So Cal you are descending. Vegas is about 2000 ft higher above sea level than the O.C.

 

I live in an area that has up to 10% ethanol in the gas and recently found a local station that seems not to have it and have noticed a 12% increase in mileage. Put it this way, I ONLY purchase fuel there from now on.

 

On paper it would be about (5 better). Good observation

 

Your English is more than adequate. Thanks for sharing your insights!

 

I put a K&N short ram, and 15" rota circuit 8's with 195 55 R15 Yokohama S.drives on my car and here is the results. I did three tanks before the intake/wheels and calculated my mpg, then 3 tanks after the install. Both times using regular 87 octane 10% ethanol unleaded gas.

For the pre intake/wheels tanks I went 934.5mi consuming 25.66 gallons of gas, netting 36.42 mpg combined about 70 percent local roads 30 percent highway.

Then for the 3 post intake/wheel tanks I went 912.7 miles consuming 24.2 gallons of gas netting 37.71 mpg.

There was no change in my driving style and it was a similar blend of highway and local road miles for each set. I was slowly accelerating to 2500rpms for my shifts and cruising around 45mph as much as possible. I would coast to lights in 5th gear with no gas as well. I was not doing anything too drastic though.