well, taking corners faster should give you a slight (I mean almost next to nothing) increase in MPG. I'm not saying speed up for a corner, I mean don't use your breaks as much. So you don't have to accelrate as much comming out of the corner... at least it makes sense in my head.

I'm assuming most people say city driving when they arn't going 50+ MPH... in the real city, I don't think anyone gets more that 20 MPG. Every 1/10th or less of a mile is a light.

I wouldn't worry too much... if you draft huge trucks you will easily get over 40MPG... or if you apprently drive in really hilly roads. But I've been wondering, if it is safe to drop my AT into neutral as I coast down a hill. Everyone says its bad... but then again, they don't drive a fit.

 

What kind of mileage are Fit canyon carvers getting? Or is that just a silly question for the Fit?

 

Umm what is a canyon carver??

Yep still over 40. I tend to power through curves, and out of corners. Depends on where i am, in town.. naw.. out of town yeah. (within reason) Always have. Never thought of it doing anything to the mileage.

 

what you guys said was right about the weight and gearing. doesnt the japanese have higher gas octaine. i remember a friend told me about the nissan skylines need a higher octaine for the car not to ping, so i assume that japanese has a higher level of gas. my 2cents added

 

Canyon carving is driving the twisties purely for recreational purposes. Bikers (the engined varieties) do this a lot. In my EVO, a quick run dropped me from 19mpg to 15mpg.

 

http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.as...tentid=4024242

I said something awhile ago and someone wanted to read more about it. Well, this morning on MSN I saw this article.
Ethanol is NOT all its made out to be, I think it's actually much less...

 

wow 7 MPG for Tahoe Flex Fuel version.

 

I suspect the differences in mileage has a lot to do with what constitutes "city" and "highway" driving for all of you. I have babied my Fit (Sport 5spd.) all week and gotten over 315 miles out of the tank, and I'm pretty happy with that, but I drive in LA and there is no way for me to avoid stop-and-go for 24 miles home. San Gabriel to Culver City, all highway to work, all parking lot home. I'd be surprised if those reporting 40 plus miles to the gallon, with airconditioning on, 60/40 city/highway, could eek that out here. Very surprised.

Cool weather is here now, so I'm expecting better mpg without the aircon.

Now, if I were only getting 24 miles to the gallon though, I'd be unhappy.

 

The morning commute here in the Atlanta area is brutal! I take I75 S & I85 N and reverse on the way home with side streets etc. Inside the belt-way I285 is mandated 55mph. I think that the poor drivers here are from the NE where I spent a lot of time when I was in the Navy! Boston drivers!!
Anyway, driving 55 is pure suicide... if the driver keeps the speed limit then he/she gets run over. I was in my Accord a few weeks ago in the HOV lane with of course a passenger; AND all of a sudden a GA State trooper shows up in my rear-view!! I was of course "keeping up with traffic." and going a respectable (ha!) 73 mph. He just passed me going a respectable 85! The poor little underpowered Fit (at least in the US model) with the AT "5 speed" will go 73 but suffers greatly with the BAD gas milage above 50 mph.

 

the real trick is to draft a larger car/truck/van/semi when going fast. My scangauge tells me I'm getting about 50+ mpg if I'm going 80 mph behind a bus. (btw, I think realisticly I'm getting about 40-45 mpg... the scangauge isn't the most acurate thing in the world.) After a little trip, 400 something miles, I've came to the conclusion that the Fit is about as areodynamic as a brick. Just going nuts and ignoring the drafting, I get about 30 MPG.


I'm still wondering if its okay to drop into neutral going down hill... I mean, you don't even have to push the button to drop into neutral....

 

Just what is a scangauge? I like retro... I wish that the Fit had a push button electric tranny instead of the stick! You know like the early Chrysler products... the push button was a drag racing favourite... AND instead of the paddles you know on the Sport. Bet Honda would make it work

 

If the Fit is like other Hondas, then the computer shuts off all fuel when coasting. If you put it in neutral, you'll use more gas since the engine needs to keep the gas flowing to keep the engine running.

JonasM

 

I am not telling that you're wrong (I hope you're not) but can you give data to support that statement?

If that is correct I will be saving gas going the damm long downhill I go every day, plus I'll be solving the heated brakes problem I am facing by the very same hill.

I don't think it works that way, but I'll be more than happy if it is.

 

When the car is stopped, the RPMs are higher in neutral than in drive. Not much, but the scangauge says so... I don't however believe when the car is moving, and dropped into neutral, I'm gonna be using more gas.

 

You all need to stop thinking that the highway is nascar and that trying to draft large vehicles is a good idea. I drive a truck and I have NO PROBLEM with letting you kiss my ICC bumper which would completely destroy your car and I wouldn't even feel it anymore than another of the many bumps in the road. A 2500 lb car is nothing when rearending an 80,000 lb vehicle.

If you're close enough to draft off me then I can't see you and you don't exist in my mind. If some moron causes me to hit the brakes you'll be toast and I'll be driving away and if I think about it at all it will be "hmmm, felt like the load shifted, stupid a@@ inbreed (the one that made me hit the brakes). Oh well guess I'll see when I get where I'm going".

It's not that I don't care it's just that if you're stupid enough to get right behind someone you don't know anything about at 70mph and you choose to place yourself in the position of having zero visability of what's going on ahead then you made the choice that your life and property are of no value to you.

If I know someone is drafting off me I don't care, and I don't hit the brakes unless I have to but when it comes to the choice of me hitting someone or something then that is where my concern is and not with the tailgater or their safety.

People cut off big trucks all the time. Every day I cut cut off and stupid people do stupid things to get in my way. Once I hit the highway I hit the cruise control and try to get where I'm going without changing my speed or lanes but every day some jerk will race up just to sit on my side until traffic backs up behind them and I come up on some fool doing 50 in a 70 zone leaving me nowhere to go and no choice but to slow down.

Then when I do step out to pass them they will speed up and match my speed. Meanwhile someone else will see them speeding up and will try passing me on the right which means I have nowhere to go but where I am. Then when I can and do get over behind them again they will slow down again.

Some truck drivers will stab their brakes so you'll hit them if they know you're tailgating them. Face it there are a'holes in every job their is so there's no difference in driving large vehicles there are good and bad. Don't think for a moment that they will stop to see if you're ok. To them noone should have been that close and they "didn't see anyone in their mirrors".

There was a car that looked like it was going to pull out. Thought I saw a deer. I was cut off. I was just checking the brakes. A mouse was crossing the road and I'm an animal lover. Spilled my coffee. A bird hit my windshield or I thought one was about to come thru it.

Whatever the reason or excuse you'll be toast and you'll be at fault for following too close.

So if you choose to tailgate and try to draft off large vehicles and end up kissing your airbag or worse yet have their bumper clear yours and end up kissing their ICC bumper it's your own fault.

Hope you'll be lucky and it wont ever happen but you're taking your chances so good luck to you.

 

Well said. I like to drive as fast as anyone - but among the things I'm trying to impress upon my 16 year old is to NOT TAILGATE (along with slow speeds in neighborhoods, parking lots, etc.). Gaining a mile or two per gallon just isn't worth the risks. Nascar is different - those guys not only know (and hopefully trust) each other...but they also know how each other drives...and reacts.

 

For peeps who has 6k or mre on their fit post whether your milage has improve sunstantially or barely noticable?
I heard form a few that after 6k their milage went up and a few where it did not change much.. any opinion would be great!

 

Mine has stayed the same. 33-35 around the city, 35-40 on the highway. Best is of course around 55-60 mph, second best is cruising at 70, worst is the stop and go on the way to work.

 

For the first 6000 miles I averaged 28.7 mpg.

For the next 4000 miles, I have averaged 32.4 mpg.

My overall, since purchase is now at 29.9 mpg.

Mine is steadily increasing.

 

Wow. 22mpg?! I get 23mpg in my wife's heavy-ish 2.4L RAV4. I don't understand how a lighweight 1.5L can burn so much fuel. It's not like it's got a 10k redline or something! My old Corolla w/ its 1.8L engine has comparable power/torque and still gets better than 22mpg, no matter how I drive it short of revving in neutral.

I don't have a Fit yet. But if I have to consider drafting (which I don't do) and babying the car (which I also don't do) to get decent gas mileage, I might have to reconsider. When do I upshift? When I run out of gear.