+50mpg??? How!?

[shire123]

Ah, didn't realize turbo sedans are rated at 42...Does "break in" period affect MPG as well? I've only had Roxy for a few weeks but I've broken 1k miles already.

For me, after the first 1000 miles or so I saw about a 5% increase in MPG. But that could have been due to increases in temperatures (cold January-around zero), warm Feb 20's and 30's)

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[Swordfish]

I think the eco works the same way as it does on my Prius although not as dramatic. The Eco on the Prius kills the throttle, dampens the a/c, and a few other things. Before I would never drive the Prius on the highway with Eco because if I needed to merge or accelerate, the car would not react quick enough, it was that significant. Now I just use Eco all around. There is some dampening, but not enough for me to cut it off. It's adequate enough that I still will use it even on the SoCal interstate.

 

[shire123]

As stated, Premium does give you 1 to 3 more MPG based on my sampling. Stay below 60, Use ECO, no AC, reset once you are up to 60. Killers to 50, more up hills than down, don't stop or slow down. I have noticed when you do an actual Gals-Miles, you will see 1-3 MPG lower than meter and trip. Not playing games, I have been getting consistently above 36 on Honda meter, I am happy with this. Just did a long trip and got 42 and 40 calculated staying right at 70. I will take it.

I've been very impressed so far with the "accuracy" of the dash meter. 7000 miles and the worst the meter overstated the MPG was 1MPG with 1 third of the readings actually being low vs calculated. So basically there has been an average of only 0.5 MPG plus or minus on the dash. My latest tank refill data showed exactly the same meter/calculated on a 432 mile tank refill.

 

[syncro87]

Anecdote:

I've tracked my MPG, hand calculated, over my consistent work-home route with regular and premium unleaded. I've noticed just about zero MPG difference when using 91 octane that contains ethanol. When running ethanol free 91, the only way you can get ethanol free gas around here, I noticed a 3-4% MPG gain. I'm convinced it's the lack of ethanol that is responsible for the increase. I've done this on numerous cars, same route, similar results.

In my experience, ambient temperature affects MPG much more than regular or premium gas. I think the car runs rich longer in cold temps, and gas is blended differently here in winter. Significant MPG drop when temps are consistently below, say, 40F.

I've seen maybe a 1 mpg gain by running in Eco mode. Not really worth it to me. Car seems a bit more sluggish when that mode is active.

One other thing. I swapped the wheels today between our Civics. I put the 17" from my wife's EX-T sedan on my hatch, and the hatch's 16" alloys on her sedan. When I was moving the wheels/tires around, the 17's felt noticeably heavier. The steering is not quite as light and the hatch takes a little more throttle to move off the line compared to when the 16s were on the car. It isn't a dramatic difference, but there is a difference. Traction is better when accelerating from a stop, but I suspect that MPG will drop a touch on the hatch now. I think it takes a hair more energy to spin the larger wheels up to speed from a stop.

I should have weighed the wheel/tire assemblies 16 vs 17 when I had them off the car. Didn't occur to me to put them on a scale, but I'd opine that the 17s felt a bit heavier. If I was going for every shred of max fuel economy, I'd be running the 16s.

 

[slothy]

Anecdote:

I've tracked my MPG, hand calculated, over my consistent work-home route with regular and premium unleaded. I've noticed just about zero MPG difference when using 91 octane that contains ethanol. When running ethanol free 91, the only way you can get ethanol free gas around here, I noticed a 3-4% MPG gain. I'm convinced it's the lack of ethanol that is responsible for the increase. I've done this on numerous cars, same route, similar results.

In my experience, ambient temperature affects MPG much more than regular or premium gas. I think the car runs rich longer in cold temps, and gas is blended differently here in winter. Significant MPG drop when temps are consistently below, say, 40F.

I've seen maybe a 1 mpg gain by running in Eco mode. Not really worth it to me. Car seems a bit more sluggish when that mode is active.

One other thing. I swapped the wheels today between our Civics. I put the 17" from my wife's EX-T sedan on my hatch, and the hatch's 16" alloys on her sedan. When I was moving the wheels/tires around, the 17's felt noticeably heavier. The steering is not quite as light and the hatch takes a little more throttle to move off the line compared to when the 16s were on the car. It isn't a dramatic difference, but there is a difference. Traction is better when accelerating from a stop, but I suspect that MPG will drop a touch on the hatch now. I think it takes a hair more energy to spin the larger wheels up to speed from a stop.

I should have weighed the wheel/tire assemblies 16 vs 17 when I had them off the car. Didn't occur to me to put them on a scale, but I'd opine that the 17s felt a bit heavier. If I was going for every shred of max fuel economy, I'd be running the 16s.

Wow, thanks for the researched-backed info! Hmm, I might try running a tank or two w/o Eco mode on and see how that changes. I do hate the sluggish acceleration, esp when trying to switch lanes in heavy traffic for instance.

 

[zonka81]

Surprisingly, I have been getting high 30's and low 40's with exclusively city driving on 87

 

[DallasTXCivic17]

I've been running premium on my 2017 Civic LX CVT. Premium does gain me a few mpg which isn't worth the cost solely, but I use premium in hopes that the fuel additives are better for my engine. Currently at 4.6k miles with my last tank manual calculated mpg of 39.7 and 40.4 calculated by the trip info. (70% of that tank was highway driving) I would say Eco mode dampens throttle to assist us in saving gas, but your mileage may vary (pun intended) depending on how you drive. I have noticed different gas stations even if the same brand aren't the same when it comes to quality.

Edit: last used Shell V-Power 93

 

[izitnick]

I think the eco works the same way as it does on my Prius although not as dramatic. The Eco on the Prius kills the throttle, dampens the a/c, and a few other things. Before I would never drive the Prius on the highway with Eco because if I needed to merge or accelerate, the car would not react quick enough, it was that significant. Now I just use Eco all around. There is some dampening, but not enough for me to cut it off. It's adequate enough that I still will use it even on the SoCal interstate.

That's exactly what our eco mode does. It reduces throttle response (i.e., same foot pressure results in less acceleration), plays with fan speed, etc. I really notice it when I have ECON on and I am using the steering wheel buttons to accelerate. it takes much longer to get to your new speed, and that's the ECON working.

City driving is a big component, but one thing I did when I first got my civicx is to use the instant mpg meter to train myself. I made habits anything that kept the mpg up - namely coasting, not accelerating when you know there's a stop or reduction in speed ahead, not jumping off the line, going the speed limit, things like that. Most of my MILAGE is highway, but half the actual time in my car is city stop-and-go. I get about 39 if I am very careful and drive "boring", if I drive "fun" it'll be more like 36 or so.

 

[glbg]

Based on te computer reading, during break in I have around 39 mpg after break in between 36-37. Waiting to fill up next week to get actual mpg.

 

[Sman]

With 3k miles on the car I see the mpgs still improving. This also might be because the temperature outside isn't as cold. I drive 50 highway miles to work. There are several factors when it comes to getting good mpgs.
40.8 mpgs was when the temperature was 30 degrees outside and my cruise was set at 73
50.7 mpgs was when the temperature was 60 degrees outside and my cruise was set at 63

Same car, road, etc but a 10 mpg increase, and I assume I would gain another 10 mpgs if I drove 50 and it was 70 degrees out

 

[l3randonf]

With 3k miles on the car I see the mpgs still improving. This also might be because the temperature outside isn't as cold. I drive 50 highway miles to work. There are several factors when it comes to getting good mpgs.
40.8 mpgs was when the temperature was 30 degrees outside and my cruise was set at 73
50.7 mpgs was when the temperature was 60 degrees outside and my cruise was set at 63

Same car, road, etc but a 10 mpg increase, and I assume I would gain another 10 mpgs if I drove 50 and it was 70 degrees out

Yea mine has about 45 miles on the odometer and I'm getting super MPG. Almost all highway driving so far though.

 

[cobrati]

Have about 1700 miles on my car now and my MPG keeps getting better, though I think a lot of that is coming from warmer temps. I have 4 fill ups now. First three were 38.3, 40, and 40.3. My fill up yesterday I'm pretty sure the pump cut off a little early because the car was saying 41.2 but actual calculation came out to 44.1. Pump stopped at 9.952 gallons. . .if I had put in another half gallon the MPG would have been right at 42 and another gallon and it would have been just over 40 so still pretty good any way you cut it.

Most of my time is spent commuting to work, about 40 miles each way total and 30 of it on the highway. I have noticed this week, with it being a little windy here in central NC, that I am usually seeing 5-10 MPG better on the way home when looking at individual trip computer. Obviously same road each way but I think I'm going into the wind on the way to work and with it on the way home. . .enough to make a noticeable difference there.

 

[slothy]

I've been running premium on my 2017 Civic LX CVT. Premium does gain me a few mpg which isn't worth the cost solely, but I use premium in hopes that the fuel additives are better for my engine. Currently at 4.6k miles with my last tank manual calculated mpg of 39.7 and 40.4 calculated by the trip info. (70% of that tank was highway driving) I would say Eco mode dampens throttle to assist us in saving gas, but your mileage may vary (pun intended) depending on how you drive. I have noticed different gas stations even if the same brand aren't the same when it comes to quality.

Edit: last used Shell V-Power 93

I'm fairly consistent when it comes to the gas I use. Costco is right near my house and it's the cheapest option for the surrounding area for me. Currently running premium with a few MPGs higher than regular. After this tank though, I'll try running regular w/ eco mode off and see what differences I encounter.

 

[slothy]

With 3k miles on the car I see the mpgs still improving. This also might be because the temperature outside isn't as cold. I drive 50 highway miles to work. There are several factors when it comes to getting good mpgs.
40.8 mpgs was when the temperature was 30 degrees outside and my cruise was set at 73
50.7 mpgs was when the temperature was 60 degrees outside and my cruise was set at 63

Same car, road, etc but a 10 mpg increase, and I assume I would gain another 10 mpgs if I drove 50 and it was 70 degrees out

Eco mode on or off? That's insane, that's almost double the MPG I get..

 

[Sman]

Eco mode on or off? That's insane, that's almost double the MPG I get..

Always off. I also have the 1.5 in my hatch which helps at higher speeds

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