Optimal Cruising Speed for MPG

Billy4202

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Yeah, let's risk certain death, or killing a family of 4, to save a little gas, and get 1 mpg more.

Hey, I'm a poet. :headbang:
You mean like the Prius doing
Most of them compromise safety over a few MPGs. However, I do follow the "drive as if you have no brakes" rule which does save me from stopping at a red light too early and saves wear and tear on the brakes.
I do that same technique, have been for years. I'm not extreme with it, but coasting to red lights/paying attention to light timing is great for MPG and brake longevity.
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NorthernEX-T

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Best mpg : the slowest you can drive while keeping the Rpms the lowest. I've found that the turbo will drive at like 40-45mph in its lowest "gear" it will stay at around 1000-1100rpm without downshifting. If you can drive that slow lol, that'll yield Mpgs well into the 60's
 

glklvr

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In practical driving (45-55mph on the highway is not practical), I've averaged the following highway mpg:
65mph gets me around 47mpg
70mph gets me 44mpg
75mph gets me 39mpg

I cruise at 70mph cuz I just can't do 65mph for an 85 mile commute.
 


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55-65 mph is my optimal. I usually do 75-80 mph on the highways here in canada and average over 40 MPG on those trips. Even in the city i can hit 35-40 mpg if I dont hit a lot of lights.
 

turbo lover

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Did they ever come out with a chart like this for the 2.0L engine?
I haven't seen one for the 2.0 yet. He generally focuses on the more efficient configurations if a car has several powertrain combos. I would suspect the 2.0 has a similarly shaped curve but maybe a couple mpg lower. 2.0 with the manual may be slightly better than the CVT in steady state cruising, despite what the EPA suggests.
 
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xjoshuax89

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I'm finding that the 55-60 seems to be the sweet spot (2.0L EX here). Higher than 60mph and its 2000rpm+ which starts to eat into my nice MPG. Averaging a good 40.8mpg on the highway with an average 65-70mph. I do quite a bit of cruise control though.
 

madean

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I commute 110 miles each way between Richmond and Chesapeake, VA, and I'm getting 41-42 every time. That's cruising at 78-80 MPH.
 


regularguy

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I recently took my 2.0L on a 500mi trip up to Michigan. Averaged just over 46mpg going about 70-75mph. Made 41mpg on the way back with about the same driving speed and same load in the car. I'm assuming the winds played a role here.
 

kirkhilles

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Yeah, the chart proves what is the general consensus that the sweet spot is somewhere around 50-60 mph. I will say that elevation differences really makes a big difference. Maybe it's just because I live around the North Georgia mountains, but doing climbs (even slow climbs on the interstate) really hurts the MPG. I will say, though, that the Civic does really well MPG wise even while going 80+ mph on the interstate which is impressive. I presume as speed increases, the power needed increases as well as I know that the fuel required to go 200 mph is absolutely insane. Its also amazing compared to the only 26 MPG I get in my 2000 Miata which has less power and a only slightly larger 1.8 L engine.
 

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Best mpg : the slowest you can drive while keeping the Rpms the lowest. I've found that the turbo will drive at like 40-45mph in its lowest "gear" it will stay at around 1000-1100rpm without downshifting. If you can drive that slow lol, that'll yield Mpgs well into the 60's
That's been my experience as well.
 

Quicksipper

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Hi all, I am running the Turbo and was wondering if anyone ventured in finding the optimal speed on the highway for maximal mpg (things like temp, air density, etc vary but generally should be around the same speed)?

If not, what would be the best way to determine this scientifically?
The absolute best way for MPG's is not cruise control. Keep your RPMs at 2k when your are cruising on the hwy. When your climbing a hill you will slow down to 65 or even as low as 60. When going down you'll get up to 75 MPG's with no throttle, as long as your tachs stays at 2k. This is best for long trip hypermiling in the civic. In town is a little bit different story, on take of you want to get full use of the fuel your already dumping by accelerating at 2k then once you get to 40-50 keep your RPMs at 1500. Watch ahead for traffic and lights.
 

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