took delivery today 60 mile round trip mpg inside ;)

[kyo]

well, I finally have in my possession my new CR-Z 6-speed EX SSM. It was a dealer swap, so it had 93 miles on it >_> under $23k out the door, lifetime powertrain warranty.

I took a nice ride to a gas station that has a special soda I like (Rowland's ... their cream sodas are above all else (Red Cherry Cream, Blue Raspberry Cream)).

At the gas station, I pumped up my tires to 50 lbs (tire 51 max) to get a bit better coasting.

First my round trip mpg since I forgot to take a shot of the mpg after I arrived at the store (it is actually my overall average, but trip A with less miles had the same ???):


Not too shabby for my first time in the car




Now for my return trip ...





I knew I could squeeze 50 mpg on my first trip, but looks like it will be a helluva effort to get a 60 mpg trip. Lots of hills that really fight on the up.

Drove in Econ the whole way (besides maybe a minute or two after leaving the gas station because I haven't taken the time to change the default). I haven't drove a stick in years, so also getting used to taking off in first with music blasting (btw the stereo is pretty good imo; lots of classic rock sounded great!).

I'll wait until I get closer to 1000 miles on it before I play with sport, I'm happy already with the Econ performance. Crazy shifting into 5th at 25 and 6th at 30, but the car drives fine that way for me, so I enjoy it. It is odd, I used to drive an RX-7 and try to keep it > 3000 rpms to stay in the power curve, now I try to not hit 2000 rpms to stay in the fuel efficient curve

See, I'm not (completely) full of hot air

[Scotty001]

Hey Congrats.. Be careful with the tire pressure.. 50lb cold can be dangerous. Pressure increases as they warmup..

[kyo]

I will refer to a specific post made by fuel economy guru Wayne Gerdes
xcel's tire pressure

Hi Ernie:

___Been running 65 in my Accord’s Michelin MXV4 Plus’ for over 3 years now in temps from 110 to minus 15 degrees F. 100,000 miles and still have 3/32 up front, 5/32 in the rear with even wear all across. Refilled ~ once a month just to make sure as well.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

on this thread
What PSI are your tires? @ CleanMPG.com


I'm not suggesting others to do something they feel uncomfortable with, but, our tires are made to handle a lot. I've don't 65 psi before on the 05 Civic Hybrid CVT my father is now driving. the difference in your ability to coast on 30 psi vs 50-60 psi is nothing to scoff at, 5 mpg+. I just drove that Civic Hybrid 1300 miles just over 50 mpg on its first tank, 54 mpg on the second, and had > 1/4 left when I got to my destination (3rd tank was driven a bit more hastily) ... on winter tires (General Altimax Artic studdables) at stock pressures ... From past long distance trips in the car, I know I could've gotten 55-60 mpg if I only had LRR tires + higher pressure.



AGAIN: Only do what you are comfortable with, I'm not recommending going past the sidewall max, or approaching it. Use pressure at your own discretion.

I will say, the manufacturer suggested pressure is based on ride comfort, even on the hybrids. Bumpier cars are a hard sell, and lower tire pressure is an easy, simple way to change the 'feel' of the ride. Max sidewall pressure has a lot of safety room built into it.

Actually, iirc, a 99 Accord I had, said in the manual to increase tire pressure with load. The reason why the lower pressure makes you consume more fuel is the same reason they recommend higher pressure when you have your car loaded ... tire flex.

The 'squat' you see in the sidewall at the contact area take energy. As your tire rolls, all that flex turns your momentum into heat as it squishes and un-squishes ... at higher speeds, more squish!!!

Increasing pressure 'stiffens' the sidewall, less flex, less energy going to heat. LRR tires have both a different compound and also designed to 'flex' less as it rolls, as well as a modified tread pattern.

One of my crazy theories is, the difference in mpg between stock lrr tires and going with 18" with very low profiles, isn't so great, because of the built-in fact, lower profile = less flex ... unfortunately, you cannot get a compound or tread pattern designed lrr in the width/ratio we'd need for our cars or I think 18" LRRs would actually be better for us as long as we didn't go too much wider.


Anyway, enough of me rambling for now Be safe first!

[Scotty001]

^ Great Feedback.. Always good to have all the information allowing for individual decisions..



I'll stick at 36lbs or so.. And thank you for the last line... "Be safe first"