6MT Mileage - How do YOU achieve it?

[DerekS]

I'm puzzled why my mileage is in the low 30s when I see so many in the low 40s.

I want to get to the bottom of this! Help me out:

1. How long is your normal commute/drive?

Most of my drives are short - 15 mins and 2-10 miles. I go to Starbucks 1-2 times daily which gives me a fair amount of drive-through delay.

2. Where do you shift?

I shift around 3000, sometimes 4000. I don't see much reason to shift beyond that, as it really doesn't have power.

3. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use Econ mode?

I use this if I am in a drive through line, or if I am on the highway.

4. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use cruise control?

I use it on the highway with econ set.

5. Do you do anything else that may contribute to your mileage?

I try to coast when I can (in gear) and keep things in the green. I hardly ever use Sport - in my opinion it makes things louder but does nothing for the power band.

[northbridge]

1. How long is your normal commute/drive?

About 35 miles highway from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami then short trips across miami a few miles apart.

2. Where do you shift?

I dont pay attention to shift points. I accelerate as hard as I feel necessary then drop it into high gear.

3. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use Econ mode?

Never. (96% of the time in normal / 4% sport)

4. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use cruise control?

Never

5. Do you do anything else that may contribute to your mileage?

I coast occasionally but mostly i get up to speed and stay there as long as possbile. Since moving from Pittsburgh my mileage has gone from 31-32 all the way up to 38. Lowest tank since moving so far is 37.6. Less stop and go, warmer weather and more highway all help my numbers go up.

[CRaZee]

Derek, just driving like you do.. I get in the low 30's also. When I actually get some decent distance.. any highway at all basically, it kicks up into the low 40's! I suspect the the computer just calculate the short trips differently... it sucks, but there it is!

[gsilvers]

I was going to start a new thread b/c I had some post break in questions but I figure here is just as good.

Originally Posted by DerekS

I'm puzzled why my mileage is in the low 30s when I see so many in the low 40s.

I'm just curious why there is such a difference i see a few sub 30s and I drive pretty aggressive on back roads and see better the more you know the less you can use and all I am going to add one thing. Average Mileage

Trip A is at 147 miles 37.8mpg
Total Car is at 2577 @ 38.4 mpg

1. How long is your normal commute/drive?

22.5 mi or 23.8 mi depending on route according to google maps. I tend to take the slightly longer non highway route anymore with the CRZ its more fun and NJ highway traffic is just dumb. That being said I get around the same mpg (maybe 1 or so less) doing more back /county road driving here in nj.

2. Where do you shift?

Depends what I'm doing and how traffic is doing. Back roads I would say 1-2 and 2-3 around 3500 -4000 rpms. Highway I usually do some accel in 4th so a bit lower in the 2-3 shift. I'm not sure if it's just me but @ partial throttle I swear I can hear the vtec actuate the 2nd intake valve at around 3500 rpms and I try to catch that a bit




3. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use Econ mode?

I don't I find the throttle response makes down shifts a huge pain in the @$$ I drive in sport pretty much exclusively

4. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use cruise control?

Only if I'm driving on a highway for more than an hour. I really don't like cruise.

5. Do you do anything else that may contribute to your mileage?

On occasion I try to "pulse and go" only really if I know I"m on a hill and can coast downhill with little speed decrease (rt 35 from perth amboy into woodbridge if anyone is local)

Things I've noticed so far (maybe others can confirm). It seems keeping your RPM's up does not hurt MPG much at all. In fact I find that if I go into a high gear and have to give alot of pedal to maintain speed (say if there is a hill) my mpg's plummet compared to keeping the revs a bit higher at cruise say 5th at 35mph instead of 6th.

Forgot my one question to add to our Texan comrade's questionnaire.

>> Did you notice a "break in point". At first I was getting sub 35 mpg. Basically the EPA estimates and then at about 2000MI my mileage exploded to a much better figure.

[wicked1]

1. How long is your normal commute/drive?

6 miles each way almost daily, and 15-20 miles each way a few times a week..

2. Where do you shift?

I dont pay attention to shift points. I accelerate as hard as I feel necessary then drop it into high gear. (thanks northbridge.. couldn't have said it better myself)
But I was recently thinking about it, and it's 'bout 3200 to(2nd) 2500 to(3rd or 4th) 2000 then I'm up to speed and into 6th

3. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use Econ mode?

Never

4. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use cruise control?

Never

5. Do you do anything else that may contribute to your mileage?

I have fun accelerating but try not to go too much over the speed limit and maintain a constant speed. I slow down for a looong time when I come to a stop, to get as much regen as possible. Usually pressing the brakes in just enough to get the extra charging bars.

The short trips are bad. My usual has a bunch of hills, stops almost every block, and then I hop on the highway for a few miles.. just enough to waste gas getting up to speed, and then slow down to exit 2 miles later. I get about 30-33 mpg on those trips.
My longer drives on the highway I get about 37mpg, but taking the county roads w/ 30-40mph limits and a good distance between stops gets me into the lower 40's! I've stopped taking the highway whenever possible for those mid-distance 15-20 mile trips. (I almost never drive during traffic hours )

My car average is only 35.3.. Getting better all the time, though. (winter killed my mpg)

[zoltiz]

7 mile one way commute in suburban ATL (no highway).
Shift close to 2K most of the time.
Live in Econ full time. Only drove one tank in Sport.
I'm being reasonable overall - look ahead for lights, neutral coast a lot, don't peel out off the lights, but I'm also not being a nuisance on the road.

If I didn't have a play car, I'd be spending a lot more time in Sport as well...

According to my stats, full time fun Sport mode driving would add about $20/mo in fuel cost for me. YMMV.

[Eagle_f90]

1. How long is your normal commute/drive?
15 miles 30-45 minutes

2. Where do you shift?
Around 2k

3. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use Econ mode?
Almost always, unless going up a long hill or just want to get to speed fast

4. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use cruise control?
Sometimes on the highway

5. Do you do anything else that may contribute to your mileage?
Nothing really.

I average 42 MPG, I think you main problem is shifting so high. I am willing to bet if you go down to 2-2.5k shift points you will see an improvment on your milages. Also once your to speed if you run in Eco you should see it bump good. I can be crusing at 50 on a flat road and with out even moving my foot change to eco from normal and you instantly see the MPG bars go up

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by DerekS

1. How long is your normal commute/drive?.

30 miles, and takes about 45 minutes.

Originally Posted by DerekS

2. Where do you shift?.

1,500-2,000 rpms.

Originally Posted by DerekS

3. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use Econ mode?.

Never. Tried it a couple of times. The response is way to numb.

Originally Posted by DerekS

4. Under what circumstances (if any) do you use cruise control?.

Never have, not even sure how to turn it on.

Originally Posted by DerekS

5. Do you do anything else that may contribute to your mileage?.

Long duration trips, a light foot, short shifting, trying never to come to a complete stop, coasting in gear with the engine off or very few charge bars every chance I get.

[wicked1]

Originally Posted by Eagle_f90

[B] I can be crusing at 50 on a flat road and with out even moving my foot change to eco from normal and you instantly see the MPG bars go up

That's because as far as the engine is concerned, all you did by pressing that button is give the engine less gas. Your MPG will go up, but your speed will decrease. All the different modes do is change the throttle position. IE, the amount of gas your engine gets per angle of your foot on the pedal. (don't know why people still think it's some magic button, even after reading this forum that's got 50 threads on that exact topic)

[daffy]

I find that I get better mileage if I maintain RPMs around 3000 in steady-state driving as opposed to short shifting into higher gears and dropping the RPMs below 2800. It works for me no matter what mode I'm in. Counter-intuitive but...