- Use cruise control as much as practical. Set your speed slightly slower than traffic, so you can coast when slowing.
- Make sure the car is in good tune. (plugs, wires, airfilter, fuel system, etc.)
- Inflate your tires a little on the high side. Chalk the treads to find the best range of pressure for your application. Check your PSI regularly.
- Remove any roofracks or dead weight when not needed.
- Use synthetic lubes. (engine, tranny, diff)
- Open up the intake and exhaust.

 

Kommando....I respectfully gotta take issue with your suggestion to use cruise control. Carefull manual driving will beat cruise control every time. I read this several years ago, and didn't believe it until I tried it. I've run many identical trips with and without cruise control being engaged, with many, many different cars and trucks. Guess what.....I can beat the cruise control mileage each and every time just using a reasonable driving style as I pointed out in my earlier post.

 

DelawareDon....I respectfully have totake issue with your suggestion to Not use cruise control. Carefull(sic) manual driving will beat cruise control only sometimes.If you are cruising down the highway (i.e. Interstate) there is no way you will beat the cruise control. There have been several tests (google it) that prove that point. If you are in stop-and-go driving, or in hilly country then I will agree careful manual driving can beat using the cruise control option. But only for people who are purposely trying to save gas and taking measures to make sure they do.

One way no one has mentioned yet is drafting. I regularly follow a few car lengths behind a truck or van that appears to also have his cruise control on. It makesa big difference in gas mileage. I do not recommend it for most folks though, because it requires constant attention to the ***-end ofsaid vehicle, you can do no sight-seeing or looking into the back seat at thekids. In many states it is also illegal. Most truckers don't mind, but whena trucker taps his brakes at me, I just move on to the next truck and continue. I also graciously allow others to draft me.

Another thing not yettouched upon is keeping a journal. It is the only way to be sure your attempts are helping. After getting poor mileage on one tank with no apparent explanation I discovered a tire down to 20 lbs with a boxknife blade in it.I have kept a journal on every vehicle I have owned since 1973. I have posted portions of it here on HCF.

Here are Edmundssugestions for better mileage: http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...4/article.html

 

Gene...I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree regarding the cruise control. My own experience, with gas mileage measured very carefully, reveals....at least for me....that my driving style without cruise control is more economical than with cruise control engaged. I have experienced this not only with my Civic, but with our Toyota Solara, Nissan Titan, Subaru, and Dodge Hemi Pickup.Data collected forboth the Nissan and the Dodge pickups reveals higher manual mileage, both while pulling an enclosed trailer and without the trailer. I have also found that on the Interstate, travelling between Delaware and South Carolina....a trip that I make frequently, I can improve my mileage by 1 or 2 mpg by not using cruise. I have consistently replicated these results, no matter which vehicle I am driving. I don't mean to demean or negate the tests that you reference. I am simply saying that for me, manual driving consistently produces higher gas mileage than using cruise control, be it interstate driving or other environments.

 

Just to add one that hasn't already been specifically mentioned -- make sure your primary oxygen sensor is functioning to specification.

 

convert to MPG if its such a factor....

Or cut a hole in the floor panel and roll Flintstone style

 

This is all really good stuff, especially since i have become a more "civic" minded individual

 

From what I understand, usingsynthetic oil has been proven not to have an effect on the gas mileage of a vehicle. Proper tire inflation is key, and it never hurts to push in the clutch and just coast...

 

Using just synthetic oil may not produce a noticeable effect, but using synthetic lubes in ALL the gearboxes (engine, tranny, diff, etc) does. Some cold days up here, dino tranny and diff lube is so thick that it feels like the e-brake is on when you start driving in the morning. Dino oil has the viscosity of molasses.

 

Wow, you guys make me jealous.

Last time I filled up I got 23 MPG in my Civic auto.

city driving, hills, VERY light on the pedals.

K&N air filter, that's about it. I think my fuel filter needs changin', and so do my spark plugs and wires.


However, halfway thru the tank I noticed one of the tires at 15 PSI [&:], so that might have screwed things up a bit