CRX HF 65 MPG: Bogus?

[4-Door Flunky]

I met a man driving the new civic gas-electric hybrid. He told me he owned a 4G CRX HF. He told me the hybrid only gets 55 mpg, but his old CRX HF got 65 mpg.
Could a CRX HF really get 65 MPG? I've seen the car. No passenger's door mirror, 13-inch steelies...and he was skinny.
Any possible way he could have gotten what he claims? Please, someone who has had one, call bullshit on this!
Flunky

[DjRomo]

wtf that dude must of been high and been talking shit

[l2ice rocketz]

Yes.. in his dreams he could.

[travagliante]

It could get 65mpg, but thats with starting the car leaving it in neutral and having someone in a truck pull it.
lol

[91civicDXdude]

i've always gotten over 30mpg with every honda engine i've owned.. d16z6, b18a1, and these were modded and i dont drive like a grandma.. If he were to lug it around, i belive it could be possible

[travagliante]

I guess youre prolly right on that, my mom drives my civic dohc zc like a women and can get like 38mpg. I drive like a bat out of hell and sometimes get up to 25mpg.
hehe oh well, i also need a new fuel filter.

[crxlvr]

a very easy going driver on nothing but long distance drives, could maybe get that kinda number, id say 55mph tops without stopping.

believe it or not driving to SC in my crx i got just about 50mpg, DX 1.5L

[riceriderjade]

that makes me think about modding a car for better MPG than for speed or handling

[vesper]

Originally Posted by travagliante

It could get 65mpg, but thats with starting the car leaving it in neutral and having someone in a truck pull it.
lol

LOL thats gotta be the funnyest thing i have seen on a thread. i smell bullshit. this guy has lied to you, as to many others...

[sastanley]

I don't think this is bullshit at all.

I personally have gotten 40.34 MPG out of my DX sedan, with three people in it, loaded full of luggage for a vacation to go skiing. Oh, yeah, WITH a ski rack on top. Now granted, the car had 75K miles on it, and was only 4 years old at the time. I also took the time to have it aligned, balanced, and I change the oil every 5,000 miles with synthetic., so the car was about as efficient as it could get. I have been driving the car a little more aggressively in the last few years, and it is starting to burn a little oil now, but I still get low 30's (31-33 depending on if the oil compaines are fucking with the gas and oxygenating it in the winter) even now with 219K miles, and daily short-distance commuting.

No, you can't stomp on it up the hills, at every traffic light, or drive like you're playing NASCAR on the PS/2, and on the back sides of hills you pop it out of gear and coast...but I would say it is definitely possible..Remember, the HF only weighs 1800 lbs, my car weighs about 2260, and with the people and gear, I'd guess I added 400 lbs. A skinny dude commuting in an 1800 lbs. HF, definitely possible. Other factors, some mentioned above that can affect MPG:
I think the HF also had 165/13 tires, & all you dudes with fatty 205 or 215 width tires are laying about 45% more contact patch = more rolling resistance = more drag.
I think the HF only has one mirror (stock), which is like you sticking your arm out the window all the time. It isn't much, but think about on a long stretch of highway if we could fold in those mirrors knowing there was no one behind us..it makes a difference.
The tall gearing of the HF allows the car to cruise at 65MPH at about 1900 RPM. Since the motor is only pulling 1950 lbs. down the road, it doesn't need to spin at 3000+ RPM, therefore the engine is running nice and slow and efficient.

So I think it was definitely a possibility. Dude probably didn't get 65mpg ALL the time, but I am sure sometimes he did. Some tanks, I only get 28-29, if I use the A/C a lot, or I am hauling stuff - more recently I towed 1100lbs. worth of boat and gear 365 miles with 3 people in the car, and STILL got 27 MPG. My buddy drove his Suburban with an identical boat, and didn't see his fuel efficiency change at all..he still gets 12-13 mpg regardless - But I remember him spending about $35 at every gas station, and I spent about $13. I had a lot more leftover for beer money.
All you haters can't underestimate the mighty D-series!!!

[nemo_wolf]

Originally Posted by riceriderjade

that makes me think about modding a car for better MPG than for speed or handling

you just might start the next craze ... and i might just jump on that band wagon.

[bbrianr]

I get 45-50MPG out of my 88 HF. I commuted from LA to Central CA every weekend and the gas was killing me.
I bought my REX and had to go through the tranny in the first week. Engine had about 200K and warped a head. I completely went through the stock engine and got all tuned nicely. It passed CA Smog with less than 12 H/C(122 H/C's alloed) and measured 0.00% Carbonmonoxide on the dynosmog.

Keep the car light and stay under 65mph then 50-55MPG is totally possible. The engine is low on H/P but has just about the same torque as a SI. Torque takes you off the line and keeps you running from stoplight to stoplight. But when I put the tranny in 5th gear on the freeway and the RPM are below 2K, I am cruising.

I know with a little tuning and refining, it is completely possible to get around 60MPG.
I did notice a big drop in MPG when I put in my 8pt full cage. I added over 150lbs of tubing and reinforcement plates to the interior. Now I am getting 42-48 MPG.

Just my $0.02

Brian

[doug294]

Could you put a HF final drive in a Si tranny. That would be a awsome race/highway setup.

[riceriderjade]

Originally Posted by nemo_wolf

you just might start the next craze ... and i might just jump on that band wagon.

hhaha, i'm serious, take a crx, tune it to be incredibly fuel efficent

[alexdog69]

Here are some >60mpg testimonials there are others... but you get the idea...

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=CR...ass.edu&rnum=3

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=CR...hp.com&rnum=25

i also read some post by this lunatic on usenet awhile back...who had a CRX HF...however, he had performed some tweaks..and was making even more ridiculous claims about mileage...perhaps it was 80mpg or so...but he had changed the tires to something taller and perhaps even narrower(if possible?) to make the gearing even taller and reduce rolling resistance .. and he had a special driving technique ... from what he was saying, his modified HF and methods for driving definately made for a miser's dream come true... however, i dont remember the specific mods he did....

during the gas crisis there were lots of modders doing high fuel efficiency project cars based on air cooled vw's... there was even a kit to convert it to 2 cylinder....

so...some people like tweaking for mpg...
including honda crx (hf) engineers