Getting outrageous milage!!!!

[1990Legend]

I have a 1990 Acura Legend, 2.7 L auto. It is rated at 21 mpg. I am getting 28 - 30 mpg COMBINED. That's tickling the lower end of sub-compact and hybrid performance. It is tuned, including new O2 sensors. Otherwise, my driving habits make most of the difference.

I accelerate slowly, coast to lights, and turn off the engine at long lights. Most of all I have slowed down when and where possible: 35-45 mph in town and 45 - 55 mph on the highways: I-95 and the Florida Turnpike. I get a 33% increase in mileage, so I pay $2.25 for a $3.00 gallon of gas, proving that time is money. I give myself enough time to get where I'm going. I floor it or cruise at higher speed if I have to, but not if I don't.

I think that the problem is as much the driving population as it is market forces. We could influence the situation if we'd all agree to slow down. That would reduce demand and increase supply, and therefore drive down the price. That would require cooperation, patience, sacrifice, altruism, as well as acting in one’s own self-interest. Ain't gonna happen. When I'm killed for driving too slowly, I hope it is prosecuted as a hate crime.


'90 Legend
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/6637.shtml

Most fuel efficient cuurent vehicles
http://www.gasefficientcars.com/?src...OVMTC=standard

[2.2 Straight six]

when i drive my dad's golf slowly i get 50mpg. and that's a 2.3-litre V5.

driving style makes all the difference.

[fredjacksonsan]

Well done....driving style does make all the difference, as you've learned. If you take it easy and engage in the tactics you mentioned, you can beat the EPA estimates....

[curtis73]

I consistenly beat the EPA estimates... but the other way My current daily driver gets 9 mpg

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by curtis73

I consistenly beat the EPA estimates... but the other way My current daily driver gets 9 mpg

Leadfoot.

(But damn, you're having more fun!!)

[Hofmeister]

The way you drive has just about as big an impact on fuel economy as what you drive. Keep the rpm's low and you'll use less fuel. It's as simple as that. It's funny how some people complain about poor mileage yet they constantly gun it making the engine work harder than it needs to.

Good stuff!

[9ball]

Originally Posted by Hofmeister

The way you drive has just about as big an impact on fuel economy as what you drive. Keep the rpm's low and you'll use less fuel. It's as simple as that. It's funny how some people complain about poor mileage yet they constantly gun it making the engine work harder than it needs to.

Good stuff!

I get about the EPA estimate in my F150. I know that I get much better mileage going 70 rather than 77 or 78, but I just can't stand going that slow when I'm on my way home from work.

[turtlecrxsi]

Your starter is going to die if you keep shutting your car off at long red lights.

Also, if you drive 45-55mph on I-95 you're suicidal. And, a Trooper wouldn't have any problem pulling you over for being a "road hazard."

BTW, you're numbers aren't very impressive either.

I put my foot into it every single day and I get 36-40 mpg in my 1.6 CRX with just about every bolt-on you can buy short of a swapped engine.

[1990Legend]

You are comparing apples to oranges. The crx is a 4-cyl and weighs 2174 lbs. The 90 Legend is a 6-cyl and weighs 3280 lbs. I am satisfied that I've maximized performance.

BTW: Starters take tens of thousands of starts and the minmum speed on I-95 is 40 mph.

[thisisit]

Speed makes a huge difference in gas mileage. After the gas crisis in 1973 Congress passed the mandatory 55 mph limit on all roads. They showed that at 55 mph cars use 17% less gas than at 75mph (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_l...United_States). Later they lifted the restriction so it's not 55 everywhere anymore. Here in the mid-Atlantic region where i live almost all roads are 55, but few people drive below 70.

Point is I myself have noticed a huge difference. I drive to my college campus and work almost every day. The school drive is inner suburb roads, and i usually don't go above 50mph to get there. The work drive is almost all highway and it's pedal to the floor. Even though my school is, distance wise, almost twice as far away as my work, and it has traffic lights and everything, i still waste less gass going to school than work, which is only like 10 min away.

The again i hate driving and i don't want to be on the road a second longer than I have to. Feels like I'm wasting my life.

[turtlecrxsi]

Originally Posted by 1990Legend

You are comparing apples to oranges. The crx is a 4-cyl and weighs 2174 lbs. The 90 Legend is a 6-cyl and weighs 3280 lbs. I am satisfied that I've maximized performance.

BTW: Starters take tens of thousands of starts and the minmum speed on I-95 is 40 mph.

Actually, my car weighs less and with me in it. Also, I drive smoothly and try to avoid accidents. Driving 40 miles per hour on I-95 is retarded and extremely dangerous.

It's not how fast you drive, it's how smooth.

[1990Legend]

Yesindeedy. That's why I drive 45-55.

[Millermagic]

When I did highway and city driving alot (I drive to school 1 mile each way not by choice now) I would always beat the epa estimate.

I will cost up to stop lights at 15 mph (that's where it shifts into 2nd gear), I won't accellerate hard from stoplights or at all for that matter, and if it is an area with alot of stoplights, I'll crawl along at like 5 or 10 below the speed limit and not have to stop for a single one - accelleration takes alot of gas.

[GreyGoose006]

Originally Posted by turtlecrxsi

It's not how fast you drive, it's how smooth.

not true!!

i own an 84 caprice classic.

every so often i have to drive from charlottesville to richmond. you can take either I-64 and drive 75, or take 250 and drive 55. when i drive on 64, it will use about a half a tank of gas (25 gallon tank, 12.5 gallons of gas). on 250 it barely uses 1/8 of a tank.

[turtlecrxsi]

You're talking about a 20mph difference for 2 separate types of highways. Apples and oranges...