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Hey guys. I have been lurking for some time and I thought I would share my experience with you.

I drive a 98 Honda Civic 4 door EX with Vtec and 160k on the odometer.

Friday I drove 200 miles one way to visit my sister. I filled up near my home and hit the road. I drafted on the interstate at speeds between 70-80 mph. I would guess I drafted less than 1/2 the trip. Plus I spent 10 minutes idling at a very busy McD's drive through. I got to where I was going and filled up to see if there was any difference. I typically get 31-32 on the highway. I was hoping for maybe 35-36. To my absolute surprise my mileage figured out to 42.5mpg! What excites me is there is literally a ton of room to improve. I feel like if I had been more serious about it, I could have hit 50 mpg.

Haven't filled up yet since the return trip - I am going to glide around town and see how many total miles I can squeeze out of this tank.

It is nice that you did that drafting. But there is alot you can do as well. Close-in drafting should be a last choice when picking how to get better mileage. I know you don't want to hear this, but if you slowed down to 60 mpg you probably would have done pretty well. If you slowed down to 60 and did driving with load you might have accomplished the same as you did drafting but you whould have been much safer.

Learn to slow down and do other highway driving techniques before chosing to draft for the easy numbers.

People do draft, but it is rare that they do it when they don't have to. Many will forgo drafting for slower speeds as it can do more for you than a close-in draft.

Hi Abe:

___Whoooa, drafting? As in a Close-in? We do not promote that and there are far easier and safer ways to achieve 42 in a 98 Civic then that.

___Good Luck and please be careful out there as we in no way promote Close-ins. Surfs, Traffic sides and Distant, any day of the week. If you have been passed. You have see those three.

___Wayne

A Civic is worth at least that 42mpg without any drafting whatsoever. Heck set the cruise control at the speed limit with no other techniques and I bet you will hit 40 and be a whole lot safer. I can't even imagine what would happen if that truck had to make a quick stop while you're right behind him doing 75-80. It would be over before you had time to say "goodnight."

Believe me, we'd love to help you get better fuel economy. But it is the stated policy of CleanMPG that we prefer our members to live long, efficient lives!

It's great to see everyone (politely) denouncing close-in drafting. As Wayne said, surfing or distance drafting is just fine, but hugging the back of a semi will only get you ticketed, or worse. No sense in risking lives just for a few MPG.

That said, inflate those tires, slow down your overall speed, and drive a 1/2 mile ahead. I guarantee you'll see 45+ MPG cruising at 60 MPH on the highway. :)

Right in there for the kill....

Back off the draft and work on the basics.

Live Long

psy

Welcome, Abe! How's the sausage business? :D