Archives

Hi, I'm a newbie with a 2007 Honda Civic LX. I got a ScanGauge about six weeks ago and have been seeing a significant increase in mileage since I started paying attention to my driving habits.

I started out with the basic stuff like keeping my tires inflated (I have them at 40 psi, but now that I see that I should go up to the sidewall max I'll try pushing them to 44), being gentle on the accelerator, coasting to stops, and driving at or under the speed limit on freeways. I also switch my engine off when sitting at long red lights.

I'm trying to see if I can squeeze any more mileage from my everyday driving. A friend of mine does fas's when approaching stops and sometimes coasts on downhills in neutral with the engine off.

I'm not all that knowledgeable about the inner workings of cars. Can anyone who has experience with the 8th gen Civics tell me if fas-ing is okay? What about shifting in and out of neutral (in an automatic transmission) or turning the engine off and on while moving? I don't want to mess up my transmission or cause any other long term damage just for the sake of a few MPGs.

Check your Honda manual to determine if the car can be flat towed. That means towed with all four tires on the ground and the engine turned off. You could also call a Honda dealer and ask if it can be hauled behind an RV without any special equipment.

I checked the towing guide at http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/ but could not find your vehicle listed in the 2007 guide.

Driving under the speed limit on the freeway will pay off - just stay in the right hand lane.

You're already making great strides!

My car manual says:

With the front wheels on the ground, do not tow the vehicle more than 50 miles (80km), and keep the speed below 35 mph (55km/h).

So I should limit coasting in neutral to 35 mph or slower?

That section in the manual means you should probably not FAS above 35 mph for the transmission's sake. NICE-On (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/glossary.php?s=&do=searchresults&search=nice-on&searchoptions=1) coasting is ok from the transmission's point of view. Do some searching on the forums to make sure you understand safety and legal issues with each method.

When shifting back into drive, make sure to rev-match before doing so. This involves gently pressing the accelerator while still in neutral. Let the rpm climb to where it would be if the car were in drive. Then shift the car into drive. This produces the least wear on the transmission. Practice first on deserted roads if you decide to give a try.

What does your everyday driving involve - highway, hills, flats, signal lights? What kind of mileage are you getting currently?

My work commute is 30 miles a day, mostly highway and not that hilly. Being in Los Angeles I'm no stranger to traffic, but I try to time my work shifts to avoid the worst of rush hour (does that count as a hypermiling technique? :p)

I started keeping a mileage log when I got my ScanGauge. Right now it's a bit inflated due to a couple of longer road trips, but I'm getting in the low 40s for everyday driving. Before the ScanGauge I was getting mid 30s.

Altering your schedule to avoid traffic definitely counts as a hypermiling technique. When you do end up in traffic, try to leave enough of a buffer between you and the car in front of you. This allows you to just take your foot off the accelerator to slow down instead of immediately braking in the natural stop and go of heavy traffic. Every time you brake, you're wasting momentum and thus gas. Are you familiar with Dfco? It's when the car shuts off fuel to the injectors when coasting in gear with no pressure on the accelerator. The ScanGauge will display 9999 for instantaneous mpg. This is a useful tool in some situations.

When dealing with signal lights, do your best to anticipate changes. If lights have a set pattern, time your drive to them. Use the pedestrian crosswalk timers to tell when lights will change. Anything you can do that will minimize brake usage will help.

Good job on the improvement with the ScanGauge. Keep reading and trying new things. You're bound to keep improving.

Trying to DWB in traffic was a game I played with myself when I got caught in traffic even before learning about hypermiling. If I had to use the brakes (or in heavier traffic, if my speed ever dropped to 0mph) I lose. It was a little less stressful than trying to glue myself to the bumper of the car in front.

About Dfco, if the ScanGauge shows 9999 for instantaneous mpg, doesn't that mean it needs to be configured to recognize fuel cutoff, or something? When I take my foot off the accelerator and coast, my ScanGauge shows that I'm still using gas and my instantaneous mpg only goes up to 200 or so, depending on speed. I tried lowering the fuel cutoff value from the default 24 to 20 and then it does show 9999... I would think the 200 value is more accurate though. Maybe this is a question that goes in the ScanGauge forum.

Watch the Loop gauge. When it goes to Open, you're in DFCO. Adjust the cutoff setting so Open Loop and 9999mpg happen at the same time.