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I'll start this one off.

Today was okay. Got decent mileage (still lower than summer) about 50mpg. Tems were mid to high 60s' I'm hoping I can salvage this tank from the mid 40s and bring it up to low 50's high 40s.

I had a pretty good trip in this morning too, 53.1 MPG. We'll see how far I fall on the way home today with the temps around 90F.

Something strange. It was about 70 to 75 out and I was able to pull off a 63.5 on the gauge. This would be great for a summer day with the good gas. I don't know why, but It sure helped bring my tank up a tad.

I'll try putting this post here where it belongs. I wasn't paying attention earlier and put it in last week's thread.:o
I had a pretty good day considering I'm still learning the car's quirks. I got 36.9 for the drive into the wife's work. The reason for the lower numbers in the morning is that I don't FAS since it's only a 5.8 mile trip and I want the car to warm up. From there to my work, I got 53.0. This afternoon with some warmer temps in the high 60's, I managed a 62.8 back to the wife's work and, from there to home, I got 50.6. I hooked up my injector kill switch and went on a test run to see how it worked and got some good results. On my way home on the test loop, the switch had a minor malfunction and the car wouldn't re-start after an FAS . A quick look under the hood and the problem was solved. I ended up with an extra dead stop that I normally don't have and managed a 67.0 by the time I got home and turned around. So far, this is a best for this car.:)

I'm starting off the week OK. The last tank I turned in was my best in a while, and this one is between 35 and 36mpg and slowly climbing with 60mi on the clock. I wish I could just leave work and drive someplace nice because it's absolutely beautiful out there today.

My wife wanted to run some little errands and it killed my mileage. It had been so long since I'd seen mileage numbers in the 50s I was wondering it Priapus remembered how to illustrate it. Unfortunately he did. So after seeing the number "58" on Sunday, I'm back up to 60.6 and hopefully stable or increasing. With the temps dropping and the "winter gas" it'll be a struggle to keep this one above 60. But if I can do it, this will make my 6th tank this summer above 60. Last year, I had only one tank at exactly 60.

The trip home last night was around 47 MPG, not too bad. Struggled some this morning on the way in for some reason, only 49.8 MPG. Makes me wonder what my trip home is going to be like.

Today has been pretty good so far. The trip into my wife's work was 32.8. From there to my work was 53.9. This afternoon, the trip back to pick up my wife was 65.6 and from there to home was 49.9. I had to go pick up my daughter at school tonight and managed a 56.4. The trip back home from there was a new record. It came in at 74.0 mpg.:woot: I think my numbers are going to be better from now on because I installed my injector kill switch last night. I was losing ~1/10 mile per FAS using the key and waiting for the engine to die/come to a complete stop so I could turn the key back on. Now, I lose nothing on an FAS. At any rate my tank mileage should go up.

you wanna give more detail about the kill switch? how hard can it be to install one on the car if using the key to FAS is more wasteful than hitting a switch? Hmm

work and back 48 mpg (grille blocking has no effect on a long trip like 8.5 miles)

trip to macdonalds... 3 (1.5 there, 1.5 back) miles = 53 mpg! grille blocking rocks! Ended up for 49 for the day, hm I really need to check my pressure but boy am I lazy... hey larry at what speed would you use the key instead of fasing at such a low speed?

i am wondering if that piece that was hanging low under the engine of my car affected the airflow around the car. since i had it put back on, my display has been consistently showing 60mpg. before that i was working my tail off just to show 55. honda has the new part in, and i am going to have it replaced over the weekend......to the tune of $80......

:woot:

you wanna give more detail about the kill switch? how hard can it be to install one on the car if using the key to FAS is more wasteful than hitting a switch? Hmm

work and back 48 mpg (grille blocking has no effect on a long trip like 8.5 miles)

trip to macdonalds... 3 (1.5 there, 1.5 back) miles = 53 mpg! grille blocking rocks! Ended up for 49 for the day, hm I really need to check my pressure but boy am I lazy... hey larry at what speed would you use the key instead of fasing at such a low speed?

Below is a write-up I did on gassavers.com.
It was relatively easy to install. On my Saturn, there is a common wire that supplies power to each injector. The ECU turns the ground off and on to control the pulse width. What I did was: Cut all 4 wires going to the injectors that were the same color. Then you strip the ends and combine all of the wires that are attached to the injectors. Next, combine the wires that are coming from the wiring harness. I then took a 5-pin relay and wired the injector-side wires and the wiring harness-side wires to the set of contacts that are normally closed. Take the wire that energizes the relay and connect it to the hot/wiring harness side of the injector wires. Take the ground wire for the relay energizing circuit and run that inside the car to a switch. Run a wire from the switch to a ground. When you flip the switch, the relay is energized and switches to the un-used set of contacts on the relay and the injectors quit working since they have no power. I should note that before permanently sealing the connections you should try to start the car. If it doesn't start, you have the wires on the wrong relay contacts. The relay and switch can be bought for a few $'s at most auto parts stores. I hope this helps. Good luck.

hey larry at what speed would you use the key instead of fasing at such a low speed?

I'm not exactly sure what you meant but, I kill the engine as often as possible. If I'm in town, I will pulse and glide as traffic allows. I can bump start as low as 10 mph in 5th. If I have to completely stop because of a red light that can't be predicted, I'll FAS to a complete stop and use the key to re-start when the light turns green again. Let me know if this answered your question. Also, good work on the 53 mpg on such a short trip!

cool cool thanks for the reply ya you answered my question pretty good. Wow I didn't know you can bump start in 5th at such a low speed. At that speed I usually use 2nd gear since 5th gear I find for my car it always overrevs (2000) unless i'm at around 30 mph. By as least matching with the gear it should be in, I can strike it down towards 1500 rpm, but I'm not sure what the trick is to keep those revs low when I'm bump starting. I find the slower the speed, the higher chance of the bump being very rough.

Maybe I"m just doing something wrong when trying to bump smoothly? Hm...

Another 80mpg morning.

Might have been 2-3mpg better if there was not people rubbernecking for no apparent reason - maybe watching a leaf fall....

I had to drop the kitty off to be spayed this morning, which meant travelling at the peak of rush hour on roads I wouldn't normally touch at 8AM. DWB for the win! I am learning to take my foot off the gas farther and farther in advance, which today resulted in a 36.1mpg segment in really ugly conditions. I think the winds from the Insight Marathon have made their way up here because I was being blown all over the place! And this is not a car that is pushed around easily.

I cringe every time I look at the outside thermometer and see that it's in the low 50s. But apperantly I'm doing something right. As I mentioned above, I saw the tank average hit 58MPG on Sunday, got it up to 60.6 on Tuesday, and this morning (Thursday) I rolled into work staring at 61.7MPG. I know that a lot of it has to do with my familiarity with the drive. Like Brick, I'm working on letting up on the gas sooner.

All my roundtrip commutes had clocked in the low '60mpgs until this tank.
But now the last 2 weeks they've been in the mid-to-high 60mpgs. :woot:
There is no question that this increase is due to NOT using the HOV lane on the homeward leg. The HOV lane in fact was the reason my mileage always decreased on the way home. I find now I get better mileage in the regular lanes, and get home in about the same time. The reason I believe, is the 5-10mph slower speed in the regular lanes vs the carpool lane, and the opportunities to glide into small pockets of congestion. If it’s too congested though, there’s no gain.

The key is to watch the electronic freeway signs indicating how many minutes drive to the next section. If it says only 15-20 minutes I stay in the right lane. If the display says >20min, the congestion is too heavy and I’m better off getting in the carpool lane. The last couple weeks there was maybe only one day I had to use the HOV lane. Thing is, I have to decide immediately when I see the first sign, move over 4 lanes and into the HOV lane right away. I can’t wait till I’ve already hit up against the congestion to make that move, as the HOV entrances are few and far between.

Once I habituate to this “new route” I think 70mpg roundtrips should be very possible.

tarabell,

That's what I do - let them take "the fast lane".

The cooler temps are definitely taking a toll on my numbers. This morning's trip to the wife's work was 33.5. From there to my work was 56.4. This afternoon's trip back to pick up the wife was 58.3 and from there to home was 51.2.

Hi All:

___I have a ton of miles with none over 50 mpg’s in the Accord other then when I got back within 150 miles of home (absolutely horrible long distance miles :() but I did drive Psyshack’s Civic EX w/ NAVI. After ~ 10 miles RT w/ an SG-I attached, she showed a beautiful 85.5 mpg. She will do 95 in a LS P&G and ~ 80 in a MS one. Not sure how she would perform out on the highway but I thought she was pretty remarkable! I drove Lakedude’s HCH-I (5 speed MT) for ~ 20 miles out to eat 2 nights ago. 71.9 leaving at ~ 250 miles and 72.2 after parking her. Good for ~ 76 mpg’s by my estimates? I needed a touch more time to adapt to the terrain but Lakedude is kicking butt in his locale!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

It's has been awhile since I have posted daily numbers, mainly because they have been consistently in the 70-75 MPG range at 55MPH target speed. But something happened today that just boggles my mind.

As I merged onto I-40 Southbound to start the highway leg of my 70 mile drive to work (90% highway) I found myself merging in front of a semi that was quickly approaching. As he passed I noticed that it would be a great drafting target so I sped up to match the 70 MPH speed. I followed him onto I-95 all the way to work at a 2-3 car length distance. The Air Speed Indicator was bouncing between 40-50MPH while the speedo showed 70. After coasting into my parking spot, I noticed that the SuperMID showed 32 km/L or 75.2 MPG! This at 70 MPH speeds and 60F temps. Normally I would see 72 MPG at 55MPH under those conditions but since everyone was passing me, I really couldnt benefit from drafting.

Now the drive home really blows my mind. The temp was 85F and I found another nice target just after entering the highway. I watched the trip ave spike as I drove 65-75 MPH, matching the drafting target's speed. The air speed indicator was bouncing between 30-40MPH. When I pulled into my garage, the SuperMID showed 39.60 km/L or 93 MPG! The whole drive felt like I was riding in a vacuum.

So what just happened? I averaged 84 MPG over a 140 mile RT at speeds ranging from 65-75 while drafting at 2-3 car lengths. And I cut 40 minutes of of my drive time to boot!

I see more drafting in my future....:cool: :cool:

Be careful you don't want to mess up that paint job ;)

I always try a distant draft if I can get away with it. I'm not one for close in drafts in most cases.

Dan if you can please give me a visual on how you draft? (edit: 2 to 3 car's distance eh... i was imagining 1) How close does one really has to be to benifit from it? Can I trail like a SUV and still reap the same benifits?

After ~ 10 miles RT w/ an SG-I attached, she showed a beautiful 85.5 MPG . She will do 95 in a LS P&G and ~ 80 in a MS one.

and to believe I rejected that car... because I wanted a hybrid... ****... what have I done...:eek:

Hi Dan:
So what just happened? I averaged 84 MPG over a 140 mile RT at speeds ranging from 65-75 while drafting at 2-3 car lengths. And I cut 40 minutes of of my drive time to boot!

I see more drafting in my future....:cool: :cool:
___I love the close-ins myself but 90 + mpg’s? Holy Smokes Batman! You are easily pushing beyond Insight territory at those speeds! The absolute best I have ever achieved at 60 + mpg speeds was using Close-in’s in Chuck’s Insight from my home to HF2006 as shown below. Even then, you are knocking on that door in a machine designed some 15 + years ago when hybridization was barely beyond the science project stage here in the states!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/525/Illinois_to_HF2006_Insight_FCD.jpg

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Today started out very chilly at 39 degrees. The trip to my wife's work was 30.2. Gotta find an engine heater. From her shop to mine was 54.1. This afternoon's trip back to the wife's shop was 58.2 and, from there to home was 56.5. I got a new set of tires tonight. A salesman from tirerack.com told me that Goodyear Assurance Comfortread's were LRR tires in the P185 60 15's. I drove about a mile from the tire shop and promptly inflated them to 62psi; up from the 30 they were at when I checked them.:( I also had them do a 4-wheel alingment and was glad I did. They found that the toe-in was way off which was probably cutting down on my glide distance.:( Maybe I can get back into the 80's now.:p I have already managed a 74.0 so far.

Dan if you can please give me a visual on how you draft? (edit: 2 to 3 car's distance eh... i was imagining 1) How close does one really has to be to benifit from it? Can I trail like a SUV and still reap the same benifits?


Yes, you can draft an SUV or even a car, but you have to get closer. The Air Speed Indicator tells me when close is close enough. Some 18 wheelers are good targets and some are bad. Find the right one and you can draft at a safer 3 car distance. A bad target might require a 1 car distance to reap a benefit.

I don't recommend that anyone use drafting, but if you do, an Air Speed indicator is invaluable. Typically, as you approach a target, at normal following distances you will see a 5-10 MPH speed delta (speedo vs ASI). As you close the gap, you dont see much change. But there is a magical spot where the air speed drops significantly, as much as 20-40 MPH speed difference depending on the distance and the target type. Maybe Wayne can explain what makes a good target.

Hi Dan:

___You opened up Pandora’s box, didn’t you :(

___Axle trucks to the rear of the trailer vs. way up underneath it, underride guards that are solid vs. the std. angle iron running across the back, mud flaps running all the way across vs. just in front of the wheels, slower moving targets are always better then the same running faster, wider trailers are usually better then the skinnier Sea-Van types, and drivers who DWL and DWB.

___I will try and snap some pics of good targets but what I have found is Car carriers with a load of SUV’s on them (that last SUV nose up at a 30 degree angle is finally good for something ;)), UPS duallie trailers, grain haulers with the low hanging rear mud flaps from one side all the way to the other, garbage haulers with the same, tallish flat beds w/ a large tarpped load, the covered wagon type open air trailers with the solid underrides and the rounded canvas tops all the way across. I named a few but you do not see them driving properly or see them at all that often. When you do however …

___With the price of fuel today, the new mantra will be to purchase and maintain aero equipped rigs and trailers right from the factory. I pulled in behind one of the new Con-Way aero trailer rigs with the aero skirts attached, tight cab to trailer spacing, and the new single tire combo’s just once (I have only seen the new aero trailers rigged just once) and the draft was all but non-existent even up into 1.5 car lengths!

___And of course you have tickets, safety and flying debris to contend with so do not pull into a 2.5 car or less spacing as all of the above will come back and bite and they will bite you very hard. Be very careful here as you are truly playing with the devil in these instances.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

All very good advice. As I said earlier, I do not recommend drafting!!! It is a personal choice and do so at your own risk.

Hi Dan:

___I forgot one other and it is the best of all … Also a touch comical!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Resize_of_House_Drafting.jpg

___A slow moving house heading down the road is a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve your skills :D

___Our server is going to get killed on this one but it is a decent presentation I guess?

Drafting Explained (http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/511/Highway_Tips.mp4)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi All:

___And another pic that always makes me smile courtesy of Chuck :)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Truck_Drafting_Insight.jpg
Who’s drafting who :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I just got back from another practice run in the new car after hooking up my Microzone 100 ozone generator. In 5.1 miles I managed a 75.4 mpg at an average speed of 27 mph. So far;) , this is a new record for this car.:woot:

Hi All:

___And another pic that always makes me smile courtesy of Chuck :)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Truck_Drafting_Insight.jpg
Who’s drafting who :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

That was in Lewisville, Texas around I35E and Hwy 121 - headed north to Oklahoma.

Can I embellish this story?

Considering the direction of the Insight and the color, I think he may be a Sooner fan. :D


Can I embellish this story

I just filled up my tank and the numbers are good. I'm afraid that this may be about the last really good tank until spring though. Winter "crapoline" went on sale on October 1st.:( I went 433.0 miles and used 8.003 gallons for 54.107 mpg. :woot: :woot: Thanks mostly to Wayne for the driving clinic and to mpgmike at mpgresearch.com for the head work.

Hi Larry:

___You had it in you all the time :) The inner hypermiler inside just needed to be awaken from a long sleep is all.

___I pulled one from my SD card a few minutes ago. It was taken while heading towards OK. for the Insight Marathon … I caught 2 items of interest in this photo. A decent draft (slower moving, wide and relatively low to the ground) and one of the very few hybrids that just happened to be passing by during that long drive so I had to get a pic. Anyone recognize the make and model of the hybrid that passed a few seconds earlier :D

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Decent_draft_target_with_Insight_passing.JPG

___Holy mackerel, you guys are hammering the server by downloading that 32MB video linked earlier. Over 200 downloads in the past 16 hours alone!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Larry:

___You had it in you all the time :) The inner hypermiler inside just needed to be awaken from a long sleep is all.



___Good Luck

___Wayne

Thanks for the kind words. More importantly, thanks for the wake-up call.:) As for the hybrid: dark blue Honda Insight?:p