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Hy to everyone, i have to ask for some suggestion. this car is just great, i like it a lot, but i can't break down the 5.5 L/100km wall. i don't drive fast, i try to be soft with the pedal, the indicator is always green, economy mode is on, but i stay there.
i have the model with the 15" wheels, but i cannot believe thisi can take a big lap. any consideration? i would appreciate a lot.
thank you.

Hi cinaski33;

Welcome to CleanMPG... :)

Can you tell us a bit more:
- The length/duration of your trips?
- How many Kilometers in the odometer?
- What pressure are your tires set at?
- What speeds do you travel at?

This car can produce great results and every time I have a chance to drive one, I almost always end my 10+ minute trips in the 3.4-3.8 L/100km. So it definitely has what it takes to produce great numbers... provided that it is well setup and the minimal conditions allow for these numbers.

Cheers;

MSantos

If it's any consolation, that's good mileage for us with our '06 Civic Hybrid. Our summer tanks might get down to 5.1~5.2, that's around town, if there's a fair bit of extended highway driving. More of the regular, stop-and-go short trips and the numbers will climb back into 5.5~6.0 range. Vacation driving, purely highway long runs we'll get down to around 4.5. Maybe.

With the around town numbers in particular, a/c use eats into it, I think. Also a/c is rough on the (big) battery state-of-charge, especially with lots of AutoStop, when the battery runs the A/C. On the highway A/C is not so much of an impact, if at all, since you're more aerodynamic (all windows rolled up).

well, i was wrong about the wheel diam.: they are 16" wheels
1- my trips are about 20/30km each one
2- the odometer gives back 8600 km
3- i don't know the pressure, i should check. (is there a suggested pressure from you?)
4- i travel at 60km/h about.
the way is extra-urban.
thank you.

Hi cinaski33;

The very first thing we HAVE to do is get those tire pressures to a good level. I suggest you start with a middle of the road and then go as far as you want/need to.

1- 20/30km should give you an awesome opportunity for good numbers as the engine will be warmed up in the first 1-3 km. The key here is to drive steady with the least number of speed fluctuations as possible. Use DWB and DWL often through the entire commute and you'll score well below 3.9 L/100km in no time. The other thing I suggest you do is keep the electric assists to a minimum and glide as often as possible. Also make sure that when stopping you keep the regens to a minimum as well.

2- Good. You still have quite a bit of life left in the oil which means the dealer may not have had a chance to change the oil and make a mistake with the oil weight or amount.

3- I suggest 42psi in the front tires and 40 in the rear as a start. Then, as you measure your results you may even choose to go higher.

4- 60km is an absolutely ideal speed. Getting 3.1-3.5 L100/km should be a breeze provided that #1 and #3 are executed well.


Cheers;

MSantos

Hi cinaski33;

<snip>I almost always end my 10+ minute trips in the 3.4-3.8 L/100km. So it definitely has what it takes to produce great numbers... provided that it is well setup and the minimal conditions allow for these numbers.
<snip>
MSantos

Hi MSantos,

This afternoon I tanked up and reset our HCHII odometer, then did a shopping trip. Then this evening we did a run from Coquitlam into downtown Vancouver and back, along a combination of freeway and city streets. Traffic was fairly light. 3 passengers on the way in, 2 coming back. I did my level best to achieve good mileage: driving with load, rolling up to red lights, staying at or under the limit, keeping an eye on the realtime fuel consumption meter, and just generally thinking light and fuel efficient thoughts.

FWIW, we have the OEM Bridgestone Insignia SE200-02 (well worn), at 40/42 psi (rear/front). I know the engine oil is Honda 0W20 (I put it in), and it's not overfilled. We ran with windows up, and no A/C (it's fairly cool of late).

Rolling into the garage the odometer is at 64km travelled, and consumption of 4.2 liters/100km. I know the dash display of mileage tends to be a little pessimistic, so let's sub. 4.1 liter/100km.

I probably could have got slightly better without the freeway portion, since mileage tends to erode at higher speeds, but I stayed at-or-under the 80 and 90 km/hour posted limits.

My question: With what vehicle are you getting the above mentioned mileage? Because you are depressing the heck out of me with your numbers. :confused:

...

My question: With what vehicle are you getting the above mentioned mileage? Because you are depressing the heck out of me with your numbers. :confused:

Hi Mendel;

I get those numbers with either a 2010 Honda Insight or an HCH-II. Frankly it does not matter to me which it is even if it is brand new or already broken in. However, the HCH-II will allow for even better numbers under certain conditions as it can leverage additional features the 2010 Insight does not have.

Nevertheless, 4.1L /100km is pretty good considering that you have a significant topography to content with. I, in the other hand, live in the prairies which helps a great deal. Also, in an urban environment like mine these cars really take-off in steady state driving (Mid 3's & SAHM) with frequent gliding thrown in.
So, producing 2.8-3.1 L/100km commutes in the summer months is not only doable but also very easy to achieve and demonstrate (as we often do for the locals on a regular basis).


Mendel, 80-90km/h should produce 3.4-3.7 l/100km with ease provided that your foot lets you.

TIP: Slightly higher tire pressures help a good bit too as does a well managed 12V footprint. ;)


Cheers;

MSantos

As you mentioned: one thought we had was your flatter Manitoba topography helps. There was a lot of climbing/dropping on yesterday's run, nothing dramatic though.

Our 12 volt battery seems to be healthy, at least as far as the indicator window showing red/blue. It's the original battery, and has had two signif. depletions. In both cases I was able to restore the indicator window display to normal, using some overnight 6 amp auto charger sessions. I recently opted to pull it out, give it a general cleaning and dressed the terminals and cable clamps.

I might consider pushing the pressures up a bit. At 40~42pis they're already transmitting every road imperfection, and I need to come to a crawl for speed bumps (which I hate, both in principal and effect), but maybe a few more psi won't make that much difference to the ride.

Regarding:

"So, producing 2.8-3.1 L/100km commutes in the summer months is not only doable but also very easy to achieve"

Groan, the ever lower numbers you keep tossing out...

I've got about 10,000 miles on my HIII. I was averaging about 45-50 mpg, depending on city/hwy ratio. I raised my tire pressure to 44 (that was the max sidewall indicated on the tires) and I saw a great improvement! Climbing a pretty big mountain (about 20 miles long - up and down the other side) I was able to improve my mpg by 6 (from 45 to 51). And I deliver pizzas at night, so with a warm engine I was able to get 55-60 mpg consistently around town. At half tank full, the MID is indicating I have 255 miles left to go! I don't know how to translate the L/km though, so I'm not sure how that compares...

Hi! You can type something like "convert 3.2l/100km to mpg" into Google and it will do the conversion for you. ;)

One thing I worked out for use with a calculator (or paper): divide either value (US mpg or metric l/100km) into 235.2, and the result is the conversion. I lately redid the calc for that, and I believe 235.2 is slightly off, but close.

Also, regarding MSantos' suggestion for raising pressures beyond our current 40/42:

On our last tank (the one that started with a 4.2 l/100km)we ended up averaging 5.1 on the tankful. Maybe a day after tanking up I brought the pressures up to 46/48. So far on this tank the trip odo's reading 5.7~5.8, groan. To be fair, it's all short runs by my wife, going client-to-client. We're going to be out on the freeway today, about 35 km's to downtown and back, for a free concert, I'm sure the numbers will improve.

Still, MSantos' numbers seem unobtainable to me. I don't think I could achieve 2.8~3.1 l/100km under any circumstances, even as a short burst immediately after fill up.