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I took a trip by myself from Fruita, CO, to Ft. Collins, CO, and back again, which is a little over 600 miles round trip on I70 and I25 On the way there, I did approx. 39 mpg per the scangauge and on the way back I did approx. 42 mpg.

Lots of DWL and DWB. DD when I could. Obviously very mountainous. Weather was clear. Some construction slow downs and traffic was crowded with weekend travellers and tourists. A/C used intermittently in the lower, hotter altitudes.

Kept it at 60-65 mph in 75 mph zone and 55 - 60 in 65 zone. Pretty good results.

I'm doing the same trip again this weekend and if wife and baby don't go along,(hypermiling techniques = pissed off wife + cranky baby) I'll see if I can do better.

I'll call it the "Continental Divide MPG Challenge."

Craig, 39 and 42 mpg are very good for the kinds of elevation gain you had. I find long hills hard on mileage. The mountain god is still Bailout in his Yaris.
--Walter

Those long hills are murderous on the way up, but then you get the wonderful mpg on the way down that makes up for it.

I've driven I70 so much in my life that I know it like the back of my hand. That gives me a built in advantage for using DWL and DWB. Add a nice semi or two to block the wind for me everyonce in a while and the numbers can really be stellar (at least for a newbie like me).

Yes, the down hills are great. My best segment starting from home is 166mpg for 5.7 mile (downhill), but the uphill is a struggle for me. I'm getting better though.
--Walter

I did the same trip again this weekend. Up and over the continental divide of Colorado and back again. Started at 4500 feet elevation in Fruita. High Points are 10,000+ ft on Vail Pass and 11,000+ ft at Eisenhower Tunnel. Ended day one in Ft. Collins at 4900 feet. Minimal amounts of city driving. Absolutely no A/C, which made things very sweaty in the lowlands. Lots of traffic with some slowdowns due to construction and intermittant downpours. 5-10 mph headwind on the way back.

Averaged a tad over 41 mpg for the entire trip. I chickened out and filled up about 70 miles from home because my low fuel light came on. The Scan gauge said I had 130 miles left but I didn't want to chance it in the middle of nowhere.

All in all I am pleased with my progress.:woot:

Hi Craig:

___You are not the only one pleased, I am as well! Great job with your Accord of all things.

___I hope you understand my frustration with some DriveAccord members now knowing Accord’s are almost easy to pull sub-compact or better numbers from whereas some insist it is back magic or there is no way that what you did can be achieved. Congrats on the great segments and this is only the beginning ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Thanks, Wayne! That means a lot coming from you.

I'll admit I was a little incredulous at first about my Accord's mpg performance on the highway, but the numbers don't lie. You really can pull some pretty good numbers with the Accord using just basic hypermiling techniques.

I want to continue getting better though and I still have a lot of work improving the city mpg.

Wow - that is great FE. Between you, Wayne and other Accord drivers on this site - you made me kick myself for selling my 2001 Accord 4cyl 5spd.

Although it was getting long in the tooth (170k mi), I would have kept it longer if I thought I could get 40-50mpg versus 30mpg out of it.

Thanks, SB; I think your HCH2 is a much better choice for FE though. If I would have known more about hybrids at the time I bought the Accord, I probably would have got one instead of a all-petrol machine.

I do love my Accord though.