I changed out 3 quarts of trans fluid in the Fit at 33k, right before I traded it in and it didn't look too bad coming out, saved it with the used oil and I now add it to my work truck. It uses about a quart every thousand miles or so, so why use new regular oil when I've got used Mobil 1 mixed with semi-synthetic trans fluid The truck has 215k on the clock and gets regular oil changes anyways, so I'm not worried. IMO this is one way to be "green" that makes sense to this conservative!

 

I used to see oil change place leave gallons for a person to grab for the same reason. I ask him and he said some will come for it. Oil lasts alot longer than when we change it. Using it in a vehicle that consumes some oil is a good way not to waste. Excessive heat is what damages the motor, knock and running the car hard while cold, cold starts causes the most wear over time.

 

OBC is now showing 45.6 mpg

 

That is great. My fuel trims are zeroed out and the ecu is slowly pulling fuel out. I just had a oil change and when I got it back the trims were near 0 compared to -4.7 when I dropped it off. I cleaned and waxed the car for winter and rotated the tires. It runs like I just bought it. They said nothing about the Ultra Gauge and did not unplug it. So either resetting the MM clears the RAM or they unplugged the fuse. I am leaning on the first.

 

The road trip must've really broke the motor in even more as my current mileage is now 44.2 mpg with my mixed driving and BP Ultimate useage Not sure if the drop-in K&N has helped but I'm thinking its a "slight" gain in mpg and perf, who knows but it will stay in the car until the K&N typhoon is installed in the spring. IMO I lost nothing in MPG with that in my Fit so I expect the CR-Z to perf the same. The gain of 4 hp/7 ft/lbs of torque will be welcomed addition to the CR-Z (should go up to 126 hp/135 ft/lbs of torque) and make driving it even more enjoyable

Too bad winter is coming, would be nice to see how much more the mileage would go up and I wish I was going back home to see what the mileage would be like on flatland doing 70 mph

 

You have a few things happening. 1 You started to use premium early and the car is advancing the timing instead of retarding it. 2 The KN drop in is adding a little more air which allows it to run leaner and producing a little more HP so you are coasting more. The 6 speed also helps and usually gets better mpg in stop and go traffic.

I am not looking forward to this winter. I expect the mpg to drop 15/20 percent on average. More in the bad weather and bad traffic.

 

I wish I could've just stayed down there in Tenn, it gets cold down there but not like it does here and snow, well, they get it, sometimes but it doesn't stick around too much

 

Even with the weather turning colder, my mileage is showing 42 mpg as of right now

 

I have using the lights both ways to work lately and with the storm I am still showing 40 average with the ultra gauge. My last tank after the oil change came back to 40 from 38. The old oil made it to 7000 miles before the mpg began to fall. I have been pleasantly surprised that the car starts on the first crank so that is saving the battery and starter.

I am having a problem with the ultra gauge reading the fuel tank. It says I have 65 percent but I have over 3/4 of a tank of fuel. I will unplug it next fill up but it might have something to with the cold.

 

Yeah that cold snap did affect my mileage a bit, also getting the muffler removed had me holding my gears a bit longer too, I got an actual 40 mpg and the OBC showed 41.1 mpg, so its pretty accurate, just like in the Fit. The MPG gauge in the CR-Z goes from 0-50-100, why so high, its not even possible

 

The cooler weather is messing with my mpg. In the summer fuel expands with the heated air and less fuel is needed too in the summer. The air is less dense. The extra engine load too adds to loss mpg. Heater and lights and longer warm up is out side over night.

All cars get better than 100 but only for a second at a time. When coasting my ultra gauge says 235 mpg on the instant page. It is possible to get 50 or better average under the right conditions.

 

My cold engine light goes out pretty quickly in the car too, so I take it the engine is warmed up all the way? I don't let the car warm up anymore like I used to, doesn't seem necessary anymore.

 

It is not fully warmed up when that light goes off. I think the motor temps is around 100 and or it went into close loop. Either way it take about 10 minute to fully warm up the engine while driving.

Snow and ice take time to melt so that is where most of the bad mpg comes from. People with garages dont see that drop but do see more fuel being used from higher engine loads from the heater and lights and slower traffic due to weather. It all adds up so no one thing can be blamed but you can help eliminate some of the conditions.

 

More people are on the road here in the summer, A/Cs must be used day and night the air is thin so more throttle is used to gain and maintain speed and we get less mileage... The one thing that does throw us off in the winter is strong winds usually in late Autumn and early spring it is worse but I have lost 5MPG driving north to Dallas into a head wind in my van and gained 7MPG on the return trip... There are times that the wind direction changes and you win big or lose coming and going.... Using the defroster is like using the A/C but overall we generally get better mileage during the winter.. I know it is really no comparison between the high and low temperatures between here and up north.. You guys are talking about winter tires and I have been outside with my dog wearing a pair of boxer shorts and no shoes.. Temperature is 86 right now.

 

I wish it was that hot up here. The weather here has 2 much of a swing esp this time of year. The deep cold is good for killing bugs though.

The higher engine loads of the AC and knock retard caused by the heat reduces mpg. I try not to use the AC but do on the Highway for a little while and usually cycle it a few times. I am used to the higher temp from being a truck driver and going in and out of the furnace(trailer). High winds especially cold wind does effect the mpg. The defroster usually cycles and I try not to use it that much, I just crack the wind a little even when its below 0. I learned that from driving cars with out AC and the defroster would fog the windows.

Like I said before that there are variables on top of variables and its hard to compare all the different situations. It warmed up today and my mpg went up. I am still averaging 38 or better and considering the cooler temps and the use of lights that is still good.

I did fill up with Shell Vpower and noticed my mpg went up to normal so I am wondering if BP is pumping lower octane in there tanks or just adding ethanol. Its a 50/50 mix and my mpg is over 40 driving 40 miles in mixed driving. My fuel trims are all over the board from -12.5 to -1.6. Have to wait and see where they end up after a few days. When I got my car my 1st tank was 38 and I use 2 tanks of regular after that and it fell to 36 and then I tried midgrade and back to 38 and premium 40 or better. My wife's car the fuel trims are 0 and she cant get 30 mpg, even with some highway driving on regular but its better than the 16 in the van.

 

SB, say it isn't so.....Shell V-Power, I used to run regular Shell before you got me onto the BP bandwagon....keep me posted.

As far as winter goes, well, I predict I'll be getting about 35 mpg in my mixed driving loop, I guess we'll see sooner or later, sucks!

 

Perfect Timing, I threw in a little over a half at a high volume Shell station. I did it to see if the nitrogen Vpower would help clean the motor and produce more power. First I will never quit using BP but I like throwing in Shell every once in a while. I notice when I mix 50/50 mix or 1/3 Bp and 2/3 Shell the power is way up but the mpg usually falls. On the 50/50 the mpg went up and the power did too. I expect it to fall near the end of the tank but for right now the ethanol is causing the fuel trims to richen up burning more bp and making lots more power. Kinda like nitrous. There is ethanol in Vpower because my fuel trim went from -3.1 to -2.3/-1.6, the 10 percent ethanol would cause my fuel trims to go to 0. BP ultimate causes my fuel trims to go to -3.1 most of the winter. If I continue to use Shell my mpg will fall and so will the power unless I add Bp, it takes about 2 tanks and it will drop to 35 mpg average. A negative number means its using less gas.

My Cat temps are also higher, As high as 1600 fuel throttle and 1400 passing compared to all Bp 1400 full throttle and 1300 passing and at cruise in the low 1200.

I have read that 5 percent ethanol is optimum for power. and that's about whats in the tank.

 

I got 41.3 mpg with my last tank of BP 93 and had to get my car washed at the Speedway and was down to 3 bars of fuel so I filled up with their mid-grade to see what happens, especially now that its getting colder. Its a basically a full tank, so we'll see how it goes. I do have that K&N drop-in in the car for the past 3k miles too.

Hey SB, you still think I'll hit 50 mpg in the spring when the car is really broke in? I've got a restriction already removed, my muffler and in the spring, so will the secondary cat, it too will "fall off" the car for added perf and from what I gather, more mpg's?....is that possible because of the restriction on the secondary cat? Also, the K&N typhoon will be added to the car as well...in the spring.

 

My mpg is around 37 with the the blend, I am going back to BP. That is pretty good still considering I have a engine that uses 20 percent more fuel compared to the L1.5. There are a lot of new variables in the winter. Engine loads, gasoline wetting of the combustion chamber and fuel vaporizing is different and a lot more.

50 mpg is possible with that car. You do not want to take off the emission stuff. Wait for the kits that have executive orders numbers. I understand why you want to do that but those days are over for a street driven car. That is why turbo and superchargers are popular, they work in open loop.

 

I am done with my experiment and back to BP ultimate. At first Shell raised the mpg but around 1/2 a tank it went down really fast to 36 mpg. Filled up with Bp and getting 60 average on the ultra gauge, I know its wrong but that's better than I have been getting lately. My car runs great and starts almost with out a crank and shifts better too.