Except for shifting into neutral at lights, I do much the same thing. When I was working, I could shut off my Honda Civic and coast a mile right into a parking space at work. Unfortunately, when I come to the end of my road and enter the highway, I have to go uphill whether I turn right or left.

 

Back in the 1973 during the oil embargo, gas stations had unpredictable hours. While on vacation in Colorado and perilously low on gas, I faced having to wait hours for a gas station to open. Alternatively, I chose to turn off my VW Bug and coast down the pass for half an hour.

 

It's good you didn't have to coast uphill.

 

First off, you have to really love driving and be willing to put a lot of focus into it. You need good instrumentation, like a ScanGauge or UltraGauge, because without good information you have nothing to pay attention to or learn from.

If you want the car to behave efficiently, you need to operate it efficiently- every time you hit the brakes, it means you gave it too much gas, mistimed the light, let yourself get too close to the car ahead... And wasted gas.

Not idling the car, not using air conditioning and shutting the engine off at lights all help a lot. Keeping your speed down helps a lot- the Fit is very unaerodynamic, so higher speeds suck up even more gasoline than simple speed numbers would make you guess.

Using a technique called pulse and glide helps a lot, especially at lower speeds- the bad aero really hurts glides at high speeds.

I helped out my aero a lot by blocking off the lower grille. It keeps things warmer, but I watch my coolant temp.

 

Not using the A/C is one concession I refuse to make. It's amazing how much you can drive without using the brakes. I once took a motorcycle riding course on a race track, and the instructor had us ride around without using the brakes. Much better.

Coasting and shutting off are good, but cars behind us don't share our need for high mpg. I go into town a 9:00 AM or earlier to avoid traffic, and it makes a huge difference.

Permanent luggage racks are a permanent drain on mpg. I installed a hitch - about 25 lb - and Dynamat soundproofing - about 30 lb - but they are worthwhile additions. If top mpg is your goal, remove all the weight you can - like seats and carpets.

 

I did an informal test of a/c use with my ScanGauge a few times and it really "sucks" the fuel. Just cruising on a flat surface at approx 50-55mph without a/c on, the SG was registering 61mpg. After turning the a/c on with the fan on the first setting, it immediately dropped down to 49mpg. I did this a few times at different speeds with the result always being the same.

In my avid hypermiling days, I never used the a/c or the heat.

 

Huh, I would have thought using the heat would have no effect on the MPG. Please explain what you know.

 

Back in those hypermiling days I drove a hybrid, which had an electronic HVAC system that was powered directly by the battery, not the engine. This is done because in a hybrid the engine is actually powered down much of the time (and in my case more than half the time). Therefore it was a constant drain on the battery which would then need charging from the engine, therefore no HVAC use. In the Fit, the HVAC system (heat or a/c) draws power directly from the engine, and therefore is also a constant drain on fuel efficiency. Additionally, using heat decreases the engine temperature, which is a bad thing in the winter when you're trying to maintain maximum engine temp in order to achieve maximum fuel efficiency. Therefore, I have not used the heat in my Fit yet.

 

I do a lot of short trips in my Fit LX but I have been happy with around 33 mpg over the last 3 fillings. But yesterday it dropped to 29. I have no difference in the way I drive. I almost always have the air on (I live in So Calif). I may have had the air on the #2 setting a little more often but not much. It has been very hot here but I understand I should be getting better milage.

I have been experimenting with different gas stations. The time that gave me the lower milage I used Shell gas. Could that be responsible??

I am way too obsessed with this. Is there no hope? LOL

The car runs great so no deterioration. How often should I check the tires. I have only been driving it a couple of months so I wouldn't think that.

 

We learned pulse and glide with a '07 Prius we had . Usually stay within a few m.p.h. ( < or >) of the posted speed limit . Not much of a lead foot , but not pampered . +

 

Visually check your tires often, but check with a gauge monthly.

 

Does that Shell station have ethanol in the gas? That might lower your mileage.

 

To be honest, I thought ALL gas had 10 or 15% ethanol these days?

 

Everything in California has Ethanol.

 

Nope, not all, but most. There are still some stations, where not regulated, that sell E0 gas.

 

Fortunately, you live in Wisconsin, where the winters aren't very cold.

 

Definitely!

As for ethanol, I don't recall seeing a pump that didn't say it had 10%.

 

Lol. And congrats on getting your ave mpg back to 44.............unfortunately, the colder months are just around the corner already.

 

When I rode a motorcycle in the winter, I used some electric clothing. Maybe it will draw less power than the heating system. Of course, getting into and out of the car will be slowed down a bit.

 

We have several stations around my area with no ethanol. There are websites that list them in your area. Here we go...

Ethanol Free Gas Stations

Find ethanol-free E0 gas stations

This is the one (below) I used. An it looks like you guys out west unfortunately have few to choose from.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada