My return trip from Gainesville to West Palm. 65 to MPH 1 sec or more drafting. maybe 50 miles with A/C and about 10 miles of around town.

260 miles
5.918gal
car was right at 1/2 tank

 

Just done my first tank 350 miles, 9.3 gallons, 37.63.

 

Why does my mpg suck so much? On average i get 260 miles out of like 9.1 gallons and ive had the fit for like 9 months

 

All this talk about 1 sec drafting (which I know nothing about), how close do you have to be to draft? And do you take your foot off the accelerator or keep it the same?
Thanks in advance

 

I was the one that started the "1+ sec" drafting when I was sharing on here how well it works.

BTW I don't recommend it when the host is NOT a large BOX truck or 18 wheeler that can't possible stop faster than you.

How that relates to distance varies with speed. How you do it at speed is look at the trucks rear bumper and a mark on the road. When they pass count "one thousand, two one thousand " until the front bumper of your car reaches the same mark on the road. You want to make sure it's no less than 1 sec. I like and recomend a tad over 1sec

My scan gage and trips testing this hyper milling technique has told me this:

1. 1+ sec drafting is good for 5 to 6 more mpg (than not) at 55 to 70mph
2. Never go more than 70 if eco is a goal
3. Greater than 2sec is maybe good for 1 or 2 mpg
4. less than 1 sec is unsafe and will not leave you time to dodge anything or brake safe. It's also a breaking a DMV law in most states.
5. If you can't and do not want to stay focused when doing this back off and don't. If you are day-dreaming and discussing stuff with others in the car, don't do it. You have to pay attention all the time.
6. You can get 44mpg in a MT Sport at 65 to 70 mph doing this every time.....

Hope this helps

 

Holy sh*t!! 'Sounds too close for me. I actually started shutting my engine off at some lights on my last tank and got worse mileage. I'm pretty close to saying F* it, I'm not gonna worry about mileage and just enjoy driving. My husband has a scan gauge in his Yaris - I told him recently that when we take trips we're gonna have to take separate cars (which will defeat the purpose of conservation) because he's just too hooked on numbers now and driving like a grandpa. However drafting could not be considered driving like a grandpa (maybe a grandpa without his glasses)

 

Unless you have tried it, you can't say that just yet..... unless you are sure you have issues staying focused.

 

Filled up today normal work commute
70% on freeway @65mph
40% stop and go 45mph
$3.278/ gal Costco reg gas
291.6 miles
6.582 gals

 

At 60mph, you're going 88 feet per second. One second behind another car/truck/whatever is a tad under 7 car (Fit) lengths, so it's close but not THAT close. It's only 5 of my '68 Sport Fury's lengths, which still isn't too close IMHO, although that boat takes a bit more time to stop.

Still, around here, if you leave more than 2 car lengths between yourself and the car in front, you're begging for some numbnutz to squeeze his H2 in there...

HF

 

Are you F* kidding me?? Seven feet is nothing!!! A good way to die even. My god, when I learned to drive you were supposed to leave one car length for every 10mph you were driving, granted, that's impossible now, (and yes it was a looooong time ago) but 7 feet? If he had to stop fast or swerve, your brain couldn't get the signal to your foot or hands fast enough - you'd be part of the heap.

 

Take a moment, have another cup of coffee, and re-read what I said.

7 car (Fit) lengths

That's 7x the lenght of a Fit, not 7 FEET. One second at 60mph is
88 feet. If you leave one car length for every 10mph, at 60mph you're CLOSER to the next car than you are at 1 second behind. Think about it...

HF

 

Ok, I've had coffee - a latte in fact, OOPS!! I certainly did misread your statement. Forgive my death/heap comment! Ok. You're right, 7 Fit lengths - not so bad (math was never a good class) Seriously? That's the closest I have to get? I am there! That now sounds like perfectly legal tailing distance.

 

Hey guys just continuing "yesterday's thread". Newbie FIT owner here (Base 5m vdp) but car oldie...'63 P1800 volvo 1st ride. Ya no wat ?
This here jazz is quintessential h.o.n.d.a. As in CVCC as in 1975. Yeah.

 

I have a 2007 MT Sport with a little over 23k. I just finished an experiment earlier today where I filled my tank till it stopped (87 octane), then I put an extra .10 worth of gas in it. I drove it for 375 miles before I needed to fill it again (80% highway, 20% city). When I filled it, the pump stopped at 9.2 gallons, so I divided 375 miles driven by the 9.2 actual gallons it took to drive me that distance (10.8 gallon tank minus 1.6 gallons left when I re-filled it) and I averaged 40.76mpg!! My driving style was subdued a bit, no aggressive accelerating and I kept my highway driving at 60mph max. In my opinion, this is a small price to pay in an era where a gallon of regular is $3.25 in my area!

 

Hi all,
Just wanted to post my first two fill ups on a 2008 MT Sport:
1) 32.8 (dealer filled tank, 279.4 with 8.502 gallons)
2) 34.2 (317.9 miles with 9.263 gallons)
I'm very happy with both and I haven't been trying that hard to get great FE (although I did take it easy for the break in, I'm just now at 762 miles).

 

Off to a good start and great you registered of cleanmpg

So maybe you can describe your normal commute and what your doing. It could help others that are totaly lost and some maybe able to help you, if you want better and are willing to change.

 

Paul & All,
I've got an easy commute: about 2 miles country road (55 mph) then 2 miles city (35 - 45mph with 6 stop lights) then 12 miles highway (all 65 mph) and lastly another 3 miles city (35 mph but only 3 stop lights). That is one way, so double that for a normal day.
Yes I'm willing to change and have been looking into some of the techniques on cleanmpg. I'm still having a tough time with the engine break -vs- coast decision. I've also slowed down a bit on the highway and I'm trying figure out the 1sec draft thing. I'm sure a SG would help, but not sure I want to spend $150 on one.

 

I bought my Fit justover a month ago and I drive over 125 miles every day. My typical drive is about 60% highway at 65 MPH, 30% country roads at between 45 and 60 MPH, and 10% city driving. I usually get about 36 MPG when driving in these conditions. My best was 37.4 and woest was 33.44. On the other hand, I took one trip about 260 miles with 90% highway driving at 65 MPH, and I only increased the mileage to 37.8 MPG. In general, this is extremely predicatable and right around where I thought it would be. At least it is much better than the Jeep Cherokee that I was driving before.

 

MT5. Read like the last 50 posts I have put up.I'm sure I have listed the stuff that will help at least 3 times now in a list.

Reading the SG Schooling will arm you with what works without the need to buy one. Feel free to ask and questions as you learn.

I'm sure if you do these things and after reading your commute, you can get 40+ easy as pie.

 

13K miles now. Never had more than 37mpg on a tank. My drive is 19 miles freeway (60mph speed limit) and 1 mile 35mph city roads, 3 traffic lights. I shift under 2700 rpm every time.

Worst tank was 27mpg from highway driving at 80mph with a full load over flat land. Apparently wind was at my face for that crappy mileage.