Ya reckon? Figured it out all by yourself, did ya?

sorry, just couldn't help it. Cell phone using drivers made me do it

 

I don't think our cars were designed to get optimum gas mileage at 55mph.

 

I think mine was. I drive 55-60mph (on California freeways; I'm a stubborn sumbitch), and I'm getting a consistent 44+ mpg with about 7k miles on the engine.

--Barry, 08 FS MT BBP

 

I agree with you. I don't have a manual Honda Fit, but my wife has a 2008 Hyundai Accent. I believe, the Fit & Accent, both manual & auto trannys are set up similarly, where the 5th gear manual has higher revs than the automatic.

I'm a feather footer & recently got to take 3 day trips with the Accent over 1400, 3000, 4000, & 5500 foot mountain passes. I got 41.5, 42.6, & 45.1 MPG. So slow & easy does it for your Honda Fit & our Accent.

 

i drive 50mph here in northern cali. and get consistent 50mpg trips.

 

doubt it. traffic is started by one car hitting their brakes for one second. the next car hits the brakes for 2 seconds. the next car 4 seconds. the next car 8 seconds. the next car 16 secodns. TRAFFIC.

 

Same here. My Fit is giving me almost 41 mpg after 11 tanks of gas. Mileage is getting better as the car breaks in. On the interstate I drive mainly 55-60, and I also drive my son from our house to his summer job in town, 3 miles each way, so that often the engine isn't warmed up to peak efficiency. I'm hoping my mpg's approach 44 and up as the engine continues to get broken in.

We Americans are fixated on being able to go wherever we want, whenever we want, and at any speed we desire. In my opinion, we need to remember who we are as a nation. We are a nation who rationed food and fuel in the 1940s to help win a great war. We are the nation who put men on the moon. We have always been doers and innovators -- not whiners. Detroit needs to tear apart Fits and Priuses and improve on and develop new gas-saving designs to stretch our ability to drive internal-combustion-dependent vehicles into the future as we adapt to new social and environmental demands.

55-mph is not a big sacrifice, despite what some may say. It's not rocket science, and it's an easy way to reduce our oil consumption.

 

Nek Fit – it is the mindset that current generation or two (X and Y) needs to overcome, unlike the baby boomers from post-WW2 (conservation and rationing, you say).

Those who are better prepared, more likely, will succeed sooner than later.

Damien

 

I think it would be a dumb idea. My Fit gets terrible mileage at 55 because there are no flat roads here. In order for me to maintain 30+ MPG I have to drive 70 MPH. at 55 I'm constantly in 3rd gear getting 18-25 MPG.

 

"Yeah, I too would be upset if I could only ever go 55 mph. All of the driving I do on residential streets really pisses me off because I have to go 25. Also, I want to get everywhere I'm going as fast as I possibly can, because my time is ****ing important. More important than anything else. Especially other drivers."

 

I have also modded my Fit with the all-season mats, plus a (drumroll) CARGO MAT!
Tuners beware, indeed.

 

55 mph sounds good on paper but not everyone will obey it. Yes your car or truck gets the best MPGs at that speed, but there are still people in this country think that the freeway is a NASCAR track. We should still keep the 55 to 75 mph speed limits because if you still want to go slow up here in Michigan the min. speed on the freeway is 55 mph.

 

Here's some data:

Did The 55mph Speed Limit Save Gas?

 

I could not be more opposed to a nationally mandated 55MPH limit. Been there, done that. It didn't work before and it wasted a lot of peoples' time. Time trumps money!

If my commute was 20 or 30 minutes, and a speed limit change from 65 to 55 cost me 5 more minutes each way, I would not care much. In fact I'd probably implement it myself just to get better MPG. But that much of a change would cost me 20 minutes or more each way. That's almost an hour more I would be on the road instead of at home. Almost an hour more of taking the biggest risk most of us take in our entire lifetimes -- driving a car. No thanks.

If they're serious about wanting to slow people down, tighten enforcement of the existing limits and perhaps add incentives for going slower. (No I don't have any idea what kind of incentives.) But don't force me to spend an extra hour a day on the road just because some envirofreak proclaims that its good for me.

 

I think the data now would be way more impressive. When the did that back in the 70's gas was what 50cent or less per gal. The $'s you put in your tank now just has way more significance.

 

Also keep in mind how much more people fly than they did in the 70's. I never thought in a million years I would be in favor of brigning back "double nickel", but I think it's a good idea.

 

Are you saying you have a 120 mile commute each way? (That's what your math tells me.) Think of how much more time you would save by working closer to home!

--Barry

 

Hills have to be approached in the right way.

Above,
I posted my good MPG tanks while ascending 1400, 3000, 4000, & 5500 foot mountain passes in a Hyundai Accent, which is geared similarly to the Honda Fit. I never was over 60MPG.

As you approach a hill that you will ascend, get your speed up, even a bit more than your usual pace, BEFORE the hill begins ascending. As the hill begins to ramp upward, do NOT lose speed. As you get to the hill's steepest portion, let your speed gradually decrease till on the hilltop flat, you are going a bit slower than your usual pace. Then bring your speed gradually up to your usual pace.

If the hill descends immediately, don't gain speed with your engine, but let the hill give your speed back to you. This is called flattening out the hill. This technique does not give you extra MPG, but keeps you from losing lots of MPG.

 

SCREW 55MPH!!! haha i tried this today and a stupid idiot trucker almost plowed into me like he didn't care if i died. seriously he almost hit me. its dangerous! on a positive note my the needle on my fuel gauge hardly moved on my ride home.

60MPH isn't too bad, but heck just doing the speed limit is fine. i like to opt for 60 MPH when i can though because i don't have to deal with passing most people and i can just cruise.

55 is nuts on the interstate the way it is now because it seems like all of these truckers are in the habit of doing 80 and everyone else just likes to wait until the last possible second to pass you. that annoys the heck out of me! its impossible to just have a nice cruise, unstressful ride. people suck. i just end up flipping off half of the people for being jerks.

 

Thanks for this advice. I appreciate it.

I just got 44.045 mpg on my last tank!

Seriously, if the speed limit was 55, everybody would go 63, and there'd be many fewer accidents and we'd save a lot of gas.

To Fat Ping Cat, I used to live and drive in PA, and I absolutely hate the traffic and road conditions in Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Good luck, stay alive, and don't flip people off as it can be bad for your blood pressure and your physical health.