I can see why with the way the timing is -10 degrees..... My car is rather loud and I mostly hold a tall gear to not call unwanted attention to myself or wake my neighbors if I come home late.... I will have to use my scangauge to check that out and have some exhaust work done.

 

I think I'd be surprised if I got better than 37 mpg (my average since the start of April when the weather finally warmed up here and winter gas went away) driving around in 3rd gear on my way to work. I don't have a scangauge, but I have a year+ of tracking my mileage tank-by-tank with this car and experimenting with different shift points and driving techniques (plus driving other small sticks over the years too), and all things considered, I don't see the benefit of driving at 3000 RPM in 3rd gear down a slow street in town. The mileage difference might not be much (heck, I've gone through stretches when I flogged the car fairly hard for a tank or two and still only saw a 1 or 3 mpg drop), but the whine would be annoying and the jerky power deliver from tiny throttle fluctuations doesn't seem necessary. Should I also drive around in 2nd gear through residential neighborhoods?

 

I think the fluctuations and jerky throttle response is due to having the revs right on the Vtec transition point.... It is hard to imagine that you would be using more fuel at low RPM and small throttle opening.

 

I'm with you huisj. However, it is an "i"ntelligent Vtec engine smart enough to give solid performance over a wide range.

These FITs can be driven all sorts of ways and still be economical, but practical driving makes sense overall. I'm glad to learn about the engine my 2010 Sport has in it and to see what feed back is coming out of this thread.

I've been driving in high gear under conditions I've never been able to drive a MT before and the FIT just keeps moving along drinking $2.89 regular at 38MPG's. I've also seen it drink a bit more while cruising 80MPH on the turnpike. Think about it, for the high lobes to be of service my 2010 Sport needs to be turning in excess of 5000RPM. Hell, 80MPH=4000RPM... Only one way to do that - wind it out and drive 'er hard. The motocross boys know this all too well, and the Vtec has been a most popular engine with the 20-something crowd just for that reason.

Personally I'm not into screaming down the streets, but at highway speeds I'm not afraid to drop it down to find the power.

It is one hell of a little car and I just keep loving it more as we get to know each other.
K_C_

 

TC you driving a GE or a GD??

 

I have been in a GD since July 2006 but I do my best to keep up with the characteristics of the GEs as well...... Mine has become a mutation of what it once was.... I hope this stormy weather doesn't cause another signal loss on my satellite hook up.

 

I'm going the other way - GE trying to understand the GD and the Vtec engine in general. So your driving that 16/12 cylinder version. Is it something you notice? My guess on the jerky thottel is due to the DBW and gearing, but I really don't know. I always stick it in a gear that would pull any other engine to the ground and my FIT just smooths things out nicely.

I'm trying to rationalize the high cam lobe in the GE kicking in at 5200RPM or whatever insane point it is. Sure can't kick about the MPG's, however. I'm tooling around at 40MPG right now - that's local rural/suburban.
K_C_ Edit: you getting storms as well? I just spent a week in Maine and weather just kept rolling through - Northern Maine had tornado warnings, go figure..

 

I drive my moms focus zx3 in 5th gear at 35mph (at constant speed on flat), but the ford 2.0 engine is smoother and more torquey at low rpm than a 1.7l civic of that time. So 5th gear at 35mph on a focus or on a short geared fit allright, but on the civic, it's not the greatest thing imo. Anyways, if there isn't anybody in front of me, I won't stay at 35mph on a boulevard...

Unless you are at really low rpm, it's better to be in a taller gear, but the slightest acceleration or hill will make the engine force and need more throttle than in a lower gear. So if I drive in some traffic at around 35mph I'll say in 4th, since it's never cosntant, but if I'm alone on a flat road, then 5th gear is ok.

 

I think I have confused people about the "jerky throttle response" comment I made. What I mean by that is this:

If you're cruising at 35 mph in 3rd gear at 3000 RPM, you barely need to be opening the throttle at all to keep the car moving at that speed. It's difficult to smoothly keep the gas pedal exactly where it needs to be to be smooth with the power delivery; letting up on it just a tiny smidge results in a quick deceleration due to engine braking since the throttle is almost all the way closed, while getting back on it just a tiny bit causes a quick surge of acceleration because you are suddenly making far more power than is needed to stay at a steady speed. In 5th gear, at a lower RPM, the difference in power output with small throttle position changes is not nearly as good, and you are not tip-toeing that border between slightly open and "closed" throttle (obviously it's not all the way closed, but rather just at the position it is at for idling conditions).

I am not talking about flooring the car and feeling it bog down or driving it right at some supposed VTEC activation threshold. I'm simply talking about surges of power or deceleration due to the engine turning up at an RPM that is higher than necessary for the desired power output and driving condition.

 

What year is that Focus? Is it the older Zetec (2004 and earlier), or is is the newer Duratec (2005 and newer, essentially the Mazda engine)? I had a 2001 with the Zetec, and while that engine was definitely quite torquey and could lope around at low RPM easily, it wasn't exactly smooth. I even had someone ask me once if it was a diesel because of its funny sounds it made around idle or just above. My Fit's engine is much smoother for sure.

 

It's a zx3 zetec 2001. And I find it pretty smooth. Maybe that at 1000rpm it isn't, but from around 1600 rpm, you can accelerate decently, while in a 1.7 civic you cannot, and in a fit, more or less.
Quite reliable too, around 150 000 miles and there is nothing wrong (except for the A/C not working anymore).
And my mom's focus doesn't make any strange noise at low rpm/idle.
Try accelerations like 50-70mph in fifth gear, even if the focus has longer gears, it won't be much slower than the fit.

But anyways, I prefere to floor all the time with a small/underpowered engine rather than driving smoothly a "big" engine, for the same fuel economy/accelerations. I drove a geo metro before and now a civic 4wd 1987 (75hp for a ton).

 

I paid a little closer attention this morning and I realized that once I'm "cruising" I'll upshift until the engine is between 2000 and 3000 RPM, but I still don't even think about 5th gear until beyond 45MPH. I tried going 35MPH in 5th gear and I did not like it at all.

 

The transition is hardly noticeable unless you are driving with a light foot right at the point of activation..... I need to call Hondata to find out where in the power band the transition occurs since they reflashed my ECU... I haven't been behind the wheel enough since it was done to have any idea what RPM it is now changing over at.

 

I noticed something funny... My throttle control on my Element (which not only was a stick, but a much torqueier 2.4L geared like a Fit MT) became much smoother after learning to ride a motorcycle. My conclusion was that I became much more aware of the necessity for smooth throttle inputs on a bike, where the kind of careless inputs often made on a car will have you bucking like a horse with a chilli-pepper suppository. And that was after 10+ years of driing various stick shifts.

 

That' too funny....

 

automatic = regular people = better mpg
manual = performance oriented people = better acceleration

the manufacturers know this

simple!!

 

I did that last night... I tell you one thing... it's much different if you're using cruise control vs throttling it yourself and where you are.

On relatively flat terrain, using CC, I managed to increase my indicated MPG for the tank from 30.6 to 31.1. Doesn't seem like much, but you have to understand, I'm at 3/4 used of a tank (it's below the "halfway" mark), from 203 mi to 212 (almost 213). Which after some number crunching, comes close to 50 indicated mpg for that 10 miles (round trip).

But if I had to do that manually, I'm sure it would be much lower... as I'm sure I'd be frustrated by the insanely slow acceleration at 35 mph in 5th gear.

Sometimes, I drive "mix-n-match"... Accelerate hard, but cruise at a "low" speed (gears: 1, 2, jump to 5 at 35 mph)... or accelerate slow and cruise a little higher (gears: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 at 40mph).

 

I have no problem at all with the Fit's gearing.. if anything the little 4 cylinder needs it for the best efficiency. The only cars that seem to get better mileage with tall gears are v8 powered rear wheel drive cars.. because they have the low end torque to move themselves.

I'm finding as a I get used to driving my Fit that if I'm cruising at 55mph or below I'm in 4th. My fuel mileage has increased because of it. I find that using 5th too soon really lugs the engine.. but around here we have a lot of hills and mountains to climb.

Been averaging 37 mpg so far!

 

Coyote - Ever make that call?_