Honda Civic Real World MPG

rupnok1

in my world a/c seems to drop mileage by ~2mpg...

pat

Thanks for the link!

shipo

Any time. ;-)

eldaino

but look at this shipo...does this count as a complete intake system?

http://www.knfilters.com/kits.htm

ruking1

The graphics you cite DOES count as an intake "system" for my .02 cents. Unless you want to stretch it a bit by saying the rest is just the mounting system!

shipo

Nope, those things do NOT count as an intake system in my book. Why? Because a complete intake system starts at the intake air horn and terminates at the cylinder heads, and as such includes filter element, filter housing, plumbing between the filter housing and the throttle body, throttle body (if so equipped), intake plenum, intake runners and fuel injector ports (if not mounted in the heads). The K&N system terminates at the throttle body best case scenario, and further upstream worst case.

Best Regards,
Shipo

ruking1

The net result is either way it is a waste of money, unless one is more concerned about the bling aspect.

shipo

Yupper! ;-)

blufz1

Come on! Be a man! If you really want to ram some air, cut a giant hole in your hood and fit a snorkel type scoop to the K & N. Btw, ram air begins to become effective at about 100. Other wise just save your money.

ruking1

Well I don't know, REAL RAM air is a super charger!!! AW AW AW!

shipo

I always thought that Ram Air was methane from the hind end of a ra... Nah, I won't go all of the way there. Sorry Pat.

Best Regards,
Shipo

pat

The folks hanging out in Gas Saving Gizmos & Gadgets are really looking forward to some input from all of you who are interested in this conversation...

ruking1

While the range remains the same-38-42 mpg, we have been getting more tank fulls at 41/42/43 mpg!!!

jefferyg

Tell us again what that commute is like.

I drove my 07 Civic EX to Memphis last week. On the tank up I drove 300 miles interstate and then about 50 miles around the Memphis area. I filled up before the trip home and it checked in at 36 mpg. That was in blistering heat with A/C running constantly and driving 74 or so on the interstate. On the trip home and about 65 more miles of my wife driving to school and back for a few days mpg dropped to 34. So not too bad. I am looking forward to cooler weather to see what the Civic can do without the A/C.

BTW, I filled up in West Memphis, AR, price of gas was $2.45/gal!!! I'm so jealous. :mad:

eldaino

ah ok. gotcha. I just was just wondering if you knew these existed or not. but its irrelevant anyway!

eldaino

Come on! Be a man! If you really want to ram some air, cut a giant hole in your hood and fit a snorkel type scoop to the K & N

be a man? uh...i wasn't planning on doing this at all...i was just wondering what shipo's stance on what a true full intake system is, i have no plans on doing such a thing...and if i DID, i wouldn't dare what you suggest...i'd end up looking like that kid on the gti commercial when they ask him what his huge hood scoop on his civic does.

'it sucks in air'.

'ya, eet sucks alwight.'

having said that, in the tuner world, putting an 'intake' on your car usually means putting on what i posted (the k&n link) there are some, called cold air intakes that go all the way down to the bumper and replace a whole bunch of stock parts...the one pictured is a short ram and usually has modest gains with regards to torque on the dyno.

granted, no one who really uses them ever did so for fuel economy.

pat

Enough with this subject in this topic, please.

k5ldb

I just brought home my new 07 LX sedan yesterday. It is tango red pearl which I'm told is good for at least one extra mpg due to color superiority. Anyway, I found this forum and dropped back to about message 650 to read all about mileage and found the majority of posts are arguments over filtration. Could we please have some more actual mpg reports? Thanks, and I look forward to posting my own when I've driven enough to make one.

jefferyg

Congrats on the new Civic. My 07 EX is also tango red pearl, but I don't know that the color is going to get you any extra mpg. Did you get the 5-speed or the automatic? I was surprised that the numbers for each were almost identical - that used to never be the case. I have the auto and so far it's given me a myriad of different mpg readings. Keep us posted.

k5ldb

I don't really believe the color affects mpg although I guess one could debate if the higher temp underhood from a black car absorbing and white reflecting sun heat is enough to affect mpg. I know you can put your hand on a white car at noon in July and can't touch a black one but don't know if that's enough to affect mpg due to higher intake air temp.

I filled mine yesterday to reset the trip odometer and get a baseline. The dealer reset the trip when they filled it prior to delivery but I don't know just how they filled it. Based on mi/odo it got about 33.2 in mixed use but that was only on 4.5 gallons so not enough to be very accurate.

My usual system is to use the A odo on every fill and the B to accumulate a half dozen or so and then calculate an overall figure. I find that more accurate than the individual calculations.

ruking1

Well more directly, what really happens is the A/C is (user) set to work and works harder in a darker car than in a lighter car. Whether it converts to hard data or not, it would need a side by side test and then the sample size would probably be too small.

ras314

Finally have enough miles on my manual 2007 Civic to get a pretty good idea of mileage. Ignoring the first tank from the dealer it has averaged about 43.6 mpg over 1110 miles, 650 hwy at 55 to 65 mph and 460 miles of short (15 mi round trips) mostly at slow speeds but few stop signs. Lowest tank was 42.7, highest 45.9.

I think the 45.9 was a direct result of watching the ScanGauge II. I'm still trying to find the "optimum" hwy speed, so far it looks to be quite low.

blufz1

Don't need a ScanGauge. The best mileage is obtained in top gear at the slowest speed you can go, 40-45. Don't lug the engine! It's just not safe to go that slow on the highway.

ras314

Agree that 40-45 in 5'th looks best on level road and no head wind, otherwise not enough rpm. This is a surprise to me.

Any idea of the mileage difference between 55, 65 and 75? I'm getting a stupid urge to take a trip somewhere just to find out.

blufz1

Be careful don't go too slow!! I would estimate 10% 55 to 65. 13% 65-75. Just guessing. It's the wind resistance.

jefferyg

I'll guarantee you if you slow it down you'll do MUCH better. I've already observed that. I also think the A/C is a really big factor. When I got the outrageous mileage in my new Civic it was on a much cooler day at leisurely speeds (nothing above 70).

As I've said before, I can't wait until we get some cooler weather to see what kind of difference running with no A/C makes. With the 100+ temps we've been having over the past week and a half, I've had to run the A/C on Max almost constantly.

blufz1

Estimate the a/c at 2-3 mpg.

ras314

I would expect the A/C to have a much bigger effect in slow speed city driving. I've only used it once so far, mostly rolling hills and couldn't really tell much effect. What does make a big difference is to not use cruse control in hilly country.

I usually drive under the speed limits at night without cruse control in my area, due to the animals on the road and light traffic. This results in considerable mileage improvement, from around 45 mpg daytime to near 50 at night over the same 100 mile stretch.

jefferyg

45 mpg daytime to near 50 at night over the same 100 mile stretch.

Dude, what are you driving? That's incredible - day or night.

I totally agree with you on the cruise control. I took about a 165 mile trip yesterday evening. I watched the tach and tried to keep it at or below 2000 rpm. I still had well over half a tank when I got home. However, my wife is driving the car to school today. She can negate my 165 miles of frugality with one 15 mile round trip to school.:sick:

A hybrid would probably do very well on her daily commute. The trip she makes each day is constant stop and go, uphill and down on mostly backroads.

ras314

Car is a 2007 Civic LX, manual with 1500 miles now. I would sure like to know how the hybrids would do on the same road. A lot of 15 mile round trips to town is what drops my average to something like 42-43 mpg. While not much stop and go a hybrid seems more appropriate for that type use.

2000 rpm seems to be too low, 2500 to 3000 works better to keep from lugging the engine with any headwind or uphill grade.

Any rate, I am happy with the Civic.

jefferyg

My car has an automatic :mad: (my wife hates a stick - and if Mama ain't happy...).

I was driving on 2-lane state highway a good bit last night so the speed limit's only 55. At 2000 rpm I'm running around 60 mph, so I don't think it's straining. I really think the big issue here is the A/C. It's so hot here right now, you have to run it wide open during the day and well into the evening.

No lie - it's so hot here, I saw a handicapped parking sign a few days ago that the plastic coating was peeling off and curling up from the heat. A friend of mine in Alabama told me that the plastic in the rear of his wife's Expedition was expanding because of the heat. Another friend said they got in their car at the grocery yesterday and the car's thermometer was reading 122 degrees on the asphalt. And sadly, it's actually not as hot where I live in South Mississippi as it has been in the Central and Northern part of the state.

So, yes, I'm sure the A/C is my gas mileage nemesis. :sick:

shipo

"And sadly, it's actually not as hot where I live in South Mississippi as it has been in the Central and Northern part of the state."

Geez I love living up here in New Hamster, we hit a high of 78 today with a projected low of 55 tonight, and down to the high forties tomorrow night. Talk about great sleeping weather. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

stevecebu

Geez I love living up here in New Hamster, we hit a high of 78 today with a projected low of 55 tonight, and down to the high forties tomorrow night. Talk about great sleeping weather

Is that anything like Cow Hampshire my home State?
It'll be good to get back there after almost 5 years of being away.

harvey44

I'm usually the guy with the higher mileage that the whiner don't believe - getting 35-43 with our 06 MT. Now the shoe is on the other foot I guess - 50 mpg? I guess I'd buy that if the touch was feather light and the avg speed was 50 or so. when we're getting 43 or so we are doing 68 or maybe a bit more.

ras314

2000 rpm for 60 mph with an automatic makes me really glad I have the manual, assuming we are talking about the same 1.8 liter engine. Looks like 2000 rpm is about 47 mph in fifth, 2500 about 58. Much under 55 in fifth will take full throttle on a 5 to 6 % grade. No way will it run 50 in fifth on this grade, maybe its not broke in well yet.

Local altitude is 5000 to 8000 ft, could be that makes the difference. At least the temps and humidity are usually lower than Mississippi and Ala.

As a kid in Ala. I can remember almost leaving foot prints in the asphalt. I haven't been down to desert country with the Civic yet, but over in Tucson,Az in summer I can't hold the steering wheel if parked with the windows up. Temps of 110 seem common, I've no doubt the milage will really drop down there running A/C full time. And yeah, I use a reflecting window screen, there just ain't much shade.

ras314

..."50 mpg? I guess I'd buy that if the touch was feather light and the avg speed was 50 or so"...

Yeah, I worked pretty hard at it, slowing on uphills, very light acceleration, etc. A few min. over 2 hours with a couple small towns along the way, so avg was about 50, max 65 or so down hill. Traffic was very light at 2 am, not safe nor very hospitable to drive that slow in the daytime.

Wanted to know if it is worthwhile to be this careful, also a little bragging rights maybe?

ruking1

For sure this is way good! Imagine what you could do with a diesel! 62 to 64 mpg is truly not out of the question!

For me, it would present too many opportunites for road hypnosis!!

Since there might be a perception of driving way under an already "SAFE" speed limit, I have noticed that a lot of folks that drive at dramatically lower speeds (usually in the context of speeds significantly lower than the flow) are in various stages of driving under diminished capacity, i.e., doing other activities while under the influence of driving For my .02 cents, that is probably more dangerous. Also environmentally the times between 10 pm-3 am are the times of the greater accident and fatality rates due to a confluence of risk factors.

ras314

Actually it can be quite dangerous to drive speed limit of 55 or over at night in most areas here. Middle Eastern AZ, Western NM. Some deer and lots of elk, especially spring and early summer. Ain't nothing like zipping around a tight downhill curve to spot 3 or 4 elk standing in the middle of the road to get your attention. Lots of cars and trucks with smashed up front ends, some serious injures. I think elk may fly right over something as small as a civic, but I sure don't want to find out! On this particular trip I barley missed a porcupine, the Civic handled very well.

I ride a bicycle for exercise and have to dodge a lot of car parts like pieces of plastic chrome, headlight glass and such on the shoulders. Also I have run across several stranded vehicles with broken radiators and windshields from elk. They really get depressed when the cell phones don't work and they find how far they are going to have to get towed. Used to be worse, nearest tow truck had to come from 100 miles.

I will admit to some diminished capacity in my dotage though. LOL. I like to think us senior citizens tend to drive slower because we've learned not to be in such a hurry all the time...especially with the gas prices so high.

ruking1

While I have always loved driving at night, I am sure you would agree that going the speed limit or less does NOT inoculate you against the factors that you will probably encounter at those hours.

Indeed the majority of fatalities (as well as accidents)occur UNDER 45 mph!!

kork13

Just thought I'd put out an update for people interested in hearing what others are getting... I've got an '07 Civic Si with just over 3000 miles on it. Just filled up today and calculated just over 29 mpg, with primarily around-town driving. This is one of the lowest mileages I've ever had, but this is also probably the most aggressively I've driven the car. Frequently taking off from stops, multiple trips up to my 8k redline, really testing out how well I can actually take corners (let me tell you, THAT is some fun!), and in general just having alot of fun driving around. So yea, 29 mpg doing aggressive city driving... I'm quite impressed with my little Si... :shades:

k5ldb

I just got back from visiting my daughters and sons-in-law in Austin and Abilene. Arriving back home to Houston I have about 1150 miles on my 07 LX now. I calculated the majority of the trip, filling when I got home. I did 604.8 miles on 15.52 gallons (having put a few gallons of the very expensive Abilene fuel in before heading back). That gave me 38.96 mpg for the bulk of the trip which was mostly low-mid 6x mph with some town slowing me down along the way. I'm quite satisfied at this early point with that performance.

jefferyg

O.K. I've got to tell this - especially after your near-miss of the porcupine.

I don't want to offend anyone, but I did think this was kinda funny. On the trip I took Thursday, I was listening to a news report on the radio about PETA being upset about some cruelty to animals taking place in Pakistan. Would you believe that as I listened to the story this huge rabbit (the long-eared kind, not a VW) loped right out in front of me? There was a car coming from the other direction so I couldn't dodge to the left and there was a steep bank on the right, so it was curtains for the rabbit. I couldn't believe it - they just mention PETA on the radio and WHAM! What are the odds? :P

Sometimes I feel bad when I run over an animal, but this particular one was sort of strange. He only seemed to be going half-speed across the highway, which seemed strange given that cars were coming from both ways and the asphalt had to be 150 degrees. You'd think that alone would get him in high gear. Do you suppose a rabbit would commit suicide? :confuse:

There is one other thing I've just got to ask: Does anybody know what's it like to run over a porcupine?

jefferyg

the majority of fatalities (as well as accidents)occur UNDER 45 mph!!

But don't you think that's because drunks tend to drive VERY slow.

ras314

Porcupines are scarce here thank goodness, I sure don't want to clobber one with the Civic. Or a jackrabbit either and they are common. I've seen these low bumpers with pretty good damage from them, sometimes you just don't have time or room to miss.

I'll probably be taking a long trip soon, it will be interesting to see how well the car does in more normal driving.

ruking1

Since that category is 40% of both accidents and fatalities involve DUI, the other 60% are not drunk!?

yeppo

Mixed driving - stretches of 55 mph but a number of slow/stop and go situations.

I am getting 35 mpg. Not bad at all !!! I have an Ody which was giving me tops 23.

filod

The new 2008 Civic Epa Mileage Estimates

5-Speed Automatic (City/Highway/Combined) 25/36/29

harvey44

Hard to see how those numbers are more realistic. Way too low.

civicdave

Own a 1993 Civic DX Coupe Manual. Very reliable and very fuel efficient at 37-41 MPG. Bought a new Civic with auto transmission on Aug. 8. First 2 tanks are 27 and 28 MPG. Some highway (25%), mostly city. I try to drive as gently as possible. I am transitioning from a manual to an auto. I live in metro Atlanta where we've had lots of 100 deg weather, so a/c is on all the time. I see the other posts with many getting 35-40 MPG. Should I be concerned about my MPG? Any driving tips to improve?

backy

Maybe try not to drive as gently as possible. My wife drives like, well, a grandma (no disrespect meant to you grandmas out there). She pokes along at 5-10 mph under the speed limit. She also gets about 20% lower fuel economy than I do. I drive conservatively, but always at least the speed limit (sometimes more ). I think the difference is that my wife always has her foot on the gas. She hasn't learned yet (despite my suggestions) that the key to better fuel economy is having your foot off the gas pedal as much as possible, and when it's on the gas pedal use a light touch.

Keep in mind that your new Civic is a much larger, heavier, more powerful car than your 1993 DX, and you are comparing a MT to an AT also. So 27-28 mpg in mostly city driving with the AC on all the time is not too bad, IMO. But I'll bet you can do better over time.