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Comments
No more hybrids in the bigger cars. Honda has decided to go diesel in the bigger cars like the Accord. Cheaper and the same or better fuel economy as the hybrid.
Any Accord 4-cyl stick will beat the hybrid in real driving. The hybrid was not designed for mpg.
BTW I was wrong about my worse tank ever (driving in cold weather) that I posted earlier. I entered the numbers in the speadsheet and it was 31.9 for the tank not 30.5. I had remembered incorrectly. The 29.xx for my last leg in single digit temps was correct though.
Now that winter is here my lifetime mpg has gone from 34 and is about to cross below 33. My rolling 10 tank average was as high as 35.8 but is now 31.3 Parly from colder weather and patly because my 500+ mile trip on flat back roads has been replaced by a 400 mile trip with faster roads and more hills.
....anyway you look at it, those are really decent averages...........
You just might be using Mr. Smith's System of Space Cushion Driving (honestly that's no put-on).........
He offered to stand me to a drink long ago at a trade fair........
Aim High when steering
Keep your scan moving
Pass with caution
Leave yourself an out
Read the road ahead
He was quite a guy (I'd called him 'Dr Smith' - - - as I thought he was a college prof). I can't repeat his response here...................
season's best, ez...... (and those are truly positive fuel numbers)
Maybe he thought you meant Dr. Smith as in the guy from "Lost in Space" :surprise:
That certainly wouldn't be a compliment.
Anyhow, I continue to tweak my driving, but in the end I just live too darn close to work, not walking distance, not even really biking distance especially at 9:30 pm, but too close for a car to do very well. Eight miles is just not a good distance in an LX-I4, they probably need a little more time to warm up. It probably doesn't help that I shoot it up to 85 once in awhile to pass a big line of idiots all weaving in and out of their respective lanes.
Also, anybody who's ever heard of Minnesota nice is dead wrong. Nobody let's anybody onto the freeway and everybody rides up everybody else's tailpipe. Not me of course.
Well enough rambling, this is way off subject.
Reguarding my statement earlier on the PZEV's in ... greenhybrid.com there is a forum of several PZEV owners....all with the EX-L accord...several of them are getting high 40's for mpg....was wondering if urs is an ex-l as well? p.s. thiers are all 2005's
thx caaz
Just posting to say that winter kills mileage. Before winter hit I was averaging 27-29 mpg. Now 23-25
Still love the car. Just wish there was some way to keep the cold, but lose the snow. I hate the heat, but I also hate the snow. Either way I look at it I get screwed.
Just thought I'd share. Anybody else whose experianced drastic changes in mileage since the snow started to fly, I'm sure everybody'd like to hear it. Unfortunately this only applies to about half of us in the lower 48. I can't figure out who's luckier. The southerners with lots of heat and little snow or the northerners with medium high heat during the summer and lots of snow during the winter.
I usually drop from 29ish in my commute down 1 solid MPG, maybe a little more, in my 2006 Accord.
For some reason, my 1996 (LX, 2.2L Automatic, no VTEC, 177k mi) really takes the drop hard - I think it is because it takes so long to warm up. I was on my way to work today, having driven three miles of 45 MPH roads and five miles of interstate at 65 MPH before my car would "Lock-Up" the the torque converter, meaning I was running 3000 RPM at 70MPH, 2800 or so at 65MPH. Those extra RPM really add up when we're talking nearly 10 minutes of time. That car goes from 27 on average down to about 24-25.
One thing I've found is that having ABS is nice in most situations, but sometimes in the snow it can be worse than regular. The tires keep pulsing and you can't stop. The other day I was coming up to a red light doing no more than about 7mph and hitting the brake and the ABS activated and I went right into the intersection, with a semi coming. Talk about scary. I guess I'm still not completely used to ABS, but I'm getting there. I have been able to guage how fast I'm going versus how fast I should be going. Something a lot of 19 year olds can't say. Then again Minnesota drivers are idiots in the winter. They're rude and they still don't slow down. I know this because I've lived here all my life. I try to drive well, but I'll admit I'm still a little wet behind the ears.
Uh-oh. I'm rambling, I'm going to shut up now.
All this means is that you would have skidded further than you did with ABS engaging. ABS detects lockup - you would not have stopped sooner without ABS because there was not sufficent traction for you to stop without locking up your wheels.
For the 2007 calendar year, I put on nearly 10,000 miles and averaged 22.51mpg. Best tank (mostly highway) returned 28.51mpg. Worst tank (mostly city) returned 18.08.
Most folks could do better than me, I suppose, because this car is used as a station car - the worst possible driving, 1.25 miles each way, 10x per week, 2 out of every 3 weeks. It's also used as an extra car for my teenage daughter to drive and for when my wife and I are looking to keep miles off our other leased vehicles. I would think this car could easily average 24mpg to 25mpg in a more usual mixture of highway/city driving.
Like the car a lot overall. Drives nicely - good fun to drive combination of decent power and fairly nimble handling. Respectable mpg for a V6. Only regret so far is cloth seats, because everything sticks to them and I find it necessary to keep a lint brush in the car to clean the seats. It's a losing battle. It was a compromise to keep the monthly payment lower.
All this means is that you would have skidded further than you did with ABS engaging. ABS detects lockup - you would not have stopped sooner without ABS because there was not sufficent traction for you to stop without locking up your wheels.
No. Snow and loose gravel are 2 of the surfaces where ABS can take a longer distance to stop. Just google "abs stopping in snow" and you'll find many references to it.
As I said earlier winter mileage blows. Here is my first true sample, meaning I didn't put small amounts of gas in over an extended period. I went a total of 326.8 miles between fill-ups and used a total of 14.897 gallons for an overall yield of 21.94 mpg
With regard to antilock on snow pack, I'm convinced it takes longer to stop! I particularly hate it when you have one dry track and one slick track. The antilock engages and doesn't allow the slick wheel to simply lock and have the driver countersteer on the dry track to get things slowed down. Antilock is useful on high friction slides. . . . on dry pavement, sliding melts the tires and lubricates the surface to keep you from stopping faster. On snow, sliding can increases friction. I assume you cannot turn off ABS with the VSC button? Even if you can, I guess its a problem because I love the VSC function and wouldn't want to turn it off on the very surface where it is needed most!
Nope, you can't. VSA actually USES the anti-lock system.
ABS is nice, but like any other technology it requires extra care and a little more knowledge. I'm still getting used to it since this is only the second car I've had with it. Sometimes I think it's too sensitve if that's possible.
In those situations with some traction but not much, with ABS, at least I could have steered around something. Can't do that when just gliding through, locked up! :sick:
:shades:
It's always seems to go off at the weirdest times, when one don't expect it to, but that's why it's there I guess. Oh well, I think we're beating a dead horse. I'm going to stop now.
ABS wasn't standard across the lineup until the Gen VII model (2003). They were made standard on the Accord EX model in 1992, however.
Have you seen the Edmunds Model Histories? They're pretty cool, and very imformative. Here is the one for the the history of the Honda Accord.
These are a just a number of questions people will want to know before they can give advice, if advice is what you're after. If you don't want advice, but just want to make observations that's fine too. I'm just repeating what I've seen time and time again. Good luck.
Guys if I've forgotten anything, sorry don't kill me.
Happy Trails
I tried the keep it at 2,000 rpm driving style, but found I am more of a 3,500 rpm accelerator type guy. I used cruise on the highway and was surprised that it did not seem to down shift to maintain speed coming into Birmingham, AL on the rolling hills of I-20.
So far, a sweet car and worth the wait. Thanks for all on the forum and the hosts in helping me decide on a ride.
Speaking of air pressure, I took my car to get 4.5 inch nail taken out right near the side-wall :surprise: and to get it plugged. The main reason I went in was because that tire was constantly 5-10 psi lower than the other 3 so I figured it may be a valve stem, as I'd tried putting air in earlier that day and it wouldn't accept air from the nozzle.
Long story short, the guy plugging them said that you have to check the pressure when they are warm to hot, after driving, or you'll over-fill the tires. I've always read in all my manuals that you need to check them cold. Which should I go by? The person who plugged the tire was a mechanic.
That's why he plugs tires for a living. He hasn't a clue.
Since you mentioned that your tires may be that brand, click on the Inflation Pressure link at the left side of this Bridgestone website:
http://www.tiresafety.com/maintenance.asp
Your Honda Owner's Manual and all other tire and vehicle manufacturers say the same thing. Check pressure when the tire are cold, or driven less than a mile or two.
I could run the tires at 44 psi and would not worry about a blow out. What I would loose is optimum road holding ability in turns, traction on take-off (especially slippery surfaces), and tread life as the center section of the tire will wear out faster than the outer edges. By increasing a few pounds over recommended, I hope to gain a couple miles per gallon and even the tire wear from the first owner running the tires at slightly below optimum pressure.
Since it is best to check them cold is it also best to fill them cold? I bought a small compressor. About $10 at the Wal-Bourgh, and don't know if I should run the tires a bit or keep them cold to fill.
I guess what I'm asking is whether or not the pressure indicated on the sidewall is max. cold or max. hot. I hope I don't sound stupid. :confuse:
One thing I think about when considering tire pressure is the effect it has on the suspension. A rock hard tire requires the suspension to absorb every little bump in the road. Even a slightly less inflated tire (like the difference between 35 lbs and 39lbs on a max. pressure 40lbs tire) will increase the ride quality and reduce wear on the suspension. Perhaps this is over-thinking the issue -- but this is another reason I won't keep my tires at the maximum allowable rating.
Other than trying to squeeze out another mile or two per gallon of fuel economy, why would you overinflate your tires so far beyond the automobile manufacturer's and the tire manufacturer's recommendations?
Such overinflation is like driving around on marbles. Your traction and handling are heavily compromised, perhaps to a dangerously unsafe degree.
The maximum pressure number molded into your tire sidewall is not a recommended driving pressure. It is, in essence, just a safety warning.
More pressure prevents blowouts - remember the Fireston/Explorer saga. The underinflated tires kept blowing out.
More pressure = less flex = less heat (and better handling) = longer life = less chance of blowouts. Better mpg is a nice side effect. Some people go over the pressure on the tire, but I don't. I run at 39 psi on all 4.
And yes, the guy fixing tires does not have a clue. Always check pressure when the tires are cold.
For reference the skinny tires on my bike take 100 psi, and some go to 120 psi.
More pressure means shorter tire life for the center of the tread. Kind of like rolling on a very narrow portion of the tire where the balance of the tread barely makes contact with the road. Visualize a ball with a very small contact point. Also visualize a pair of old sneakers with unevenly worn soles.
More pressure also means much poorer handling in wet or otherwise slippery conditions. The smaller the contact patch, the lower the tire's ability to handle the slippery condition.
How does less heat equate to better handling? Facts and reputable sources please?
Less chance of blowouts? Facts and reputable sources please?
Oh well, to throw another vote out there, I usually run at 35/33. Gives me some leeway for an abrupt temp drop (some mornings are in the forties here in Bham, some in the teens. (PSI drops 1 for every 10 degrees Farenheit).
It also bugs me that they do this after I've been driving, sometimes long distances. So much for checking the tires when they are cold. :mad:
I will be brief since this is the wrong forum.
The center may wear out faster than the edge (never has for me though), but it still wears slower than the center of a tire with less pressure.
Stiffness of more pressure more than compensates for slightly smaller tire patch. Try going around a corner with underinflated tires - they will screech like crazy because they have no traction.
In low traction situations the smaller contact patch helps. Think about an ice pick vs a toboggen.
No, the heat does not effect handling, it is just another benefit of less flex.
Anyway the tire forums have all this info. Also a visit or call to tirerack.com.
The relation to mpg remains the relevant portion to this thread. Higher pressure gives better mpg.
Sort of back on topic - very cold here this week. I am really struggling with mpg now. 6 degrees this AM. My 10 tank average has gone from a high of 35 mpg this summer to just over 30 mpg now. Temperature is a huge factor (of course 4 snow tires don't help much either).
That's on chunky snow tires and cruddy winter blend gas here in Chilly VT though.
I'm hoping got see close to 30 in mixed driving come summertime.