Auto FE - It's all about driving style

[Scott_in_Tulsa]

OK. I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to boost the mpg in my 2000 Honda Civic Coupe EX w/ auto transmission for the past month. My whole goal is to save money so spending money on major mods is just not an option.

Outside of boosting the PSI in my tires from 35 to 45, I haven't changed anything to the car in the last month. So I have been focusing a lot on what options I have on driving style. Obviously with an auto transmission, coasting with the engine off just isn't an option. So I have been playing around with my techniques and thought I would share with the group what I have learned so far.

This is for the newbies to this site. I am sure the veterans are all aware of what I am about to list. Most of these relate to highway driving w/ 65 mph speed limits.

1) Reduce Rolling resistance - bump up the PSI in the tires to help reduce rolling resistance and keep an eye on the pressure in each tire. I have two tires that seem to leak air very, very slowly when pumped up to 45 psi.

2) Downgrade Slope Multiplier w/ Neutral Coast - Accelerate quickly down the downhill slope to 5 or 7 mph over the speed limit prior to going up a hill. This uses gravity as a multiplier to boost your mph acceleration with less gas. You can then wait until you have reached the steepest grade uphill and shift to neutral and coast until you are about 5 mph under the speed limit and then add the gas. Be sure to maintain speed with the gas going up hill and not try to accelerate uphill. The less gas you use uphill, the better your FE.

3) Safe Drafting- Never go down the road at highway speeds without trying to be behind someone to catch a bit of draft advantage. Even if it is a pickup truck or minivan, there are advantages to this. Minivans are good because you can often see straight through the minivan windows to see the brake lights of the vehicle in front of it. This gives you more time to brake if traffic slows down quickly. If you can get behind a semi w/ box trailer, your drafting will be even better. I accelerate up close behind the semi (within 20 ft or so) and then shift to neutral and coast for a while. This helps a bunch but this opportunity isn't always available. It also removes the ability to coast uphills as mentioned in #2 above.

4) Side Roads / Access Roads - Most of the time, these roads are much less traveled. If there is a way to drive on these roads at about 10 mph less than the highway or regular route you take, that decrease in speed will help with FE. The trick is avoiding or timing stop lights. That all comes from knowing your route really well and deciding if it really helps or not. With these open stretches with less traffic, you can also add other techniques such as accelerating downhill and neutral coasting up hill. Drafting won't be as much of a benefit at slower speeds.

This is all I have so far but thought I would share with the group. It is so hard to find things that can be used for vehicles with auto transmision that I really thought I should share with the group. These techniques are working for me as I have been able to boost my mpg from 33 to 40 in the last 30 days.

If you have other driving techniques that also help, by all means, add them to this thread. I need more ideas.