Beating EPA fuel economy...

[GasSavers_Hal9000]

I haven't put a fuel log together yet, but I have been tracking my mileage for the month or so since I bought my '88 CRX DX Automatic. And after my most recent fill up it became obvious that I'm substantially above the EPA fuel mileage by a substantial margin. My model car had the lowest EPA ratings for that year, (29/32 I think, but I found revised numbers here http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymake/Honda1988.shtml that put it at 26/33). But to date, I've been averaging 35-37 in the city and 43-46 on the highway; and that's been with a load of extra parts (even a spare transmission for a little while) in the back. I've confirmed that the odometer is correct on two long road trips, so I'm confident in the numbers. I do drive relatively conservatively most of the time, but I wouldn't have ever thought that it would make that much of a difference.

Needless to say I'm tickled, but I am curious. Is this a common phenomenon, or am I the exception here? The last owner of my car told me he got under 30 mpg in town and a little over on the highway; and I always thought that the epa numbers were widely accepted as being overly optimistic anyway....

[Greyg]

My Daytona is rated for 24 on the highway based on the new standards and I can get 34 without doing anything, 37 if I'm paying attention. Most of getting good FE is just driving smart.

[Improbcat]

I think most people on here are beating their EPA mileage, some by impressive margins.

For most of the population though, the EPA mileage is optimistic. Mostly because they make no attempt to drive carefully & conservatively.

[theholycow]

My '08 VW is rated 22/28 (24 combined) and I get 33 (at 40% highway driving) if I don't practice any hypermiling strategies.

[GasSavers_Hal9000]

Good to know. Thanks guys.

Like I said, it was a pleasant surprise to me. In my Ranger, I rarely break the epa estimates by more than a mile or two per gallon; and I drive that like a grandma too.

I'm really hoping that swapping to a manual trans and the few other items I have on my list will help me break through that 50mpg barrier. If I can do that I'll be a happy camper!

[bowtieguy]

in my observation, very generally speaking, most of the new EPA #s can be destroyed via hypermiling or even responsible driving.

the challenge is to beat the OLD estimates. when i look at a vehicle's FE estimates,i look at the old ones. this gives a better idea of what can be achieved, and yet still beaten.

that said, i put the new #s for my car in the garage so as to look better in "% over EPA."
why not? certainly that's par around here.

[Lug_Nut]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

that said, i put the new #s for my car in the garage so as to look better in "% over EPA."
why not? certainly that's par around here.

It is not only the prevailing custom, but it was actually requested that we use the new or revised numbers when setting up our garage entries.

[Greyg]

We had the big boys trip to Brainerd MN for the NHRA drag races this weekend. We took my 07 Town and Country shorty with the 3.3. We were not driving gentle, 9 over the speed limit (It turns out I'm not as concerned with fuel economy when we're splitting the gas bill 4 ways and there's drinking to be done) 4 guys, 4 coolers and all our other misc gear. We averaged 23.19 mpg for the whole trip. We sat in Minneapolis traffic for about a half hour and sat waiting to get into the races for about 45 minutes. I'm now very confident that I can get 26mpg (old highway rating) on my van, and I'm thinking with patience I can crack 30mpg. This was an excellent opportunity for me to calibrate my SGII and I was able to find the "magic" DFCO. Gotta coast for about 10 seconds and then she kicks in. I need to do some more research and practice, but my wife and I are driving to Maine this October and I should have a good chance to figure everything out. I'll have to hyper-mile stealth-ily with the wife along, otherwise she thinks I'm going to double the time the trip takes, but I've noticed that coasting and driving the speed limit doesn't set off her "alarm" as long as I keep the speed fairly consistent. Does anyone else's spouse give them crap for trying to save money doing this? My wife isn't a real b**ch about it, but I can tell it gets on her nerves a little.

[theholycow]

My wife accepts my various hypermiling strategies (including P&G) well, though I'm afraid to try EOC with her in the car.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by Greyg

Does anyone else's spouse give them crap for trying to save money doing this?

yup! she makes fun of what and how i drive.

since she likes racing, i offer to race, her car vs mine, MY rules...
we both fill up with gas and see who can drive the furthest.

the race is not won by the swift...