2006CGPTSX

I did not know that summer gas really made this much of an impact on your MPG. I have increased my MPG by 2 MPG in the last 2 fill ups. I do not think that I have changed my driving style and I still commute the same way to work. A table of my TSX Avg MPG .

sauceman

I don't know about gas, but I know diesel does have a difference in energy.

BulldogHockey

I've noticed a similar increase in gas MPG, maybe 1.5-2 higher lately. But it could also be that I added around 5 psi to the tires and the engine continues to loosen up a little bit. I'm at 8000 miles now; car was new in December '05. I'm averaging around 30-31 for hwy and 25-26 for mixed driving on an 06 6MT.

waTSX

I don't know about mileage, I don't calculate it anymore, but my car seems peppier this time of year, and that runs counter to what you'd think. Cooler air is denser, and should generate more HP, but I swear the car runs better on summer gas.

UNC05

Is it possible that the summer gas, along with the higher compression ratio engine in the TSX, could lead to longer starts? It just seems like, the past month and tank, it's been taking longer to start than it did. It's almost back to the longer "cold start" that many experienced back in the winter, which most ascribed to the weak starter/battery that seems to be across the board with TSXs.

waTSX

I'd say battery. After 2+ years, mine seems to be getting weaker. May be time for an upgrade soon.

keg1997

My MPG has gone up abt 2 with no changes in how/where I drive over the past 3 tanks.

bradykp

would it have anything to do with the ethanol requirements recently placed in fuel?

LuvMyTSX

Ethanol actually lowers your MPG, so I doubt it has anything to do with that. 2 MGP is not much of a difference and could easily be attributable to a difference in driving.

Alin10123

Yes, summer gas gives you better gas mileage. There isn't that stuff in the fuel that helps your engine warm up faster in the wintertime. Thus giving you better gas mileage since i guess there's more fuel in the mixture.
I believe ethanol actually decreases your gas mileage.

Alin10123

hehe,
You should checkout my writeup in the optima redtop battery. You will get about 3x the cold cranking amps.

foolioness

Man... my mpg gotten worse... but the last time I filled up my tank was 3 weeks ago.... I only get 300 miles until the gas light turn on....

bradykp

by "lowers" you mean you get better mpg correct? that's what it does, and that's what they're talking about, i thought....."gone up" meant that it went from 26-28 or something like that

bradykp

my bad, it does make your mpg slightly worse. just much less pollution.

Ronin317

Anyone have a link to a good web mileage/cost log or something to download for excel?

Cause a google search wasn't coming up with anything but crap, and the stuff that wasn't total garbage was some trial only of a $30 program...

LuvMyTSX

Nope, not even less pollution. Look at the article "Ethanol: A Tragedy in 3 Acts" or something like that. It's on here somewhere. Basically, the EPA just picked ethanol out of a whole bunch of oxygenates to replace MTBE, but knew a long time ago that it was not better for the environment and reduces MPG. Where the logic is in that, I will never know, but now they are pushing it down everyone's throats saying it's the answer to our gas problems, when in fact it is not.

bradykp

actually, not only is it a renewable energy source, but it also has less CO emissions than gasoline.

http://www.tpt.org/newtons/14/ethanol12.html

As the number of people in the world keeps growing, so does our need for energy. Some energy sources, specifically fossil fuels like coal and oil, are in limited supply. Once we use up what's in the ground, they will be gone forever. Other energy sources, such as wind, water power, and solar energy, are called renewable energy, because they will regenerate over and over again as we use them.

Ethanol is one form of renewable energy that is becoming widely used. Ethanol is a form of alcohol that can be burned in engines just like gasoline. But unlike gasoline, which is made by distilling crude oil, ethanol is made from the starchy parts of plants. Most ethanol in this country is created through fermentation of corn. Microscopic yeast cells break down the starch and water, creating ethanol and carbon dioxide gas.

In addition to being a renewable fuel, ethanol helps to reduce air pollution. When anything burns in air, molecules of that substance combine with oxygen. Gasoline is a substance made of carbon and hydrogen. When it burns, some, but not all, of the carbon atoms combine with oxygen to make carbon dioxide(CO2). Hydrogen in the gasoline combines with more of the air's oxygen to make water (H2O). There isn't enough oxygen left to combine with the remaining carbon atoms. Deadly carbon monoxide gas (CO) is the result. Like gasoline, ethanol is made of carbon and hydrogen, but in addition it contains its own supply of oxygen. When ethanol burns with gasoline, its "extra" oxygen atoms combine with the "extra" carbon atoms to reduce or even eliminate CO in the exhaust gases.

In some parts of the U.S., ethanol is mixed with gasoline at 1 part ethanol to 9 parts gasoline to help reduce air pollution. No adjustment is needed for a car's engine to burn this mixture. Some new cars are designed to burn fuel blends of up to 80 percent ethanol.

Ethanol costs more to make than gasoline. New production technologies may bring the price of ethanol down in the coming years.

Another disadvantage is that a gallon of ethanol doesn't hold as much chemical energy as a gallon of gasoline. So even though ethanol burns more cleanly than gasoline, a car won't go as many miles per gallon.

waTSX

Ya, I saw that. The Redtop is one I'm considering. Do you know if any car part outlets carry them, or are they only available online?

parvo99

Gas in summer definitely makes a difference, and I'm positive it's not a difference in my driving. All winter I was consistantly getting around 270miles a tank, and no matter how carefully I drove, I couldn't reach 300miles. I thought something was wrong with my car, because I would always get 310-320 miles a tank before, and could push it to 340ish with careful driving. Now I'm consistantly getting over 300miles a tank, which was what I was used to getting.

sauceman

http://www.spritmonitor.de/