chuson

I used Esso (Exxon in US) regularly due to the convienence SpeedPass, 91 @ all time. Once in awhile I forced to fill in gas @ others; no matter if it's Shell V-Power, or Sunoco 91 (not 94); it SEEMS to gives extra performance to the car. It's not like boost but it's alot smoother, throttle response was sharper and my car make less noise too (The HFC seems not as raspy).

I still got 2X,XXX pts on my Esso card, probably will use it all and change to Esso or Sunoco in the near future.

peterjedi

Even though we all have a TSX, Is it conceivable that each engine can produce a different range of gas mileage?

The reason why I ask is because I have an AT and I usually get between 130-145 miles at the 1/2 tank mark. I am driving 70/30 highway/city miles. My miles average between 20-22.

The only time I get 30+ miles is 100% highway driving.

I don't think I am an extremly aggressive driver. I usually never rev higher than 4,000-4,500 RPM. However, I do think my driving habits could be causing my poor gas mileage. I can increase my gas mileage if I stare at the navigation system, but this is a pain in the ass!

Could someone who is getting 25+ MPG, give some insite on how you get the better gas mileage? I find the city driving robs the miles quickly.

Regards,

Peter

davidspalding

Dang, the site locked up and lost my reply.

Purely UNscientific, but in the 100 miles or so since I put 12.2 gallons of Shell 93 octane in the tank (on top of BJ's 93 octane), the MID mileage guesstimate has been around 29.5/30.0. Usually by fill-up time, it's reading 25.5 to 28.5 (over about 400 miles). Now, I've done more highway driving than usual since Tuesday, but I've also been sport-shifting more (lots today) and even yee-ha red-lined a couple times. 30.0 MPG. The engine feels zippier. And quieter. Oh, yeah, my hair's growing back. My clothes fit better too. I think my EDS is in remission.

Will keep y'all posted on this. I may switch to BP 93 though, since they claim as many high levels of midi-chlorians in their gas as Shell does, but BPs are far more numerous here, and the price is usually better by ten cents.

My answers for Peter:

• Use cruise control a lot. A LOT. I set my highway speed, usually no more than 5+ the speed limit, and make minor adjustments with the CC ACCEL/COAST buttons.
  
• Coast down to red lights well early, sometimes it's green by the time I get there. My original driving instructor (who taught me to drive stick in my MGB) taught me to keep my following distance 4 seconds or more, and looking down the highway 15-30 seconds. If there's a red light up there, I coast down from 1/8 mile away, and start breaking when I need to.
  
• Sometimes, when passing, I'll switch to SS, so that I'm accelerating in 5th. The AT loves to downshift to 4th at the slightest provocation.
  
• I don't jockey in traffic. I find a speed, pick a lane other than #1 but avoiding merging (slowpoke) traffic, and keep to it. Frack 'em all who don't like that I'm doing 70 in a 65 zone. :P They can waste their gas pumping and braking and pumping to find their way 17 seconds ahead of me.
  
• Very little jack-rabbit starting in the city. No gains, in the long run.
  
• Don't warm up. Car Talk guys attest that car engines warm up better while driving.
  
• In mild weather (65-70 degrees), I turn off the a/c on the highway. Flow-through is fine for me.
  
• I have holes in the floor that I stick my feet through like Fred Flintstone. (just kidding)

OoKrnBoi0331oO

To Peter,
A/C really doesn't make that much of a difference in mpg...so don't worry to much about that. However, like the above poster stated, DON'T turn your car on and let it sit to warm up. It's completely useless. Just drive it when you turn it on. However, when the engine is still cool, keep your revs low.
On the other hand, i do think that some tsxs really do have worse mpg than others. I've noticed it on the board, but i'm sure there's some sort of underlying factor contributing to this. I'd have to guess that it's driving habits.

Anyways, it's cool to hear that i'm not the only one experiencing better mpg with Shell. If only i had a Mobil near me, i'd try that too. But yeah, i'm doing great on this tank so far!

EXVeeDubber

Well my Wall Mart 91 octane tank of gas netting me 281 miles before my fuel light came on. Both my wife and I drove pretty equally equally so either my wife is really enjoying this car more than I'm aware or I'm not super impressed with the product I purchased at Wal Mart.

I just filled up this morning with 91 Shell V-Power so I guess I'll see how that goes.

On the subject of gas my father recently fowarded me this. I'm not a big fan of "forwarding" and generally delete most of it. My dad isn't a big fan of "forwarding" either so when he does it's usually pretty good or important.

I liked this.


This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy gas on a certain day' campaign that was going around last April or May!



It's worth your consideration. Join the Resistance!!!!



I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer, and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?



We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to 'hurt' ourselves by refusing to buy gas.



It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.



BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us!



By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.19 for regular unleaded in my town.



Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not sellers.



With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.



The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.



How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.



But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.



Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.



If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices.



If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.



But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!



I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) . and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.



If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!



If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!



Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!



If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.



How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days !!!



I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you!



Acting together we can make a difference.



If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

TSXinTN

I use Shell V-Power 93 octane quite a bit although not exclusively. 90% of my TSX driving is my daily commute (100 miles round-trip). I just filled up yesterday and got 31.5 MPG.

I was thinking about this gas mileage thing on the commute in this morning. With all the variations in driving routes would it be a good indicator to tell your average MPH in order to describe your daily drive? In other words, the more time it took to go the same amount of miles then you would equate that to more traffic thus lower gas mileage. For example, my commute is 50 miles one way and generally takes me 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete. My average MPH is 42.8. I would then say the closer to 55 MPH you are, the better your gas mileage should be. Does this make any sense?

davidspalding

True, true. Consumer Reports did highway tests with and without a/c, with windows open and closed. and found no immense diff' in mileage. A/c costs about 1 MPG, but they noted that the improved responsiveness resulting from driver comfort (a safety issue on long drives) outweighted the slight gain in economy.

Oh, the "gasout" e-mail chain letter. I won't paste the rebuttal in here, please just read it yerself. And please guys, don't post lengthy e-mail chain letters into posts.

Tips from my dear, departed mother (updated for the 21st century): "Don't pay more than $10 for something made of plastic, treat others better than you would have them treat you, measure twice and cut once, and never, ever believe something typed in ALL CAPS."

davidspalding

I think you raise a good point. My driving (style, highways, and distances) are pretty consistent one week to the next, on the weekdays. But weekends can be varied. I may fill up Monday and then Friday and post those mileages to fueleconomy.gov and here. I downloaded their spreadsheet to my PDA so I can record this for a while.

I goofed something earlier, this morning I'd driven 161 miles, not 100, on my last fill-up at Shell, and the MID is indicating 30.0 MPG. I'll fill up Sunday night, Monday morning, and see.

Tex929rr

Good one from your Mom.

There is an awful lot of stuff in this thread that just defies physics. And economics.

slickrab

I tried this on my '07 Navi and there is no Trip Info under Functional Setup. I guess its the version difference that also doesn't allow us to do the bysin's screen modification or am I doing something wrong? I noticed you have an '04 navi.

It would be nice for something to tell me how much fuel is left b/c that range tool in the MID goes to 0 miles w/ 4gallons in the tank and the "E" indicator goes off with 6 or 7 gallons in the tank.

BTW, mythbusters proved that "drafting" doesn't save gas nor has any benefits. (For those wondering, its from his signature "Officer, I wasnt tailgating... I was drafting".

davidspalding

Wow. My (E) light goes off with roughly 2.5 - 3.0 gallons left. According to the OM, the lights goes on (on solid, I presume, not on/off peekaboo as you brake and accelerate) with 2.3 gals left. I don't trust the MID "Range" indicator entirely, and usually use my trip odometer presuming 25 MPG on the remaining fuel (e.g., (E) light goes on, I guess I have about 50 miles safe driving range.

Mokos23

Wow, I tried V-power the other day and I got about the same mileage as I did when I fill up with BP Ultimate. I even feel that the BP Ultimate is a nicer grade of gas than Shell V-Power.

TSXinTN

Best I can tell, my '04 fuel light comes on with about 4 gallons left in the tank.

TRU_BLU

I know this is sorta off topic, but does anyone know what brands/gas stations that actually have 91 octane? So far I have been using 89 octane and with gas prices I don't think the 93 is worth $0.20/g more?

davidspalding

Different fuel tank? Different sump? sensor?

Mokos23, I imagine that Shell 93 and BP/Amoco 93 are equivalently high in superduper, whammer jammer, high tech additives. I filled up last night at a Shell to the tune of $3.60 per gallon, I think I'm on the lookout for BP stations from here on. They're EVERYwhere down here.

Tru_blu, for a time I was blending 89 and 93 in my tank, to get an average of 91. But I think the top tier 89s are perhaps better than the 93 I was getting at Costco. I may try that later this spring.

OoKrnBoi0331oO

^^ From what i experienced, BP is expensive with no benefits. I experienced benefits from Shell, but not BP and they were about the same price, about the same time.

To Trublu
I said this before, but the available octane generally depends on your state.

Fox137

I fill up at Shell as much as I can (Usually quite a few to choose from on my commutes to and from NYC).. usually average about 28-29mpg in the winter.. and 31-32 in the summer (80% Highway)... my most recent fill up (Shell).... I got 260miles when the gauge hit the half way marker!!!! I thought I might be able to hit that 500 mile mark at long last...................... but I must have hit some strong headwinds or something after that (I usually get 200 miles at the half way.. and 420 or so total).. because I just filled up 14 gallons this morning at a total of 450 miles....~ 32.1mpg..... no complaints since I avg b/w 75 - 80 on the highway.

btw - I have a 6spd 04 with ~81k Miles

jlukja

Just finished off my first tank of Shell 91 octane. 29.1mpg with roughly 30%city/70%hwy. My fuel warning light came on at 374miles.

peterjedi

What is your driving habits? Do you follow Davidspaldings suggestions? Do you drive a MT or AT?

Thanks,

Peter

jlukja

^^ on this tank I took it rather easy. I kept up with traffic but didn't race up the freeway onramps or tried to beat people at a stoplight. I do warm up my engine about 30 seconds before I start moving. I didn't use cruise control, even on the freeway there is too much traffic for that around here. I usually try to keep it around 75 on the freeway, speed limit is 65 so as long as I'm within 10mph the CHiPs don't bother me.

Egotist

Don't feel bad. I only get like 22mpg with about 50%highway. My best ever was 26 on a road trip with 90% highway. The guys who claim 35+mpg are full of it as far as I'm concerned.

liquidchrome

i've never gotten above 30mpg... even when i did all highway from pittsburgh to ny.
my average is 24 50%city/50%hwy... and i realized that mpg meter on the computer is wrong.
it said i was down to 0 miles left once (yea i was pushing it) and then when i filled up it only took 15 gallons which means i still had 2 gallons left! taht would've been an extra 48 miles dude!

Tex929rr

I pretty routinely get 28-30, my wife 30-32. That's a combination of rural two lanes and interstate. On the rare occasion I actually run in town errands it will drop below 20, but back on the road it is back up quickly in the high 20's.

In my car the AT keeps the revs a lot lower than I would with an MT. (All of the rest of our cars are MT.) We are taking the first big interstate trip this summer - I'll see what we can go do then.

zguy95135

I checked how many gallons were left in the diagnostic mode and it was correct. The rest of the tank was used by mostly 60% freeway and I didnt get to 15 miles on the range until 470 miles.

I set the cruise control to 65mph and the drive was mixed between flat and slightly rolling with very two large hills to climb.

spoiledkari

So, I read this thread when it was originally posted and actually laughed because I never thought that a certain brand of gas could get me any better fuel economy.
As I was needing gas, I noticed that the Shell station's prices were the same as the gas station where I usually fill up...so I filled up with some V Power. I got about 1 extra MPG on that tank, but it seemed like a somewhat normal margin of error. So...when I needed more gas, I decided to get some more V Power. I am pleased to tell you that I got 2 extra MPG on that tank.
I don't know if there's anything to this, but I'm starting to believe.
I'm just starting on my third tank of V Power so I'll see if things are still looking up in terms of MPG for me. Who knows...there might be something to this.

OoKrnBoi0331oO

Ummm...there's quite a lot of people here who get 35+ mpg on highway trips. It's very possible and CERTAINLY not impossible.

LuvMyTSX

I do the math myself every time I fill up. I have an '04 with no MID, so I have no computer to go by. It is what it is, and 35 mpg is what I got on a road trip a few months ago. It is completely possible and there are many of us here who aren't "full of it." Keep at a steady speed and don't try to outrun people so much, and you'll get better mpg.

liquidchrome

but what's the fun of vtec if you can't pull past an old grannie and burn some oil at the same time?

jlukja

^^ LOL, the little lady from Pasadena is probably in a 70's era V8 powered torque machine and vtec won't help you.

TSXinTN

Update
Just filled up this morning. My indicator light came on with 392 miles logged. I filled up with 475 miles clocked. 15.562 gallons at $3.54/gallon (Exxon 93). So I got 30.5 MPG on V-Power.

Was thinking about my comment earlier about having 4 gallons left in the tank when the indicator light comes on. I never "top-off" at the pump. While the info above supports the 4 gallons remaining theory, it would actually be less than that based on me not topping off.
Question: For those that top off...how much gas are you able to pump once it has shut off the first time?

TypeRS

Shell is great. I haven't noticed the benefits of V-Power, but I gotta love their 5% cashback bonus when using the Shell Citi card

OoKrnBoi0331oO - you should totally get the card if you haven't already got one

OoKrnBoi0331oO

haha I'll be getting the card soon.

Update on my new mpg. 32.4mpg. I just thought that was retardedly high, but I did realize i had about 30-40 extra highway miles than usual. SO, in conclusion, i guess you could knock off about 2 mpg and say it was 30.4 mpg in my normal routes? I also taught my cousin manual and he stalled alot. So...yea. So far...SOOOOO GOOOOD!

slickrab

I've had the card for a good 6 months now. Love the instant rebates. Just make sure after your 1st year to fill up at shell at least 9 times or else your charged the annual membership fee.

EXVeeDubber

With gas prices being what they are, 3.54 per, I can easily get 1.50 to 2.00 more of gas. I always round up. Old habit from the good old days. I noticed no difference at all on Shell V-Power. My best tank so far has been on 87 octane Conoco.

Someone else was asking where to get 91 octane fuel. Typically, either 93 or 91 is the top grade offered depending on your area and fuel companies in said area. If you have 93, then praise the lord because it's not available where I am...not since BP packed up and hit the road. Shell does not offer 93 where I am nor does Conoco. In some cases, I've seen both like in Las Vegas, a few 76's used to even sell 103 for 4 bucks a gallon a few years ago but typically it's an either or proposition.

godfather2

i get roughly 23mpg 99% city driving. get this, 20 mile round-trip commute to work and it takes AT LEAST 80 min =(. i've noticed no difference with shell or chevron or any other gas station for that matter

TSXinTN

Thanks for the response. I'll try this the next time I fill up.

EXVeeDubber

If you are going to top off pay close attention when topping off. Watch the fuel in the fill neck. You do not want to overfill and get petro all over your ride or yourself. I learned early on the hard way.

TSXXY

i've got to concur (mildly) with the V-Powerness. I fuel regularly at two gas stations. The Chevron by my house and the Shell near work. I have CONSISTENTLY seen better gas mileage with the V-Power over the Techron gas, and drive the SAME routes at approximately the same speeds with the same habits. Some believe it, some don't. I do.

carcrazyboy68

wow u dont see 91??? thats all they have out here on the west cost. i would love to find some 93 but all i get is 91. and i pay 4.09 at cheveron.

Simba91102

Seems to be regional. Here in Mass., the only stations I've ever seen offering 91 are Sunoco stations (probably no surprise since they have a history of offering a wider variety of blends). My guess is is has something to do with the local blend (basically due to the weather). West coast I think has always had 91 as their premium gas where as 93 has always been the norm here.