ceb

My commute to work is 36 miles. The first 3 miles are on state roads with very little traffic regardless of time, followed by another three miles on the same state road but with traffic. A few traffic lights through a small town then about 20 miles on a "commuter highway" followed by a few miles of no traffic and finally ending in about 5 miles of city traffic.

My normal commute is just at the very beginning of rush hour where those 36 miles take me about an hour to an hour and ten minutes.

Last Monday on a fresh tank of 92, that commute averaged 25mph and 23.5mpg (all per the in-car display.)

Because of rising gas prices and my habit of keeping my car fairly tanked up, I still tank up frequently. Last night the gas station near my house had the cheapest gas around so I refilled the tank even though I still had over a half tank.

I had an early meeting so I left about an hour and a half before my usual time.

Over the first three miles (state road, ~50mph) I averaged 17mpg (cold engine.) Thereafter it steadily climed to 31.7mpg (at about the 30 mile mark) when I first hit city traffic (still not bad traffic, but lights) finally ending up at 30.2mpg (avg speed 39mph, 54 minutes) before I shut the car off in the parking garage.

Bottom line - traffic reduces my gas mileage from 30.2 to 23.5 mpg or a reduction of 6.7mpg. Accordingly, with no traffic, my drive to work costs me $3.35 with no traffic and $6.11 with traffic - a savings of $2.76 per day or about $345 a year - not to mention the extra 1.3 days or so I spend extra each year in traffic.

01ITR

You have it all figured out, lol.

I get 21-22 mpg because I'm 95% in city driving.

ceb

I think it is obvious to everyone that city driving (and traffic) has a negative impact on gas mileage, but I thought it was interesting that I could quantify it with the other variables being similar.

This also quantifies the lousy gas mileage people get with very short (under 3 mile or so) commutes.

Here, the commute was identical each time - the only difference was traffic. I still got the same traffic lights (more or less)

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

our cars were meant to be driven (<== keyword here). unfortunately many of us work/live in metro areas or urban areas that have a massive volume of traffic which means we spend a lot of time in the car going no where fast as our cars (as much as some of us love them) drain our wallets b/c of fuel costs consumed while at idle or slow speeds.

ceb-you have a nice illustration of how stop and go traffic or slower traffic has an effect on our MPGs as well as our wallets. our cars were not meant to be sitting in traffic....they want to be driven and cruising on the hwy where they are most efficient.

maybe car makers need to make a car that is more efficient in stop and go traffic? oh wait i think that's the prius or a bike.

oh well guess we can't have our cake and eat it too. my TL avg 20mph and 18mpg with a slightly spirited Rt and Lt. foot. that's ok....it sure is fun though!

Ken1997TL

You'll notice a correlation between your average speed and your MPG

Just a hint.

TSXy Luster

Well ceb, looks like you need to start leaving your house at least an hour early from now on

TSXKid2010

~80 mile commute everyday round trip, and smaller trips frequently so it's not uncommon for me to drive ~100 miles a day, about 70% highway, 30% city. I get an average of around 32MPGs. but in traffic, i can really tell the difference as sometimes it drops down to like 23-24MPGs. Eliminate traffic, save gas, save the world.

iamitman

EVERY CAR SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF HYBRID. My next car will be as I live in the city and averaging 19.8 MPG since I got the car.

Ken1997TL

Our TSX wagon will get 22 mpg around town. Lots of hills, lots of stop signs and red lights.

Our CR-Z 6MT will get 34 mpg in the same circumstances. And that's in sport mode and having fun.

ceb

I was most surprised to break the 31avg mpg barrier at any point going to work.

Going home will probably be negative mpgs - but that is DC traffic.

TSXy Luster

Rode my car to nearly empty earlier this week, not intentional. The warning light was on, the range was at 15 when I finally filled it up. $70 later, my car was full again

On that last tank with 50/50 city and highway, the trip computer said I averaged 31.5mpg, which was surprisingly about right when I calculated it by hand.

TSXKid2010

Kinda off topic, kind of not, but when do you guys refill? I always refill when the light comes one, pay around 60, octane 93. you guys?

Ken1997TL

Same. When the light comes on.

ceb

I'm surprised at the accuracy of the trip computer as well. All my other cars have been very optimistic.

ceb

I generally fill up around half tank when I see a cheap top-tier or very busy station. I know that a few cents don't make a huge difference but it makes me feel good.

Living in areas like Colorado or being in emergency management gets you into the mindset of always having a full tank.

TSXy Luster

I generally fill up about 1/2 to 1/4 tank left or when gas is super cheap like ceb said. Only times I fill up when the light is on or almost empty is by chance or at the end of a really long road trip that I just didn't feel like getting out of the car after driving for 7 hours.

ed_423

wow you guys fill up when lights come on? i only done that a few times because im lazy lol.

usually when i only have a quarter left then i'll fill it up. last week i fill it up when the lights was on, cost about 73 bucks for a tank.

MrOtocinclus

I also usually fill up when the light is on. Last week I noticed one of my tires had much lower PSI than the others, so I went in on half a tank. Cost me 50 bucks. It was my first fill since this whole gas-price-rising thing has been going on. Ouch. Anyway, gotta love having an aquarium in my car again.

opboarding

I usually fill up at like 1/4 tank. Thats what I got in the habit of doing with my old firebird, since at that amount the tank only had a couple gallons. The needle would go down to empty when I accelerated and then go back up past 1/4 when braking. Made it tricky to see how much gas I actually had left.

MrOtocinclus

Yeah, well, I'm still not satisfied.

nj2pa2nc

The past few weeks I have been doing local driving-it is highway but with traffic lights-average 34-35MPH and 32.7-33MPG. With the rising gas prices I fill it up before it gets to 1/4 tank. I have only driven 1,700 miles this past month.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

used to wait until 1/4 tank...then started filling at 1/2. i fill the TL up with just over half a tank left or 3/4 tank since i don't drive her as much right now.

i try and fill up the MDX at 1/2...the trauma is a lot less on my wallet (21 gallon tank). i let it go to the light once, and filled up...over $70 and 18 gallons...ouch.

TSXy Luster

haha yeah, the shock from seeing a $70 petrol receipt is ridiculous. In my old car, I was shocked when I put $40 into it.

PyroDave

i usually have a shitty gas receipt. i wait until the light goes on, or even until my range hits 0, just for fun. and then when i fill up its like shit fuck. its funny seeing the gas attendants reaction(in NJ its illegal to pump your own gas lol) and they come around twice while filling up other cars like wtf. i usually tell them i have an 18 gallon tank now so they take their time coming back

TSXKid2010

Yeah, I fill up the TSX and burn $60 when it used to be like $50...at least it's not like my parent's GMC Yukon XL....that car hasn't seen a full tank for a while since the pump shits off at $100 LOL

MoaarLow

how are you guys getting 25-30 mpg !!

I just filled today.Intentionally let my light go on. Filled up with $67!! 15.8 gallons
and my MPG was 21.4 !! Thats more than 50% HW !!!

My only street commute is from the highway exit to work/home and back

ed_423

haha i have yet to let someone else pump my gas

TSXy Luster

How many miles can the car still go after it says 0?

euphemism?

TrojanTSX

1. What gas are you buying?
2. Are you having a little fun with the car??
3. Calculation correct???

KillerG

anyone use any hypermiling techniques that actually work?

Ken1997TL

65 mph, NO cruise control, A/C on as needed.

34 PSI on all tires when cold.

Not much else you can do.

KillerG

65 the definite gold standard?

70? no?

is 34 the recommended on all tires? thats not the stock recommended is it?

Cruise is dangerous for me personally, less involvement makes me start getting sleep on long distance cruises

Ken1997TL

Well you could do even better at 45 or 50 mph, but most flat, straight roads won't let you go that slow

I'm not sure what the stock PSI is, I'm too lazy to go out and look at the moment I'd guess 30 to 32 psi.

PyroDave

legally no choice here, but i mean, what does it matter? can't really fuck up putting it in the hole(unless you're sjoe or ed)

on one of my older cars, it actually told you the range you had in the reserve after you hit 0 in the regular tank, but my TSX doesn't do that. you got about 1-2 gallons. so it depends on your driving. stop and go traffic? i wouldn't fuck with that orange light lol. i freaked out while stuck on the FDR in NY cause you never know how long that lasts. i've driven a decent amount on the turnpike after 0. about 20-30 miles going 70 with no traffic. and i still never got an 18.5gallon fill. i've always wanted to test it out hahaha. easiest way to check how much gallons are left is to hit 0, then immediately fuel the car. 18.5-your fill=reserve tank

also, funtime

nj2pa2nc

If you get gasoline at gas stations in either Oregon or new jersey you will. After living in jersey most of my life I am used to it. Have also been in Oregon. Had a fillup there before entering ca.

ceb

Some towns in MA (and I'm sure in other states) have similar laws. In MA it was intended to support smaller dealers by equalizing personnel costs. When I lived in MA, my little town (with that laws) had lower gas prices than surrounding towns without those laws and NJ has traditionally had lower gas prices than surrounding states - but for different reasons.

Acura_Dude

That still cracks me up that in NJ you can't legally pump your own gas.If I ever had to drive up to NJ i'd feel like i was in one of those Straight Talk commercials advertising the android. I'd feel wealthy. "Baby, i'll be home in a bit. This nice man is filling my car up for me. I guess they mistakened me for a celebrity. Oh dinner? Hell yeah girl, I'm all about pasta night!"

I wonder if they'll ever let people pump their own gas one day. Must be nice.


Didn't know that. I still think it's ridiculous to have a law where you can't pump your gas. But at todays prices who'd want too? Which I sure expect gas to more the double in the next 10-20 yrs.My 5 month old will be driving then. I need to take an ibuprofen jus thinkin about that. "Dad I need gas. let me borrrow $200 to fill my Honda up." "WTF?! Back in my day gas was only $3-4/gal! You need to quit driving so much! You're car gets 80mpg and you're always driving. That car better not move unless there's an emergency, school, or work. Your little ugly boyfriend can drive to see you." lol

The stuff i think about.

benben01

Like ceb, I used to make the same commute daily. Each way to work was about 36 miles and with errands I would average 100+ miles a day. My avg MPG with 19" wheels was ~28 mpg and I always fill up at my neighborhood Sunoco for the sake of consistency. In heavy traffic, my average goes down to the 25 mpg. On an interesting side note, we were stuck in a 3 hour bumper to bumper crawl yesterday on I-95 in northern Virginia. The 280 miles drive to Raleigh, NC from MD in the MDX with all the kids and a couple of rest stops, we managed to avg 19.3 MPG. My avg speed was about 10mph higher than the posted speed limit with cruise control set at no higher than 80mph.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^the MDX is real surprising to the MPGs on the hwy isn't it? we did a 1200 mi round trip in the MDX last summer...avg almost 24mpgs at avg speed of 60-65 mph (crusied at 70-75 a lot of the time) going up, coming back we avg about 22-23 mpgs with 2 of the 10 hours sitting in crawling traffic. loaded with gear, hitch rack with two bikes and two adults. once the MDX gets to speed on the hwy the MPGs get up there. the highest i thinki've seen on my MDX is about 25 mpg (strictly hwy).

there is a huge correlation between MPGs and avg MPH.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/gas-mileage-graphic-updated-851032/

a 3G TL member had some time on his hands and put his MPGs vs avg MPH in a graphic. it's interesting.

benben01

This is our first significant trip in the MDX since we bought it new last year. I am hoping to get 22+ mpg on our drive home without being stuck in traffic. That graph totally makes sense. The highest MPG is usually obtained at the lower range of the MPH in the over drive gear. In most cases 5 or 6 speed transmissions, that optimal MPG is 45-50 mph. To satisfy my OCD urges, I had the MDX washed, cleaned and tires inflated to 36 psi before we hit the road. Every time my wife messes with the climate control which triggers the AC compressor, I would cringe...