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I figured this might be interesting for those that are trying to get the most out of every dollar they spend on gas. I started experimenting with driving efficiently and I learned the following so far:
These are only a few things that I tested so far, though feel free to put in your input as well.
I decided to put some of these to the test, and I decided to go on a total of 240 mile drive (10% city, 90% highway, 120 miles each way). Going both ways I used 70 MPH speed with Adaptive Cruise Control on. I experienced about 5 min of 10-20 MPH average traffic each way, and occasional drivers that jumped in front of me and messed with cruise control since the car braked automatically. Also, I took a road that has a fair amount of climbing up hills and cruising down hills. 1500 feet difference in climbing and cruising down. I averaged around 60mph going up hills. Stock 17 inch tires were around 32-33 psi, and I was using 91 Premium gas from Valero Gas station.
Here are my results:
Please share you experience as well and your thoughts.
Only me in the car Driving for 20 minutes on the 210 freeway in SoCal, no traffic, going betweeen 75-85 MPH. It's unbelievable lol. I have 225/40 18 Tires and they were at 38 psi. Sun roof tilted open, all other windows closed, AC ON in the middle. I have about 75-100 lbs in the trunk because of my 12" sub-woofer, sub-woofer box and amplifier.
Ok, we'll this is what confuses me. What leads to better milage. Sometimes people say they go a certain speed and it goes against all the so called fuel economy saving techniques, but then end up with better milage. I guess it also has to do with road condition, number of hills. Weather the drive is mainly downhills or uphills. I remember driving from Big Sur a while back and I was so low on gas I just let the car roll down the hill without touching the pedal and for a bit it ended up going up to 112mpg. Of course the moment I started pushing gas again it dropped.
Best I've done on a full tank is about 36-38.
Mixed driving, all D, 50% CC at 75 with 25% LA traffic. Average apeed on tank 40-45mph
That's including a mileage reset at the pump.
I have noticed though, most times if I just take my measured mileage and divide it by the actual amount of fuel I fill up with. My MPG measures higher then the computer estimator says.
Just took my brand new '16 ILX on it's first baby road trip from Austin to Dallas this weekend. On the way there, I averaged 40 mpg. The way back was a bit lower at around 35.
I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, just set cruise control between 65-75 and let it do it's thing. Traffic was pretty light the whole way, and I kept the AC around 75. The temp outside was mid 90s.
I can't believe that I'm actually responding to this thread about what everyone should know already, but here are a few things that haven't been mentioned:
Drive like you have no brake pedal. Anticipate needing to stop or slow down and modulate the gas accordingly.
Actually, the speed at which you can achieve the best mileage is around 40mph. That isn't a "reasonable" speed on highways which is the reason the national speed limit was set at 55 during the gas crisis. 55 was picked because anything over that really increases gas consumption measurably.
In short, driving smoothly is the key to saving gas and remember, for every 6miles you go over 110mph, your blood pressure increases by 10 points.
Oh, and "drafting" (going closely behind another car in order to save gas) is dangerous and isn't recommended by anyone but the most experienced and hardcore hypermiler. In order to actually see any measurable results you need to be tailgating. Mythbusters did a segment on this.
In an ideal world and for the best mileage only (regardless of the fact that any tiny mistake on the part of either driver will kill you), you want a semi to be tailgating you - very closely. That will give you some insane gas mileage but you would have to be insane to try it.
First of all, any discussion of fuel consumption is meaningless if the elevation factor is present: you will always burn more gas going from Point A to Point B if Point B is at a higher elevation because you have to work against the gravity. So if you want to measure the fuel consumption, make sure that the end points of your route are at approximately same elevation. Some moderate hills and valleys in between are ok though.
In general (and here I agree with the original post), you can make a few simple changes in your driving style that will significantly boost your mpg. In order of importance, they are:
1) Drive at lower speed - typically 65 mph or less. At higher speed, you burn a substantial portion of your fuel to simply push air out of the way, which is a total waste.
2) Turn off A/C (fan only is ok);
3) Turn on cruise control, or at least keep the speed very steady and avoid braking;
4) Make sure all tires are inflated to the same pressure. Using pressure slightly higher than the specified 32 mpg is ok.
The fuel consumption also seems to improve during the first 20-30 minutes of highway driving. I think this may have to do with the tires warming up. Warmer temperatures also boost mpg quite a bit because you have less dense air to push through. Having a nearly empty fuel tank helps too.
I have a 2015 TLX 2.4L, which basically has the same engine as ILX, but possibly a better transmission. To get to mid-40's mpg, I need to stay on a cruise control at 65 mph and kill the A/C. To get into the 50's, I need to additionally drop the speed to 55 mph, have well balanced tires (in my case, the pressure is 34-35 psi when fully warmed up), and drive in warm weather (80F or higher). My personal best was 55.8 mpg. Feel free to try it and let me know.
First of all, any discussion of fuel consumption is meaningless if the elevation factor is present: you will always burn more gas going from Point A to Point B if Point B is at a higher elevation because you have to work against the gravity. So if you want to measure the fuel consumption, make sure that the end points of your route are at approximately same elevation. Some moderate hills and valleys in between are ok though.
In general (and here I agree with the original post), you can make a few simple changes in your driving style that will significantly boost your mpg. In order of importance, they are:
1) Drive at lower speed - typically 65 mph or less. At higher speed, you burn a substantial portion of your fuel to simply push air out of the way, which is a total waste.
2) Turn off A/C (fan only is ok);
3) Turn on cruise control, or at least keep the speed very steady and avoid braking;
4) Make sure all tires are inflated to the same pressure. Using pressure slightly higher than the specified 32 mpg is ok.
The fuel consumption also seems to improve during the first 20-30 minutes of highway driving. I think this may have to do with the tires warming up. Warmer temperatures also boost mpg quite a bit because you have less dense air to push through. Having a nearly empty fuel tank helps too.
I have a 2015 TLX 2.4L, which basically has the same engine as ILX, but possibly a better transmission. To get to mid-40's mpg, I need to stay on a cruise control at 65 mph and kill the A/C. To get into the 50's, I need to additionally drop the speed to 55 mph, have well balanced tires (in my case, the pressure is 34-35 psi when fully warmed up), and drive in warm weather (80F or higher). My personal best was 55.8 mpg. Feel free to try it and let me know.
Good observations, and wow, 55.8mpg, that's impressive.
I just did a 140 mile trip trying to help my girlfriend move her stuff. Mind that I had my whole car filled with her things, so that added extra 40-50 pounds. My tank was 3/4 full. I used AC, and I hit a bit of traffic, though since I was in the front and my girlfriend was following me with a U-Haul, i stuck to only going 55mph to 65mph, sometimes hitting 70mph when we were going around semi's that were going very slow. I managed to get up to 44.5mpg on that trip. This is my personal best, though I bet I could have done better if my car would have been empty, would have been down to less than half a tank of gas, turned off the AC, and would have driven without the traffic part.
I have a 2013 ilx how do i show my trip computer, or is that not on my car? I usually get around 32mpg since i live close to a school so much traffic and many street lights here
I figured this might be interesting for those that are trying to get the most out of every dollar they spend on gas. I started experimenting with driving efficiently and I learned the following so far:
These are only a few things that I tested so far, though feel free to put in your input as well.
I decided to put some of these to the test, and I decided to go on a total of 240 mile drive (10% city, 90% highway, 120 miles each way). Going both ways I used 70 MPH speed with Adaptive Cruise Control on. I experienced about 5 min of 10-20 MPH average traffic each way, and occasional drivers that jumped in front of me and messed with cruise control since the car braked automatically. Also, I took a road that has a fair amount of climbing up hills and cruising down hills. 1500 feet difference in climbing and cruising down. I averaged around 60mph going up hills. Stock 17 inch tires were around 32-33 psi, and I was using 91 Premium gas from Valero Gas station.
Here are my results:
Please share you experience as well and your thoughts.
Impressive Bruh! You had an egg between your foot and gas pedal?
Only me in the car Driving for 20 minutes on the 210 freeway in SoCal, no traffic, going betweeen 75-85 MPH. It's unbelievable lol. I have 225/40 18 Tires and they were at 38 psi. Sun roof tilted open, all other windows closed, AC ON in the middle. I have about 75-100 lbs in the trunk because of my 12" sub-woofer, sub-woofer box and amplifier.
Good observations, and wow, 55.8mpg, that's impressive.
I just did a 140 mile trip trying to help my girlfriend move her stuff. Mind that I had my whole car filled with her things, so that added extra 40-50 pounds. My tank was 3/4 full. I used AC, and I hit a bit of traffic, though since I was in the front and my girlfriend was following me with a U-Haul, i stuck to only going 55mph to 65mph, sometimes hitting 70mph when we were going around semi's that were going very slow. I managed to get up to 44.5mpg on that trip. This is my personal best, though I bet I could have done better if my car would have been empty, would have been down to less than half a tank of gas, turned off the AC, and would have driven without the traffic part.
First of all, any discussion of fuel consumption is meaningless if the elevation factor is present: you will always burn more gas going from Point A to Point B if Point B is at a higher elevation because you have to work against the gravity. So if you want to measure the fuel consumption, make sure that the end points of your route are at approximately same elevation. Some moderate hills and valleys in between are ok though.
In general (and here I agree with the original post), you can make a few simple changes in your driving style that will significantly boost your mpg. In order of importance, they are:
1) Drive at lower speed - typically 65 mph or less. At higher speed, you burn a substantial portion of your fuel to simply push air out of the way, which is a total waste.
2) Turn off A/C (fan only is ok);
3) Turn on cruise control, or at least keep the speed very steady and avoid braking;
4) Make sure all tires are inflated to the same pressure. Using pressure slightly higher than the specified 32 mpg is ok.
The fuel consumption also seems to improve during the first 20-30 minutes of highway driving. I think this may have to do with the tires warming up. Warmer temperatures also boost mpg quite a bit because you have less dense air to push through. Having a nearly empty fuel tank helps too.
I have a 2015 TLX 2.4L, which basically has the same engine as ILX, but possibly a better transmission. To get to mid-40's mpg, I need to stay on a cruise control at 65 mph and kill the A/C. To get into the 50's, I need to additionally drop the speed to 55 mph, have well balanced tires (in my case, the pressure is 34-35 psi when fully warmed up), and drive in warm weather (80F or higher). My personal best was 55.8 mpg. Feel free to try it and let me know.
Just assume that mileage runs are done on flats with a tailwind.
Share your best MPG and how you achieved it.
. I'll gladly take the minor hit.
