This is why cars get "up to 40 MPG HWY"

[johnsmellsalot]

My dad's lease expired on his 2008 Honda Civic so he got the 2012 Honda Civic. I encouraged him to refinance the old one and pay it off because the car was in good shape. It only had a dent on the door and it needed new tires. It never missed an oil change or anything. I said Hondas last forever and it would've been cheaper in the long run to refinance it.

Anyways let me tell you the differences I noticed between the 2008 and the 2012. First of all, that "ECO" button on the dashboard. What it does is make the car slow so that it doesn't use as much gas. So when you press the gas pedal, it takes 3 seconds for it to do anything. Basically, it makes the car less fun to drive lol. He says that it also doesn't let the RPMs go above 3,000 when he's accelerating.

The second thing I noticed is that it takes synthetic 0W-20. This car has the same engine as the 2008. We used conventional 5W-20 in the old one.

The third thing I noticed is that this new car has low rolling resistance tires. The new tires are 195/65/15. The old ones were 205/55/16. I don't know if the size makes a difference.

The last thing I noticed is that the car has wind deflectors underneath. We call them skid plates at work. I guess you could also call them splash shields.

My dad said he's averaging 36 MPG combined city and highway. The old car got 31 combined. He said that the car's trip computer calculated the gas mileage. We won't know the real number until he fills it up at a gas station and divides the miles by the amount of gallons it took to fill it up.

 

[sciphi]

All those little friction and drag-reducing bits add up. So, while something may offer 1% improvement by itself, put 10 of those together and suddenly a 10% improvement happened.

I'm driving a poster car for putting together small changes to make a huge difference when taken together, and it works. LRR tires, economy highway gearing, weight reduction, lots of aerodynamic aids, and lightweight wheels. I've been giving it an Italian tuneup this tank, and it's still averaging 40 mpg per my ScanGauge II. My usual driving is 44-45 mpg.

So, the new cars with the benefits of new focus on fuel efficiency can and do work, if driven correctly. And, 40 mpg is doable if folks would drive sanely!

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
First of all, that "ECO" button on the dashboard. What it does is make the car slow so that it doesn't use as much gas. So when you press the gas pedal, it takes 3 seconds for it to do anything. Basically, it makes the car less fun to drive lol. He says that it also doesn't let the RPMs go above 3,000 when he's accelerating.

Yup. Total gimmick.


Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
The second thing I noticed is that it takes synthetic 0W-20. This car has the same engine as the 2008. We used conventional 5W-20 in the old one.

I'm pretty sure you can use the synthetic 0w-20 in the old one, too.

I'd also bet you could use the 5w-20 in the new one, although obviously you couldn't expect quite the same fuel economy.


Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
The third thing I noticed is that this new car has low rolling resistance tires. The new tires are 195/65/15. The old ones were 205/55/16. I don't know if the size makes a difference.

All else equal, narrower tires generate less drag.

"Low rolling resistance" refers to how the tire is made, i.e. optimized to reduce drag.

So, the new car has tires that are both narrower and better optimized for fuel economy. Should be quite a difference overall.


Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
The last thing I noticed is that the car has wind deflectors underneath. We call them skid plates at work. I guess you could also call them splash shields.

Aerodynamic panels, skid plates, and splash shields are three different things. Their functions may overlap a bit but they are designed differently.

Aerodynamic panels are designed to manage how the air moves around the car.

Skid plates are designed to take a lot of weight and withstand big impacts.

Splash shields are just covers.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
....I've been giving it an Italian tuneup this tank, and it's still averaging 40 mpg per my ScanGauge II. My usual driving is 44-45 mpg.


umm... "Italian Tuneup"? what is that? not a euphemism i'm familiar with.....

 

[JHZR2]

I had a rental 12 civic for a week across NY. Far better car in many ways than the 08 that I had across CA a few years back.

The MPGs were good on the 12, and easy to achieve high 30s to low 40s. I wouldn't say the Eco made it ridiculously slow. Then again I always drive for good economy, so my style likely fits their intent.

My biggest gripe with the 12 was how excessively noisy it was, and how the plastic covering the instruments reflected light as glare from many angles.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
umm... "Italian Tuneup"? what is that? not a euphemism i'm familiar with.....

Basically, you rev the engine more than usual, you go faster than usual, all in an attempt to clean the crud out of any place in the engine where it has built up while you were driving normally.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
umm... "Italian Tuneup"? what is that? not a euphemism i'm familiar with.....

Basically driving it like I stole it. Heavy on the gas, lots of rapid acceleration, and repeatedly winding the engine out to near redline. After it's been warmed up, of course. My work schedule last week dictated driving hither and yon, so I decided to see what kind of fuel economy I'd get driving like a hoon. I'm shocked that it's still getting 40 mpg after 200 miles of very spirited country driving.

 

[RF Overlord]

I think "hoon" is a verb, not a noun...

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
I think "hoon" is a verb, not a noun...

"Hoon" is the person involved in the action of "hooning". As in, "You hoon, go hoon that car, and don't forget the dashcam to record your hooning!"

Or, is that taking one too many liberties with the English (er, American English) language?

Back on topic, all the little gizmos, doodads and widgets that new cars come with to get "40 mpg" do mostly work, for most folks.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
My dad's lease expired on his 2008 Honda Civic so he got the 2012 Honda Civic. I encouraged him to refinance the old one and pay it off because the car was in good shape. It only had a dent on the door and it needed new tires. It never missed an oil change or anything. I said Hondas last forever and it would've been cheaper in the long run to refinance it.


Wow. Perpetual debt and nothing to show for it. All the good gas mileage in the world won't make up for those monthly lease/financing payments to which he's tethered. I'm sure he's proud of the mileage, but he'd be money ahead (way ahead) if he were out of perpetual debt. He's paying out several hundred a month to save $50 or $60 a month in gas-that's simply bad financial management.

I sincerely hope you don't follow in your dad's financial footsteps mistakes.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
I think "hoon" is a verb, not a noun...

"Hoon" is the person involved in the action of "hooning". As in, "You hoon, go hoon that car, and don't forget the dashcam to record your hooning!"

Or, is that taking one too many liberties with the English (er, American English) language?

Back on topic, all the little gizmos, doodads and widgets that new cars come with to get "40 mpg" do mostly work, for most folks.

I think you should have taken one more linguistic liberty, that last part needs 1 more "mostly".
ie:" ...all the little gizmos,doodads and widgets that new cars come with to get "40mpg" do mostly work, for most folks. mostly.

thanks for clearing up the "Italian tuneup" (with a little application of google, i found that definition attached to several different groups, Mexican tuneup, kentucky tuneup, etc.)
I was picturing something more along the lines of painting it red, with maybe some red white & green striping, and then plastering a yellow sticker with a dancing horse on it somewhere.
Something more akin to this:

Image Borrowed from This Thread: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2560588&page=1

 

[sciphi]

If somebody is getting a newer car, it makes sense to me to get the smallest, most fuel-efficient car that will suffice for the mission. Lower registration costs, easier parking, and better fuel efficiency/performance are usually possible.

Also, once the car is paid for, hanging onto it like grim death makes tons of sense. Enjoy a few years of no payments while saving up for the inevitable repairs a car will need as it ages, or save for a new car.

 

[tenderloin]

I am happy your dad got a new car and I hopes he enjoys it. If he has no money worries then why not a new car every few years if that is what he wants? While everyone has a differnt way of looking at things, saying yo8r dad made a mistake, while knowing NOTHING about your dad is ..well....I'll leave it at that.

BTW Motor Trend just tested some eco compact sedans. they describe some tricks used by the nfg to make a slight bump in mpg.

Motor Trend

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
Anyways let me tell you the differences I noticed between the 2008 and the 2012. First of all, that "ECO" button on the dashboard. What it does is make the car slow so that it doesn't use as much gas. So when you press the gas pedal, it takes 3 seconds for it to do anything. Basically, it makes the car less fun to drive lol. He says that it also doesn't let the RPMs go above 3,000 when he's accelerating.


If you've got the Eco mode on, you shouldn't be having "fun". The point of it is to drive as economic as possible, which is the opposite of going fast and having "fun".

 

[sciphi]

The "eco" button or gearing is useful on the highway when changes in speed don't need to be rapid.

 

[spackard]

In a Toyota Celica, the "ECO" button used to default to on, so the EPA would rate the mileage and the car company would make the numbers. When you got the car, you had a button you could hard-switch off for the life of the car.

In the '90's, the hard-switch became a soft switch you had to push to engage every time you turned the car on. The green light when you had eco enabled changed to a yellow light when you had it disabled.

Where does it stand today, in the Civic?

 

[johnsmellsalot]

Well he said new tires would've been $500 and to fix that dent in the door would've been another $500. If it were me, I would've kept the car because it was in really good shape. But the way he saw it was that the new car would've been the same monthly payments and he would've have to pay the extra money for repairs.
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
I am happy your dad got a new car and I hopes he enjoys it. If he has no money worries then why not a new car every few years if that is what he wants? While everyone has a differnt way of looking at things, saying yo8r dad made a mistake, while knowing NOTHING about your dad is ..well....I'll leave it at that.

BTW Motor Trend just tested some eco compact sedans. they describe some tricks used by the nfg to make a slight bump in mpg.

Motor Trend

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
Originally Posted By: earlyre


umm... "Italian Tuneup"? what is that? not a euphemism i'm familiar with.....


Basically, you rev the engine more than usual, you go faster than usual, all in an attempt to clean the crud out of any place in the engine where it has built up while you were driving normally.


Close but no cigar.



On modern fuel injected cars they are just done for fun.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

Ha, UK-style passing in that video where oncoming traffic is simply expected to move over. That system would probably not work well in other countries.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
Originally Posted By: earlyre
umm... "Italian Tuneup"? what is that? not a euphemism i'm familiar with.....

Basically, you rev the engine more than usual, you go faster than usual, all in an attempt to clean the crud out of any place in the engine where it has built up while you were driving normally.


The key isnt revs but load. Driving really hard with a ton of acceleration, preferably big hills with high rates of acceleration up them, etc. Attempts at high load to heat up and burn off any deposits or crud to allow the engine to operate better/cleaner.