Is this normal MPG

[Volvoman62]

Hi,

I just got a 2000 insight 5sp. I wanted to know if 56mpg would be a normal average mpg for a 550mi trip. The first half of the trip was very hilly 4 mile long 6% grade hills. For those I was about 50mpg and most of the time on the flat or slight hills I could get the FCD at about 65-75mpg which seemed good. This was with 2 people in the car and 2 backpacks for luggage. I am also not the lightest person at about 270 pounds. I just wanted to know if I'm on track or I need to do some things to get it running better.

Also this was Oregon and Washington so the temps are only around 50-30F.

[Eli]

Need more information.

It's within the realm of normalcy, yes. What were your speeds like? What tires does the car have on it, and are they inflated to 45PSI?

I'll assume you weren't using the A/C.

That said, there should be room to improve those numbers. How long have you had the Insight?

[Volvoman62]

Originally Posted by Eli

Need more information.

It's within the realm of normalcy, yes. What were your speeds like? What tires does the car have on it, and are they inflated to 45PSI?

I'll assume you weren't using the A/C.

That said, there should be room to improve those numbers. How long have you had the Insight?

Speeds were anywhere from 55-75mph mostly in the 65mph range.

It does have the Potenza RE92s. I didn't get them fully inflated to 44psi till about 100 miles of the 500 mile trip.

I was not using A/C but did have the blower on about half way.

[Eli]

I'd say you're on track then. It's the 75MPH speeds that will kill your overall numbers.

Try to cruise along at 50-55mph and see what you can get. This is the sweet spot for being able to utilize lean burn, and where you'll be able to get 80+MPG, assuming flat ground.

[Rainsux]

Originally Posted by Volvoman62

Hi,

I just got a 2000 insight 5sp. I wanted to know if 56mpg would be a normal average mpg for a 550mi trip. The first half of the trip was very hilly 4 mile long 6% grade hills. For those I was about 50mpg and most of the time on the flat or slight hills I could get the FCD at about 65-75mpg which seemed good. This was with 2 people in the car and 2 backpacks for luggage. I am also not the lightest person at about 270 pounds. I just wanted to know if I'm on track or I need to do some things to get it running better.

Also this was Oregon and Washington so the temps are only around 50-30F.

That's about what I got until I learned how to drive it and accepted the fact that I had to slow down. Wind and use of AC are both killers. You have to know your conditions and accept the fact that you aren't going to get good mileage if something is working against you. Hang around here and get used to the car and you will do better. Sometimes.

People here sometimes tend to brag about the great mileage that is possible and newbies get the impression that you can always do it, and you can't. That was the case with me, and I was bummed until I figured out that you have to take the bad with the good. Awareness is your friend!

Enjoy your new toy!

Sam

[Volvoman62]

Originally Posted by Eli

I'd say you're on track then. It's the 75MPH speeds that will kill your overall numbers.

Try to cruise along at 50-55mph and see what you can get. This is the sweet spot for being able to utilize lean burn, and where you'll be able to get 80+MPG, assuming flat ground.

Thanks for your help. I need to get an Ultra gauge and see if that will help me with lean burning. There were quite a few times that I was cruising in lean burn at about 65 it was hard to hold it there but it was working at about 75mpg.

[Volvoman62]

Originally Posted by Rainsux

That's about what I got until I learned how to drive it and accepted the fact that I had to slow down. Wind and use of AC are both killers. You have to know your conditions and accept the fact that you aren't going to get good mileage if something is working against you. Hang around here and get used to the car and you will do better. Sometimes.

People here sometimes tend to brag about the great mileage that is possible and newbies get the impression that you can always do it, and you can't. That was the case with me, and I was bummed until I figured out that you have to take the bad with the good. Awareness is your friend!

Enjoy your new toy!

Sam

Thanks. I will work on my driving. I am still very impressed by almost 60mpg with the mountain passes we were going over. I would say a lot of the passes were over 3000 ft. I will have to try some flatter drives so I can stay in lean burn for a while. Are there any tips for lean burn. I would let off the gas to get it to about 100mpg then it would jump to 150mpg and I would slowly press the gas to about 75mpg and could hold my speed. Are there more tips for this?

[Eli]

That sounds perfect.

The Insight has a steep learning curve. The more you drive it like a regular car, the lower your mileage will be. Just keep experimenting, it sounds like you're well on your way to being an expert Insight driver!

You should be able to hold the MPG higher and maintain speed though, on flat ground. Try holding it at 80-90MPG instead of bringing it down to ~75mpg. That's right on the edge of lean burn. Since the MPG over a trip is an average, you have to make up for the hills that bring your MPG down.

For example, to average ~80MPG, you'll have to have stretches at 100MPG+ to make up for the low times. It should be possible to cruise along at 45-50mph at 100MPG without much trouble if everything is in order. If you can't, you may need to clean your EGR plate.

[Volvoman62]

I looked at the EGR plate cleaning. How long do you think this takes and how much is a gasket and are they hard to get a hold of?

[Eli]

I think it takes about an hour? Probably budget two if it's your first time. It's a pretty easy procedure overall though.

The gaskets are about $20 I believe, order from http://www.g1parts.com. Pretty much nothing for the Insight is hard to buy - yet.

How many miles are on your car?