[brpeterson]

After reading about what types of mileage people get with thier Insights, I have gotten to wondering if some Insights are superior to others, in terms of mileage. I know that weather, terrain, wind, oil, tires, AC useage, driver and all types of factors play into mileage. But it just seems like some people get mileage so much better than others, I can't help but wonder if for some reason some Insights are just better for some small reason.
I personally get about 60 mpg and have had a best of 72 for an 80 mile trip. On this trip I drove about 70mph (keep in mind I drafted a semi the whole way, so I feel this to be a very efficient speed), used virtually no brakes, drafted the entire way, the trip is flat, and the weather was sunny and about 70 degrees, no AC. My tires are fine, my oil is synthetic, air filter is clean, and I have a warm air mod. I hardly touch the pedal and my speed fluctuated very minimally. Considering this, it seems odd to me that people can have lifetime averages better than my trip under nearly ideal circumstances. Hey, I think 72 mpg is great, but I wonder if somebody else driving my car on that day could have reached 100mpg, or if I drove somebody else's Insight if I would have had about the same mileage.

Has anbody ever driven another persons Insight and found they acheived much better or worse mileage?

Have you ever owned two Insights at the same time and found one did better than the other?

Do you think if I let you drive my Insight you could hit 90 or 100 mpg under great conditions?

Sorry to be long winded, but what do you all think. Most importantly, if all Insights are not created equal, what can we do so that we all see 90mpg, change a filter, turn a screw, block a radiator?

 

[Rick]

Nope, they're not all created 100% equal. When I was traveling 26 miles each way to school I would average about 75mpg if I tried topping out at 80mpg max. I briefly had a 2000 Insight that I drove the same route one day and got 85mpg I think, and that wasn't trying to the extreme. In fact the guy who bought it from me beat my personal tank record on his first tank. I've also personally been in a few other Insight's and some of the others have been able to maintain lean burn at higher speeds than mine could.

To say the least all Insight's should be close, but there are some that must be within tigher specs than others. This is common umong every automobile though. For a while when the Ford Expedition first came out my family had a bunch of orders in for them and we ended up having like 6 of them over a few months there (we sold them after a few thousand miles and made a few bucks). But each one was just a little different. I think the 5th one we had was noticebly quicker than the others.

That said hyper mileage should be achievable in your Insight, it just depends on how long it's going to take you to get there. My LMPG is 63.4 right now, and should go back up a little bit this winter as it always does. Personally I'm happy with anything in the 60's, and if I'm managing to get 70's I'm tickeled pink. A few months ago I was visiting a friend up north and left there really late (it was a 2 hour trip home) so I decided I'd see what kind of mileage I could get. I was sitting right at about 102mpg, and that was mostly down hill and some flat. Then I hit a hill that I tried climbing with IMA and the thing recal'd on me which totally screwed that up.

The overall trip yielded 92.5mpg, this is Flagstaff to Phoenix, which overall is several thousand feet down. So no my car is not a hyper mileage car, your probably in the same boat as me. Thats my theory anyways, someone might dissagree with me, but I guess the only way to tell would be to have a hyper miler drive one of our cars.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

I personally get about 60 mpg and have had a best of 72 for an 80 mile trip. On this trip I drove about

70mph

(keep in mind I drafted a semi the whole way, so I feel this to be a very efficient speed), used virtually no brakes, drafted the entire way, the trip is flat, and the weather was sunny and about 70 degrees, no AC.

Speed is the most important factor in keeping within and maximizing the lean burn
window (sorry CVT'ers). Your drafting is what enabled your very good result at that speed. Try slowing down under the same conditions to

55-60 mph

and watch for too heavy a right foot (keep the lean burn window open). The lean burn "window" will open much wider and you'd likely have seen 10-15mpg+ for the same trip.


Luke, use the force... oops wrong line. <g>

er Maximum MPG driving is not just style its a philosophy. (better?) <VBG>


HTH!

 

[b1shmu63]

It could be something subtle like wheel toe in or a dragging disc brake pad or a 12 volt battery with leaky cell. Is that a 5 speed or a CVT?

 

[Yves M.]

Like Kip wrote, I would point to wheel aligment. And tire pressure was not discussed but above 40 psi is better than the Honda recommandation (38/35)

 

[kapps]

I got lean burn to kick in for a little bit while drafting a semi at almost 80 mph!!! Wheel toe or tire pressure are probably the most likely causes in fluctuations in mileage.

 

[Guillermo]

The early Insights like the 2000 models had the lowest EPA fuel consumption ratings. Then I believe honda focused on lowering the emissions of the Insight which resulted in slightly higher EPA fuel consumption ratings. That should be one of the factors to consider as well.

 

[james]

I think a lot of it is how it's driven. I bought mine used (about 15 months ago now), with about 45K miles on it, and an LMPG about 50. Within a few weeks, I'd discovered how to reset the LMPG display, and over the last year or so have maintained an average of 75.9 mpg.

I don't drive particularly slowly, or make special efforts to max out mpg, and I do a lot of mountain driving, yet I still manage to do 50% better than the previous owner.

 

[MikeF]

My LMPG is 63.4 right now, and should go back up a little bit this winter as it always does.

Your mpg goes up in the winter? I've only had mine a year, but my mpg went down, even before I put on snow tires.

I assumed cold weather meant higher air density, which required more fuel to maintain ratio; cold tires tended to lower pressure, meaning more drag, etc.

And I've read discussion of the winter fuel formula resulting in lower mpg as well.

Isn't that why so many have blocked the radiator for the winter?

Don't most of us see our highest mpg in the summer? Or is that just me?

MF

 

[kapps]

Highest MPG should be seen in the spring and fall where you don't have to use the A/C but it's not cold enough to provide a much denser air charge. Heat killes MPg because of A/C use. Cold kills it because of the reasons mentioned in the post above.

 

[Calpod]

Remember one thing, NOT ALL ROADS ARE CREATED EQUAL :roll:
I have changed jobs before, and the mileage going to one job and to the next is a lot different, I think the only way to compare is to take a road that a hypermiler would take, and take it a the same time, I would be nice if a lot of us could get together and do a mileage run, a couple hundred miles, then you would really see the difference in driving styles.

I have been over 100 MPG 11 times, the highest being 117 mpg for 90 miles the problem is staying up there, I can imagine someone like Rick Reece would be in the 100's most of the time.

I personally would like to know how He does it, because when I am at 104 and start my car the next morning, in the first few miles it will drop as much as 20 mpg, so brings me back to the 80's, then it gets very difficult to bring it back up to 100's, and the longer you drive the more difficult it becomes.

By the way several times I was in the 100's was in South Carolina, the terrain there really helps the mileage. IMO

 

[AmyAlkon]

Brand new Insight owner

This is my very first post here. I just moved heaven and earth to get my 2004 Insight -- there wasn't one in California or any of the surrounding states. The process was a bit like adopting a baby from China, except mine came from Texas on a car-carrrier.

And now, getting to the point: I don't really commute; I'm a writer, so I go to cafés around town in Los Angeles every other day or so; not a lot of freeway driving. My mileage is inching up -- have only had the car a couple weeks...but I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong -- it's at 34.5 right now -- started out at 13.5 when I picked it up from the dealer. If there's somebody in here who doesn't mind going back to Insight basics in my behalf, here are a few questions:

1. Is my mileage normal? How can I increase it, and how long will it take?

2. I noticed somebody saying optimum speed is 55-60, and I know it's best to not use AC, etc. But is it best to be on the freeways as opposed to stop and go traffic? (I know that sounds obvious, but I want to be sure.)

3. Can you each tell me your one great secret or trick in relation to mileage (that you haven't posted already).

Thanks so much -- this is a great forum. I'm just distressed that it's so hard to get an Insight, because I'd like to see more people driving them (and other hybrids).

Thanks, very much...-Amy Alkon

 

[Holicow]

AmyAlkon:

Welcome, first.

Your mileage is most likely "normal" given your driving habits. Short trips with stop-and-go driving will give the worst overall mileage numbers. Still, you will probably watch your mileage move up for a while as you learn how to drive it more efficiently. Pay attention to the bar graph for the best feedback. This process would usually take a few weeks of daily driving, but longer for you since you drive infrequently.

No matter....nothing else you drive, short of an EV, would use less gas!

 

[AmyAlkon]

Thanks so much, Holicow...and with the amount I drive, I'm still going to forget how to get gas. Oh...and here's a question about that -- does it matter whether you get premium or standard gas? It used to with my 3,000-year-old Mercedes. What's best for my new little Tom Swift-mobile?

 

[Holicow]

Regular is what is recommended. What's the price out there now? It's pushing $2/gal here.

And a nice drive to Santa Barbara and back on the PCH would solve your mileage "deficiency" for a good while.

 

[Tim Maddux]

Los Angeles city street traffic is pretty brutal stuff. I have done very well (90+ mpg) in stop-and-go freeway jams and SIGALERTs but stopping at a light at every block is tough. Also, Amy didn't say whether she was driving a CVT or 5spd, most of the tips in the Knowledge Base are 5spd-oriented.

PCH has a lot of lights on it, and Malibu is hilly. Once you get past the Ventura/LA county line it is smooth and flat, but that doesn't last into Oxnard.

 

[james]

"3. Can you each tell me your one great secret or trick in relation to mileage"

Don't know if I've posted it, or if it's so obvious that no one bothers, but my #1 tip is to look & think ahead. That lets you avoid much sudden braking & accelerating, which kill mileage.

 

[Madeline]

Hi, Amy! I got my Insight in February, and currently it's got 6000 miles on it with an average of 51.7 mpg. I'm assuming you have a CVT, like me. City driving kills me; I have to work very hard to get 43 mpg. If it weren't for my 100 mile highway trips each weekend at 60-some mpg, I shudder to think what my mpg would be...

I suggest that you take a very long drive on a highway somewhere to get yourself started off right. I went down to San Diego on Highway 5, drafting behind semis almost all the way, and that really really helped my mileage. (And if I hadn't had to rush back boosting nearly all the way, I'd probably be in the 53-54 mpg range now...) Have you been to Yosemite or Vegas lately?

For driving in the city, what works best for me is to make sure I'm first in line at stoplights whenever possible, since I seem to get the best mileage when I floor it on the green until I'm up to speed, and then ease off daintilly to get my car settled in the 60 mpg range. Try to get as much slowing-down time in front of red lights as possible, since all that time is spent at 100+ mpg, and also, the light might turn green while you still have some momentum.

Take the highway whenever possible, even if it's clogged. Steady 20 mph is better than stoplighted 40 mph by far.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

There is also the initial break in time for both the car and driver. If you really want to improve your mileage you'll need to let the MPG indicator teach you.

You don't specify the particulars of your driving pattern enough for it to be clear whether or not 36 +- is exceptional or could be improved.

Maximum MPG driving is all about keeping the lightest _consistant_ load on the engine.

If your trips are frequently below 5 miles then the engine is "spending" a high percentage of fuel on warm up. A block heater if used consistently would help MPG.

Since the Insight has a knock sensor higher octane will also help but its higher cost will not be regained in increased MPG. There are other potential _long term_ benefits from higher octane.

HTH !

 

[b1shmu63]

Amy: You are probably driving with the climate control on. This is not a sin. It will however pull down the mileage, especially at low speeds. The only way to turn it off is to push the ECON button twice. It will then say "AC off" This is not documented anywhere I know of. Don't do this if it is going to make you uncomfortable, as we should enjoy our Insights while saving the planet. Switching to synthetic oil after the car is broken in helps a little, as does adding a little more racing air in the tires. The dealerships typically under inflate them and there are numerous stories to support improved tread life. You may notice a slightly firmer ride and perhaps a little more road noise. Enjoy!