[james]

Hey, if you weren't banned, you could tell them that I a) don't drive particularly slow; b) drive in mountains, not flat freeways; and c) still get 75 mpg.

I did think of signing up for that forum just to tell them so myself, but their signup form looks more like a request for a security clearance. Sheesh, birth dates, photo ids, all sorts of addresses that I don't have...

 

[james]

james wrote:

>> I did think of signing up for that forum just >> to tell them so myself, but their signup form >> looks more like a request for a security
>> clearance. Sheesh, birth dates, photo ids,
>> all sorts of addresses that I don't have...

> Which is all optional...

Well, _something_ that I didn't fill in wasn't optional. I filled in what seemed reasonable the first time, it came back saying "please fill in all required info". Stuck in some dummy stuff, it did the same again...

 

[james]

Chris, Troy is right about the gauges. There are two sets that record mpg. One's the trip meter (there are actually two of these). You can reset either, as I do each time I fill the tank, and they will record miles and mpg from that point. The other's the "lifetime" mpg counter, which can be reset with a little more difficulty.

Now you can fake a high-mpg trip segment with these - just e.g. reset it at the top of 7000 ft Donner Pass, and drive the hundred miles or so to sea-level Sacramento. The question, though, is why so many of the people here would bother. I mean, it's not like someone's giving out prizes, you know

Likewise, even if you discount the few that are getting 90+ mpg, there are many more of us that get in the mid-70s or so, which numbers people on that forum also claimed were... what shall we say? "somewhat exaggerated", maybe?

It does depend a lot on the way you drive. I bought my 2000 5-spd about 18 months ago. Had about 50K miles, and LMPG around 50. I reset it a couple of months later (after I got the manual that said how), and over about 12K miles have averaged a bit over 75 mpg. That is, as I said earlier, without driving particularly slowly (I aim at about the 80th percentile, so that there'll always be someone faster for the cops to pick off ), and in mountains instead of on the flat. So yes, I think if I moved and drove slower, I could join the 90+ club.

 

[james]

"...lets see someone put a camera in their car and prove it."

Why? Is someone offering money or something? Seems like the shoe ought to be on the other foot: lots of people here have said they get X mpg or better from their Insights. Other people claim we're lying with, as far as I can tell, no evidence whatsoever. This is just casual conversation - it's not like we're trying to sell you one of those 100 mpg carburetors or something - so why should we have to prove anything?

 

[james]

Just to add some more fuel to the fire: I filled the tank on the way in to the lab just now (first time since early October, but there was a two-week business trip in there). As per my custom, I reset the trip display, and finished the drive in - about 10 miles of fairly level freeway, plus a half mile of streets getting on & off at either end. Trip mileage is now 92.something, so I think that if I only drove this route, I'd be up there in the 90+ pack too

 

[james]

"Maybe you were one of those that purchased your Insight off E-Bay with an lmpg in the mid 40’s to high 50’s? If so, do you really expect to achieve 90 - 110 in it even after modding it given the flogging it was subjected too?"

Err... Well, yes. Mine was purchased off EBay, and did have an LMPG about 50 with about 50K miles on it. With my driving style, and living in the mountains, I still get in the mid-70s, so I don't see why someone in flat country with mostly freeway commutes shouldn't reasonably expect an average at least in the 80s.

 

[james]

"___If you have a 75 lmpg, you aren’t consistently seeing anything in the 40 - 45 mpg range."

I disagree, 'cause that's what I usually get driving around city streets - something I very seldom do, which is why I have a fairly high average.

"...5-speed having a recal? He drove it up some local hill or mountain in 5th gear..."

If by "recal" you mean simply draining the battery, I go up the mountain in 3rd, but otherwise do the same a couple of times a week.

"Look at most E-Bay auction Insight’s."

But where else do you have a realistic chance of finding one? When I decided to replace the CRX some 18 months ago, I checked with the two local dealers. At one, the salespeople had apparently never heard of it, the other had no idea when or if they could get one. Searching the various other on-line listings turned up a couple: one, a CVT, had been sold a couple of months before, the other was in North Dakota.

I don't think your odds of getting a bad deal are any worse from EBay that from picking a random dealer.