The official EP3 hypermiling club

[doubledouble]

While others are adding go fast parts, I'd be FN stoked to get better MPG.


-I don't drive like I stole it.

-Keep my tires properly inflated.

-Never carry anything I don't need (extra weight).

-Do regular maintenance.

-Fill up with High tier gas.

I never get more then ~270 miles per tank.

Dafaq.

Tips?

[USAF EP3]

a few tips for helping with hypermiling in the EP:

1. smaller wheels and smaller tires/thinner tires

The science behind this is less tire patch on the road = less friction which reduces the amount your car will grip so when you're rolling in neutral you will roll farther than if you had wider/larger wheels and tires. Also less rotational mass so your engine will work less to get the wheels turning.

2. Gear ratios

if you can source and find the time to do this, base RSX transmission, swap the TSX 6th gear into it. You will get the tallest possible OEM gears and final drive ratio for the most optimal cruising RPM

3. DON'T TOP OFF THE TANK

when you do this, you're causing the drain back valve built into your tank to stay open and everyone knows gasoline evaporates so you're just pissing away money doing this. when the pump clicks and stops you are done filling up

[doubledouble]

a few tips for helping with hypermiling in the EP:

1. smaller wheels and smaller tires/thinner tires

The science behind this is less tire patch on the road = less friction which reduces the amount your car will grip so when you're rolling in neutral you will roll farther than if you had wider/larger wheels and tires. Also less rotational mass so your engine will work less to get the wheels turning.

2. Gear ratios

if you can source and find the time to do this, base RSX transmission, swap the TSX 6th gear into it. You will get the tallest possible OEM gears and final drive ratio for the most optimal cruising RPM

3. DON'T TOP OFF THE TANK

when you do this, you're causing the drain back valve built into your tank to stay open and everyone knows gasoline evaporates so you're just pissing away money doing this. when the pump clicks and stops you are done filling up


I feel like the adding the 6th gear would negate the cost savings in mpg as well as buying new wheels and tires. .

[Supaduck]

it would depend on how long you have the 6th gear for. over time itll pay for itself.

[USAF EP3]

I feel like the adding the 6th gear would negate the cost savings in mpg as well as buying new wheels and tires. .

Well let's put it this way; if you did all of those you would be well into the mid-30 to high 30's MPG range. If you drive your EP enough it WILL pay off in a matter of a couple years or less.

Another thing to note is Kpro. I know it sounds weird because the majority of us use it for performance but hear this out. With the stock EP you can super-lean tune to the point where your cruising AFR's are between 15-18:1. By doing this you can easily reach mid to high 30's MPG without doing what I mentioned above. Need to be careful though with the tuning and make sure you're doing it right so you don't run TOO hot EGT's and burn your exhaust valves.

Combine that with everything else and you'll be seeing 40+ MPG. The K20A3 is actually a really efficient engine in terms of fuel economy. Honda did a great job designing the pistons to work with the 12 valve fuction below 2200 RPM. And that's the trick, to try your best to keep the engine under the 2200 RPM threshold so you can reap the fuel economy benefits.

EDIT:

Forgot to mention one very important piece of advice. Your speed. the sweet spot for our cars is below 65 MPH. try to keep it below that speed while highway cruising and you'll notice a huge increase in your MPG's.

[theMan_ny]

I don't think 270 is bad if you're driving freeway and city miles equally. I average about 350 miles per tank @70+ mph. I drive mostly on the freeway and very little city. When it's mostly city I usually get around 250 miles per tank. What do you do the most? That will give you an answer as to why you get around 270.

[si.hatch]

I usually get around 330-350, driving mostly highway little bit of city. Stock wheels and tires, stock engine, i just set it on cruise at 60mph

[doubledouble]

Well let's put it this way; if you did all of those you would be well into the mid-30 to high 30's MPG range. If you drive your EP enough it WILL pay off in a matter of a couple years or less.

Another thing to note is Kpro. I know it sounds weird because the majority of us use it for performance but hear this out. With the stock EP you can super-lean tune to the point where your cruising AFR's are between 15-18:1. By doing this you can easily reach mid to high 30's MPG without doing what I mentioned above. Need to be careful though with the tuning and make sure you're doing it right so you don't run TOO hot EGT's and burn your exhaust valves.

Combine that with everything else and you'll be seeing 40+ MPG. The K20A3 is actually a really efficient engine in terms of fuel economy. Honda did a great job designing the pistons to work with the 12 valve fuction below 2200 RPM. And that's the trick, to try your best to keep the engine under the 2200 RPM threshold so you can reap the fuel economy benefits.

EDIT:

Forgot to mention one very important piece of advice. Your speed. the sweet spot for our cars is below 65 MPH. try to keep it below that speed while highway cruising and you'll notice a huge increase in your MPG's.


Interesting points. Will take into consideration. For now adding money to the car isn't in the plan. Money is allocated elsewhere. I'm more looking for simple cost-effective solutions for right now without much buying/tearing apart things/flashing.

Yeah, I should try the set to 65mph on Highway but I get way to antsy and go ~ 80. :/

I'd estimate I drive 65/35 city/highway.

[Hasbro]

I used to be a hypermiler and averaged around 37.5 mpg iirc. Best was around 42 mpg. So with gearing, a K24 built for efficiency, and more aero work, 45+ should be pretty easy. Talonxracer (Doug) averaged around 37 mpg with his K24. I'm around 32+ now.

I once averaged 36 mpg on an eight hour trip with my CR-V K24 automatic but drove very slowly.

[USAF EP3]

Interesting points. Will take into consideration. For now adding money to the car isn't in the plan. Money is allocated elsewhere. I'm more looking for simple cost-effective solutions for right now without much buying/tearing apart things/flashing.

Yeah, I should try the set to 65mph on Highway but I get way to antsy and go ~ 80. :/

I'd estimate I drive 65/35 city/highway.

Your driving conditions are what's killing your MPG. You could be doing a little better per tank maybe 280-290, but depending when you shift and how you drive is probably why you're getting around 270 per tank.

Another thing about hypermiling, I was reading about the guys with Prius' and Honda Insight's and Civic Hybrids. They said you pretty much have to drive as if you have no brakes. Essentially cruise with the car in neutral as much as possible. You have to continously look ahead for traffic lights if they are red and stop accelerating and coast as much as possible until you need to put it in gear again when traffic picks up from the stop.

There's really a lot of information out there about this subject. Everything I told you either I knew from common sense or found on the Insight/Prius forums. Those guys are pretty much the gurus when it comes to extracting every little bit out of your gasoline.

[poeticfinesse21]

DON'T TOP OFF THE TANK

when you do this, you're causing the drain back valve built into your tank to stay open and everyone knows gasoline evaporates so you're just pissing away money doing this. when the pump clicks and stops you are done filling up

I didn't know this and I always top my tank off http://www.imvumafias.org/community/images/smilies/facepalm.gif
That's stopping from now on

[BeaterEP]

Same!
That being said, I reject this thread on principle. :mbiggrin:

[ryboto]

I get around 300miles/tank.....I have kpro and a 6speed...how can I make this more efficient exactly?? Or should I just wait for a proper tune when I swap in the K24?

[dble0]

I get 230-250 miles to a tank.... =[ but I top off. Ill stop and see what difference it makes. Hopefully a cold air will help too.

[jweb]

I feel like I drive pretty hard, 50% city 50% highway, and I always get at least 300 miles out of a tank. I really wish I had a 6th gear, 80 mph at 4k rpm is unnerving.

[Deadphishy]

I sometimes hypermill the focus. And I did have my EP tuned really lean 15-16:1 afr for awhile. I was getting high 20's in the city and 36 on the freeway. with a 240+ whp k24. Ceramic coated forged pistons ftw.

[gribly]

Don't shift into neutral and coast, it uses more fuel. According to the OBD link wifi thingy a friend of mine has, my EP (stock) won't use fuel when coasting until it hits idle speed it seems.

[newep]

I tried a bit of hyper milling mods last winter and noticed a slight increase in MPG (about 30-40kms better per tank on the hwy).

I switched to the lighter rsx rims.

Made 2 underbody trays out of 1/8inch mold-able plastic sheeting. One to cover the engine bay attaching to my D3xx brace, I really made it cause i needed something to stop snow and shit from getting caught. This also quieted down some road noise. and since i was already making a tray. I made one that covered from the gas tank to the rear bumper up into the passenger wheel well. and no theres no diffuser:(

I also installed Aspec struts and new bushings,( slightly lower rider height might have helped??) 3 inch CAI, I have a RBB manifold so i needed a better intake.
I had already switched to a 6sp lsd tranny the year before.

So I'm guessing the lower rpms and less wind resistance made the biggest differences.

[azsi]

I have a stock ep and when I use 91 octane gas I get better mpg but I hear it burns hotter and hurts the engine in the long run..so I may go to 89 octane ..I was told to go with what the manual says and also stick with the oem spark plugs as well.

[poeticfinesse21]

I used a mix of 89, 91 and 93 octane gas over the period of a few months to see if I would gain MPG's and I didn't, so I switched back to 87

[ryboto]

My k24 tune set the cruising afr to 14.7... any danger setting it higher? Figured the tuner would try that if it was safe, since I did tell him I commute...

[04JRSCEP3]

I've had my 04 for almost a year now. Bought it with 119,000 performed the standard maintenance (oil change, transmission fluid). I am running a supercharger street kit. I always use 91 octane fuel (usually from chevron.) On a few of my recent tanks I have tried a couple of the hyper-milling techniques, I just don't have the patience to "hyper-mile" on a regular basis I HAVE TO PLAY. I have noticed that anytime I drive under 65 my fuel consumption drops drastically. My last tank was my best I filled up right at the 1/2 mark and managed to squeeze out 34.9 MPG driving between 64 and 55 miles per hour and neutral casting down hills. Eventually my goal will be to get the 6th speed from the tsx / 06 si "just to pick up the pace a bit" with lower rpms at a higher speed.
http://www.fuelly.com/driver/jrsc04/civic-si

[04JRSCEP3]

I have a 2004 EP3 with 132,000 miles, 17' HFP rims 215-45-17. Unfortunately I don't have the patience to maintain "good driving habits". On a few occaisons I have tried cruising at 60-65 and coasting on hills (60 mile commute round trip to work everyday with a lot of hills.) My best tank so far was 34.9 mpg over the course of 1/2 a tank. 208.7 miles 5.99 gallons of 91 Chevron. My average is only 26.6 usually spirited driving and 80 on the highway.