Hello,

I see there are very few Honda Insights that post thier car's data on this site, but the few who do, blow me out of the water completely.

I purchased the Insight over the Prius doe to my reading that it could get up to 70mpg which I thought was phenomenal. After purchasing mine and driving it for over a year now, my Lifetime average is around 51mpg, and my tanks tend to range from 50mpg to 55mpg, but never have I had a tank go higher, or at least for more than a day.

I try not to speed, and i figure part of the problem is my horrific commute. I drive 37 miles each way, across a ravine that is 3 miles down hill and up hill again. My entire commute is driving uphill and down hill pretty much with very little flats.

What types of land are the people who are getting great mileage driving over, or are there any tips you have on improving mine? With gas prices rising as they are I'd love to save an extra buck, or $20. I try not to lead foot, but its hard sometimes which may have an impact as well.

:ph34r:

I'm sure some Insight owners here can give you some advice, but please don't be intimidated by the data currently in the database. We likely have a few of the most strategic drivers in the world, so their averages are likely to be higher. I don't believe that the Insight average is anywhere near what it currently says, because there aren't yet drivers like you that posted data!

So, I encourage you to please share your information and help bring that average back to a sane number. In a short time I'm confident our knowledgable drivers will also inform you as to what you can do in aiding fuel economy.

Visit my newly-acquired website, Volconvo Debate Forums!

Hi Lbvaughan:

___Where are you located and do you own a CVT or a 5-speed?

___If you are driving a CVT, 50 or so mpg might be a tad low but not out of the ball park. A 5-speed at that mileage sounds like an issue to be worked on or around …

___As for the location, if you are close, I wouldn’t mind taking your car for a few mile drive to check it out? Most of us Insighter’s in the database (the few that post tank over tank data here) are probably pushing the envelope much further then the average Insighter so take the averages shown as “Best in Class”. Jason is dead on with his analysis so let’s work on your setup and techniques and get your Insight moving up the lmpg and tank over tank list quickly …

___50 #’s as a minimum in the RE92’s. Mobil1 0W-20 Tri-syn between the marks. Drive the speed limits and no more. Use A/C on Econ or not at all. A/C alone will knock a 5-speed out of Lean Burn for much of time you might have access to it and that is where the real wild mileage is … Finally, learn the “Drive with load” technique if your Insight hasn’t already taught you how. These items alone should get you far above EPA estimates in warmer temperatures. When it starts to get cold, we have some inexpensive and quickly installed/removed warm air mods that might help you out as well

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Lbvaughan,
As Jason and Wayne said, do not be put off by some of the tanks posted here.
Although I enjoy seeing some of those "outta sight" numbers, I try to focus on my own techniques and tankfuls to keep from becoming dicouraged.
On big boost to economy in my opinion is the "hot air mod". If you have a 5 speed without this installed, beyond some of the things Wayne mentioned, I would highly suggest it. I'd be happy to talk you through it.
I look forward to hearing more from you. I'm in Madison, WI so if you're around here, I'd be willing to help, too.

Also, don't forget that there are plenty of people out there that would kill to "only" get 51 mpg from their traditional car.

Eric Powers

MHG Organizer - www.MadisonHybridGroup.com
Hybridfest 2008 - A Hybrid Electric Car Show and More! www.hybridfest.com
Madison, WI July 19 & 20, 2008

Thanks for the information.

I currently live near Lotus, CA and commute accross highway 49 through to Auburn down to Rocklin, CA. A tedious uphill downhill road for about 90% of the commute varying from 1-10% grades.

I do drive the five speed and normally dont use the AC but have been recently since the temperature has been heating up, but can easily live without or by using it on econ mode.

And believe me, I am totally stoked with my "only 50" mpg, before I got my insight I was driving a truck that I was filling up the tank every other day on my commute, now I fillup every 10 days.

Ok you lost me on most of that information. I dont undertand what you mean by the Mobil1 0W-20 Tri-syn, or the "Drive with load" information, and would love to get more information on the warm ari mods.

Hi Lbvaughan:

___This should help in regards to what the warm air mods are all about … http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/...pic.php?t=1480

___This is what driving with load is all about although with the climbs you are doing, I don’t think there is much that will help you unfortunately 50 MPG while climbing the mountains sounds fantastic to me!

http://greenhybrid.com/discuss/index.php?s...t=60&#entry3348

___And Mobil1 0W-20 Tri-syn is just the lowest viscosity 0W-20 you can buy and use in your Insight. You can sometimes find it at your local Walmart and if not, ask them to stock if for you. At ~ $4.29 a qt. (you only need 2.5 Qt’s ), it is a steal for our little beauties.

___Finally, make sure you post your tank to tank data …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

"mushroom mycology" ?
Steve

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT

Yep, I'd say some of the grades you are climbing could put you in the 50's for mpg.
I still think that the warm air mod will give you a small boost, though. Especially if there are "cooler" mornings. If you have other questions about the hot air mods after reading the other posts, you might want to start a new thread and we can discuss it in more depth.
If you still think that there may be something with the car itself that is giving "bad mileage" hopefully you could get a chance to drive a less hilly terrain and see how your numbers turn out. My guess is you're doing pretty good based on your terrain.

Eric Powers

MHG Organizer - www.MadisonHybridGroup.com
Hybridfest 2008 - A Hybrid Electric Car Show and More! www.hybridfest.com
Madison, WI July 19 & 20, 2008

Thanks for the information ill look into both of those, there are probably a few other things I can do that might help. Ill post my mileage next week when I fill my next tank up, i used to track my mileage every week, but cant find the document i kept the information in.

OK added my current tank, and kinda just lumped all the prior tanks through out the year so that the total miles and MPG would match up. I want to thank you, all after reading your helpful advice I've already brought my tank average up to 56+ on this last tank. ALthough I started at about halfway down the tank at 51, I brought it up to 56-57 towards the end of the tank. Now that im paying more attention to MPG than to Battery power its making a huge difference.

I ended up watching battery more than mpg due to the fact that 6 days or so after getting my insight, the battery died completely, on the road to work, the battery suddenly maxed charge from around 50% then immediately dropped to no charge. Shop had it for nearly 2 weeks while waiting for a replacement battery from japan.

But over the last year, very few problems since, so ill try and work on getting my mpg up and posting here