I have already said earlier that when my wife rides with me, we go off "Econ" mode and run like a normal car. I have told her what this does to my FE but she would rather stay cool. [However, last weekend she decided that her CR-V gets colder than my HCH, so I doubt she'll be riding with me much this summer. On weekends we'll use the CR-V! ]

Anyway at about 1/2 tank this last tank, I had managed to increase the 36mpg average she left me with last weekend to about 38.2. On TUesday, after leaving the dentist, I decided to start over on the second half tank and see just what I could do with all I have learned the past few months about driving my HCH. Several errands to run on Tuesday, and at one point I was at 50mpg that afternoon after about 80 miles.

I finally averaged out to 45 mpg for about 200 miles, which is my best 1/2 tank yet. I had increased my tires to 40 psi last weekend, which helped, and I have been driving with in Econ witthe A/C and climate control on, so without AC I might have gone higher.

I'm still learning the secrets of keeping the instantaneous mpg higher rather than lower, but I've only had the car since April. And, after this much time, I still love my HCH, even though the new 2006 model sounds appealing. Safe driving all, I'm looking forward to the new tank I started today.

Hi Jimbob:

___Keep the average rising is an excellent tactic. You have a pretty good start and I bet you will hit a 50 mpg tank as it is only a matter of time.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

What are some of the tips you use?
Do you notice that when she drives w/ you gas milage goes down, I don't have a large boyfriend , but when he rides we get 3 mpg less

I really don't have a lot of tips, beyond what I've read in other threads here. One thing I noticed.. when I got that 45 mpg on 1/2 tank I was driving back and forth from Wylie to Plano, TX on a road with few stop lights. My other routes to Plano and Garland, where I work, have lots of stops. Stop and go traffic is a killer for higher mpg. Plus a lot of that mileage was on the weekend and 4th holiday, so I fought with less traffic as well, compared to morning and evening rush hours.

I try to accelerate to road speed and then back off the gas, letting the engine coast awhile... this gets you better instantaneous mpg and also builds back up your battery charge. Start slowing down sooner when you see a stop coming, don't go full bore and then suddenly stop like most everyone else does. Drive the speed limit or a little slower.

What I haven't learned to do yet is to keep my instantaneous mpg at 40 to 60 or more. I always back down and have to get up there again. But I have time to learn.

I noticed this week that my first tank after I bought the car was a 500 mile tank, which averaged 45 mpg. I have been nowhere near that since, but I hope to get back there when the weather cools down in North Texas. (I'd hate to think that I got 45 mpg when I didn't even know what I was doing, and now that I'm trying harder I can't even get close to that). My last tank indicated an overall average of 41.2 on the dash, but when I filled upy actual average was 38 something. I am hoping that this next tank sees the numbers closer; only thing I can think of that may have done something to my dash readings was the recall update, but we'll see with this tank.

But I'm getting better mileage than with my '03 Civic LX, and I still love my HCH, even if I cannot attain to the high standards of the hypermilers on the forum.