35 mpg first tank - Page 3 - GreenHybrid

mmrmnhrm · #21 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006, 08:36 AM

noflash, as you gain experience with the car and how it handles, you may want to add drafting to your abilities. Tailing a semi at about 3-4 car lengths gives a significant boost to mpg. Case study: On my trips between CBus and CTown (Columbus and Cleveland for all you non-Ohioans), I can get 65mpg at 60mph when the freeway is relatively empty, allowing a truck to set a nice steady pace and not deviate. This past Friday was too crowded to safely draft, and I only got 55mpg on the way up, but brought it to 59mpg on the way back thanks to empty roads and a kind Schneider driver.

noflash · #22 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006, 08:37 AM

It sounds good for you, but I swear big truck just spray you with sand and gravel here.

mmrmnhrm · #23 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006, 08:39 AM

That's a bummer. But yeah, our roads are pretty clean up here. Probably wouldn't want to try it in the desert southwest.

Johnc73 · #24 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006, 09:00 PM

I just finished my very first tank too. The low fuel light didn't pop on until 2 bars and like you they went pretty quickly! Got 39.4mpg for the very first tank! Roads in my area are a lil cleaner, I tried to draft a truck on 635 but it still flings something every so often.

mmrmnhrm · #25 (**permalink**) 09-05-2006, 09:57 PM

Ok, this is for all you new people. Do not start drafting until you've gotten a good feel for your car. Do *NOT* draft right on the bumper; that crap's for NASCAR (and has resulted in deaths). Do not draft in crowded conditions (You'll note I said right up front that my Friday evening drive was too busy for safely). Make sure you've got space on both sides to twist around should something go horribly wrong ahead. If you live in an area where the nose bra makes sense, put it on (you can have mine, the quarry dust on my commute gets underneath it). BE SAFE, people. There's no trophy for beating kenny, no matter how good your numbers might be.

gumby · #26 (**permalink**) 09-06-2006, 11:23 PM

John,
What color is your HCHii? I'll wave.
I live in Richardson and commute to NRH in my Magnetic Pearl, so I hit 635 daily. Loving the hybrid so far! My MPGs are rising a little bit in the last 2 tankfuls. I'm getting 45ish these days. It gets knocked down in the short-trip drives around town, but I make up for it on the commute.

Johnc73 · #27 (**permalink**) 09-07-2006, 06:09 PM

Mines is alabaster silver, unfortunately I was on 635 because someone needed a ride home so it's not a route on my daily commute. I've been looking for yours but the 2 magnetic pearls I've seen so far were normal gas ones. I guess the owner of the white one at my workplace isn't on this forum as I haven't seen anyone pipe up (this person seems to work a different shift than me, haven't met 'em yet).

I've noticed alot of normal 06 civics the past week or two, dealers must be making room for the 07's.

gumby · #28 (**permalink**) 09-07-2006, 10:56 PM

John, ALL the Magnetic Pearls are Hybrids - it's a hybrid-only color.
Just look for the rubber antenna on the rear of the roof!
The medium blue (pretty color, too) are regular Civics.
I've seen several Alabaster Silver HCHii's. That was my 2nd color choice.

Johnc73 · #29 (**permalink**) 09-08-2006, 10:29 PM

Hmm, must have a look at yours then, the blues must be sorta close or my monitor is badly calibrated. I keep forgetting about the antenna, usually I try to zero in on the hub caps. Was in another part of the parking lot at work today and saw another silver one.

So you see many on the roads of Dallas? I haven't see any in the past month except the ones parked at work.

Also have you noticed your SOC is higher now that it's been alot cooler here? My first tank the SOC generally stayed around 4-5 bars except for the trip to Ft. Worth. The last 2 days the SOC has been pegged at 7 bars, literally.

mmrmnhrm · #30 (**permalink**) 09-09-2006, 11:21 AM

John: Yep. My SOC has been pretty much 7 bars constantly for the past two weeks, and it's even nicked 8 a couple of times, with one max-out (no regen available) when I took a trip to Cleveland last weekend coming down a freeway ramp. I've also noticed, though, that it's been doing a bit of what appears to be forced regen at 7 bars, like it's trying to make up for the charging it didn't get to do during the July heat wave.