Thank you so much! I will work on that. I felt so stupid asking such elementary questions, but hey, when you don't know, ya' don't know, right?

 

There is an FAQ somewhere on this forum that has a glossary of all the terms. There are many members on this forum with lots of useful tips on how to achieve higher mpg numbers. Try doing a search for FAQ and HCH driving techniques. Oh and welcome aboard.

 

Sorry - I'm very behind on my posts. I can't explain the spike you see. It was a great summer, but I never isolated a cause and was never able to repeat it. Just "one of those things" I suppose. I may have been a mild summer an not so much A/C.

 

My commute is 23 miles each way. I suspect the out-bound trip is a bit downhill, because I always get better FE out and it sort of resets to average on the way back.

 

The tire weight (rim and tire) went down 2.3 lbs in the new setup from OEM. I went up to 15", 195/60 as opposed to the 185/70, so it's a wider tire. The tires were LRR (according to Continental). So the diameter was the same, weight went down, width went up, and I suppose wind resistance went up. In all it was about a push, maybe a small drop from OEM.

 

Ok... width going up is bad (which you probably already know). That may explain it. The thinner the tire the better as far as FE is concerned. You want the least amount of resistance as possible. This is highlighted in road bikes. The competition wheels are ultra thin. Whereas the hybrid road bikes have thicker tires. You will notice how quick and effortless it is to maintain speed with the thinner tires (weight of bikes remaining the same) as opposed to the thicker ones.

 

Thank you for the posts MzScarlet. The only stupid questions are the ones not asked.
I drive to Linburg in Atlanta from the Hall county / Gainsville area which is about 100 miles/day. My drive in is almost exclusively freeway (I-85), and commute distance plays major role in MPG.
You'll always find me in the Right hand lane doing about the speed limits.

There are things you can do to improve your mileage and it depends allot on how much one is willing to change habits. Sounds like you're becoming one of the 1% of drivers who want to improve MPG through better driving habits. Please let us know how it goes and we are surely here to help you.

As a side note- I'd bet the Civic EX would be doing low 20's in the same driving situation.