Hey there folks! I have relatively new 2007 EX sedan, completely stock. I am looking for simple steps towards lessening the profit margins of the soulless bastards at Exxon-Mobil. I have heard that a K&N air filter can improve fuel usage but I have also heard that Denso Iridium IK20 plugs would help too. My wife will cut the boys off if I do any mods (I pretty much burned up my Ford Focus doing that) so I'm looking for what will work with the OEM stuffins... Would the plugs do anything good in the stock ignition system?

 

probably not, if you want increased mileage on a old peice of crap, it's easy to do a tune up and gain a few MPG. however on a new honda, you aren't likely to find MPG coming so easily. there are some things you can do however. some obvious. dont drive like a jackass. lead feet = low MPG. try to roll the windows down rather than using the air conditioning, a/c consumes MPG as well. air up your tires! low air pressure in street tires is not only dangerous, but the rolling resistance is huge, you'd be supprised how much more MPG you can gain by raising your air pressure from 20psi to 45psi. dont increase past the maximum pressure that's stamped on your sidewalls though. some will argue that it makes the ride harsher, but it will also make your car turn-in faster as the sidewall wont deflect as much. better for rain also. i havn't ever noticed a substantial increase in ride harshness by increasing all of my tires to their max pressure (51psi on mine and my wifes cars) but i have ALWAYS noticed better turn-in and increased fuel economy. and lastly dont weigh your car down with 200lbs of things you'll never use in your trunk. weight is the enemy of all things performance, including fuel economy.

 

I don't know that the plugs would help. Anything to flow more air in/out should help. Drop some weight off the car. Avoid jackrabbit starts. Avoid speeding on the interstates. Use cruise control. Space yourself enough to coast a bit in traffic. Use AC above 50MPH, but otherwise ventilate by rolling down windows. Use all synthetic lubes. Don't idle the car to warm it in cold weather. Just wait for the oil pressure to come up for a few seconds and then drive gently until it warms up. Avoid short trips. Combine your trips into longer outings, so the engine stays warmer. Check your brakes to make sure they aren't dragging. Inflate your tires slightly on the high side of proper, using the chalk method. Wash the car regularly. Keep your fuel system clean too.

 

Kommando has some good ideas there. By far the biggest mileage improvement is with the use of your right foot. Drive like you have no brakes. If you touch the brake pedal at a speed of more than 25 MPH on a regular basis, you are not planning ahead properly. If you push the air pressure in your tires up too high, your tires will wear out in the center much faster and your cornering will suffer. I use the recommended pressure (32 lbs) myself but a couple of extra pounds of pressure probably wouldn't hurt. I coast whenever possible and turn off the engine at long lightswhere I know the cycle time. Keep the RPMs down. I normally shift at 1.5K in no traffic situations and 2K in traffic. Keeping the top speed down is also a plus.

You will notice from my logbook that the mileage falls off considerably during our northern Illinois winters. If you have ever tried pushing your car by hand in colder weather you will understand why. Running your AC at the lowest temp setting you can handle will help with mileage in the summer. If I didn't pretend to be Marcos Ambrose onoccasion my mileage would be even better. I have been practicing hyper-mileage techniques and keeping a logbook since 1973 so most of this comes pretty natural to me. The more you practice the better your mileage will get.

Note: My car is an '06 LX Sedan with manual tranny. I tend to discount mileage claims not backed up with a logbook. One tank does not an average make.

 

Well, I have a K & N air filter cartridge for the OEM box coming and I inflated my tires up to 40psi (in a 50 degree garage). The weather has been really freakin cold here in NH over the endless winter so I am hoping that will help. The tire pressure was at about 30psi in the garage so I'm guessing it was pretty low outdoors.

I do normally drive very conservatively but my highway speed is usually around 75mph. I am going to try to keep that at 65mph to improve the fuel usage as well. I would be happy with a combined in the mid 30's (say 34mpg) and a mostly highway near 40mph.

Thanks for the tips. Keep them coming if anyone has any new ideas.

 

I guarentee that K&N filter will give you zero improvement, so I think you wasted your money.

Remember one thing about tire pressure too, while you are driving, your tires will warm up, so they may be 30psi inside your garage or slightly lower outside of it, but after driving around they will probably go over 30psi.

 

Uh, okay... So, HighMPGftw, what would you suggest? I already drive very conservatively. I have measured the impact of lower highway speeds and there has not been any. Are you suggesting that I simply take it in the can with 25mpg for a car rated for 30-40?

Help me out here. What are you saying? Are you debunking K&N and their entire marketing platform? Do you have any suggestions about mileage improvements?

 

There's a lot of mpg tips at Cleanmpg.com and Gassaver.org forums.

 

you shift at 1.5K? If I did that where I live, I'd get my @$$ run of the freakin road, I'd be going like 30 shifting into 5th.......

 

1.5 is really low for shifting. Too slow for me I always shift during normal driving at around 3000 and in traffic probably 2000 because its going slow and thats the only time I will shift into a high gear at low rpm. If Im cruising at 35 though I shift to 5th. My friend cruises in 2nd gear going 40 lol!