Fuelly Forums - '04 Civic Owner in TX

Just stumbled onto the site...looks like there is a ton of good info here!

I recently bought a 2004 Civic Coupe VP 5 spd with 71k (only $6k!) and I've been tinkering with my driving habits to see what I can squeeze out of it. I typically accelerate harder than is needed, so it's something new for me. I just sold my '92 Accord (207k miles) that got 24 mpg no matter how I drove it, so for years I just drove without thinking about saving gas. I drive 75 miles round trip for work with about 1/2 on the hwy and 1/2 on 2 lane backroads (minimal stops...about 6 lights, and few signs, and the occasional train). I've always been a coaster when possible, so that applies to all of these cases...

1st tank - drove like grandma (accelerated easily and stayed under 72 mph) and got 35.5 mpg (no AC)
2nd tank - drove it really hard and got 33 mpg (no AC)
3rd tank - drove "normal" (for me) which is fairly hard and about 80 mph on the hwy and got 34-34.5 mpg (some AC)
4th tank - wanted to see what cruising at 85 mpg on the hwy would do and got 33 mpg (AC all the time)
5th tank - keep it between 75-80 mph and accelate reasonably and got 35 mpg (AC all the time)

One one of those last couple tanks I mixed in as much drafting on the hwy as I could, but didn't see significant results...

Car is stock except for '00 Si wheels...it needed tires when I got it and the stock steelies/hubcaps were pretty beat up. I looked for some HX or VX wheels with tires but wasn't able to find any (almost got some HX wheels but they hit the front brake calipers). I ended up finding a good deal on the Si wheels with tires and went with them. Eh, not what I wanted but they look good. I think I added them around the 4th tank.

I look forward to learning some tricks to help stretch my gas dollar...