I don't hit the freeway often and I ALWAYS get 21-23, doesn't matter how I drive.

 

You are just a normal person talking about normal people. Some of us are not normal, 'prolly considered "weird" like me. On a trip to work (everyday in the S) sometimes I almost forget to Vtec, and something seems wrong until I figure it out.

"Let me guess, you do that under every underpass, don't you?" - Passenger on one trip after the second 8 lane underpass in Vtec. *grin ear to ear*
"Sometimes I think you go this way just to scare me." - Passenger on my typical commute to work. (twisty road though the woods)

 

Something is wrong with your car. I drive on the freeway often and my AP1 and AP2 always get ~27 mpg.

 

I'm able to get between 34 and 36 mpg on Highways with a few a hypermile techniques and about 26-28 in the city. They Beauty of the S is that you can take pretty much everything a speed and not hit the brakes. I've noticed if my foot is constant on the throttle with minimal to no adjustments i can save gas, especially on long trips. But that involves avoiding the high RPM's and placing yourself in akward and sometimes unsafe situations . (I have not tried to shut my engine down while drafting a an 18 wheeler down a highway yet, not safe, and you lose power steering!!)

Luckily my wallet can afford to get me into the higher RPMs and enjoy the S 2K's quick and sharp reflexes, Having a loud exhaust helps keep my foot down to! i don't worry to much about gas. Even on our Spirited Hill Country Runs where i am constantly above 6K i'm still able to 23/25 MPG. For the amount of fun and the Joy the S provides that is great mileage!!

That's why i have a prelude for my daily! I practice my hyper miling on her. The car has Over 200K and i can still get a little over 34 mpg on my daily commute.

If you want a fuel efficient beater get an 88 or 89 Civic (wagvan preferably)

 

Have you tested this? Electric power steering in the S should mean that if you kill the engine but return the key to "On", all systems should function on battery. Not saying I recommend it, but I might test it in a parking lot out of curiosity

 

I've gone from 27mpg on the freeway to 7.8 mpg on the track

 

It is constant throttle (so you can track the MPG and it doesn't just change every second on you), but it is also climbing a hill, which would simulate acceleration loading. And since it is constant speed, it's actually the best scenario to test the theory, because you're constantly lugging it versus constantly running it at higher RPM. That maximizes the difference between the two options and gives you a clearer idea about what is happening, especially since the gauge only updates once a second.

Again, don't confuse your throttle position with actual fuel consumption. It can be misleading! You might get to back off the throttle after downshifting, but you still might be using more gas than you were when you were lugging and heavier on the throttle to compensate.

To give an example of that, on the Accord, a throttle position of 28% (reported by the Scangauge) in 5th gear yields better mileage than a position of 23-24% in 4th, even though both those options give you roughly the same power to the wheels.

One last bit of advice for everyone: Don't forget to coast in gear with your foot off the clutch! The engine will shut off fuel flow completely until it gets near idle RPM and you'll get INFINITE miles per gallon for that brief period. People who clutch-in when coasting are wasting gas for no good reason. And leaving the car in gear until you reach a dead stop is a good way to save wear and tear on the 1st-gear synchros because it stops both the input and output shafts before you change gears. Win-win.

Happy motoring.

 

IF you calculate youll prob save around $300 a year, if u avg feeling up ur tank every week.

 

I've been riding my road bike to work the past 3 months. I'll drive the car maybe once a week at the most and I'm sure that has saved me a bit of money.

 

Go to the track a few times and you'll realize your on-the-road antics do not equate to real high performance driving.