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Honda Accord Real World MPG

2925 messages,  Last post on May 16, 2013 at 9:38 AM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Accord, Fuel Efficiency (MPG)

Messages Page 293 of 293

#2916 of 2925 Re: - [dudleyr] by kcaj32

Apr 19, 2013 (12:49 pm)

Replying to: dudleyr (Apr 19, 2013 6:13 am)
LOL. I'm imagining this guy walking into his 200°F garage

#2917 of 2925 Re: - [packer3] by thegraduate

Apr 22, 2013 (1:42 pm)

Replying to: packer3 (Apr 18, 2013 6:40 pm)
You missed part of my message my two car garage is heated and I work at a Hosp. that has a garage. All the things you say are more than right however that's not what there selling out there
 
Even on a 100 degree day, your car still has to "warm-up" to normal operating temperature (190-205 degrees in many modern vehicles). The interior is scorching, but the engine and its internals are still "cold" - a relative term to normal temp.
 
Think of it this way... let your car run for 20 minutes (drive it, idle it, whatever). Look at the temp gauge. It probably resembles the photo below.
 

 
If you crank your car in a heated garage after sitting awhile, your temp gauge will still look like the photo below (i.e. - COLD)
 

 
Keep in mind, that gauge only shows coolant temperature; your coolant may be at normal operating temperature while your oil is still not fully warmed up, causing higher friction/drag on the engine, and producing lower fuel economy.
 

#2918 of 2925 - by dudleyr

Apr 22, 2013 (2:00 pm)

Exactly. I used to have a Scirocco that had oil temp and water temp gauges. The water would stabilize in about 5 minutes, but it took the oil about 15 minutes to get up to temp (slightly less in summer, but more in the winter)

#2919 of 2925 Re: - [thegraduate] by packer3

Apr 23, 2013 (8:53 pm)

Replying to: thegraduate (Apr 22, 2013 1:42 pm)
You and Dud less are comical, you are incorrect with your gauge pictures, not so. Friction drag 0-20 syn. oil with the new tight tolerances Honda made reason for the 0-20 the warm up time is within the first 5 minutes of the drive. All's I'm saying is you will not hit 27 mpg in straight city driving never with all the shift changes. So I guess the EPA takes the warm up time into there configurations when they establish there blown out facts. End of this discussion.

#2920 of 2925 Re: - [packer3] by thegraduate

Apr 24, 2013 (6:37 am)

Replying to: packer3 (Apr 23, 2013 8:53 pm)
Maybe the end for you, but dudley and I can decide for ourselves when to end the discussion.
 
I've owned Hondas (A combined 300,000 miles out of them) so trust me, I understand them. They may blow heat after 5 minutes (I found that my 06 Accord actually blew heat after only a couple of minutes on a cold day). The temp gauge may display a "warmed-up" reading, but the engine, its oil, and its components all take more than 2 miles worth of driving (10-15 mins minimum) to reach an optimum temperature.
 
Even my Sonata - the gauge displays warm, but you can even see the MPG gauge decrease for the first ten mins or so, then it starts to go back up to its usual 30mpg at 75mph. I live less than 5 mins from the interstate; I'm used to watching this same "mpg meter" dance every day, summer or winter. I crank the car, the meter shows something around 30mpg. I get on the interstate, and it drops with the cruise control set on 75... 29.9... 29.8...29.7. However, after 20 mins, it's slowly creeping back up. 29.8...29.9...30...30.1...etc. It's the same thing after work.
 
All cars are like that. Honda is a great company, but they aren't "magic" with their tight tolerances; engines are made better now across the board. You could select any midsize car and put 200k miles on it without blinking. I'm on my way with the two cars in my driveway.
 
2002 Honda Accord LX 2.3 4A
2009 Hyundai Sonata GLS 3.3 5A
 
Thegraduate

#2921 of 2925 - by dudleyr

Apr 24, 2013 (7:30 am)

Barking up the wrong tree packer. The temp gauge only shows water temp. The engine is not warm until the oil is warm. The hotter the engine the more efficient it runs.
 
 I never compare city mpg because everybody is different, but I have run an 18 mile loop in my '13 Accord that goes through town out to the boonies and back. There are 3 stoplights (which I try to time) and several stop signs (which I have to stop for). I have gotten as high as 48 mpg for this test, which ironically is exactly what the EPA highway raw data is for my car. My test has about the same speeds, but a few more stops. I also start with a warm engine. If I do it with a cold engine I lose 3-4 mpg. I would lose much more on a shorter trip.
 
EPA facts are not blown out - they have been dumbed down twice so people could hit the numbers. And the car makers do the test, the EPA just does random checks.

#2922 of 2925 Re: - [dudleyr] by moonkat

Apr 26, 2013 (2:24 pm)

Replying to: dudleyr (Jan 28, 2013 8:29 am)
Dude,
excellent detailed comparo....scanguage, you must be a hypermiler!

#2923 of 2925 - by dudleyr

May 15, 2013 (3:01 pm)

It warmed up to 80 today with no wind so I tried my 18 mile loop around town again. 52.5 mpg this time. I got lucky and made all 3 stop lights, so that helped a little. Remember this is not normal highway driving - just me goofing around to see what the car is capable of . Mostly 50-55 mph nice and gentle coasting whenever possible to maximize mpg. I carefully watch stoplights from way ahead and try to time them so I don't get stopped. I do have to stop at some stop signs though.
 
Still do not have a full tank of highway. Did 350 miles last weekend for the bulk of a tank (about 530 total) , but my wife was driving most of it and she drives very fast, accelerates at full throttle, idles a lot, uses A/c almost all the time, and never slows to a stop gradually. With that, and the rest city, the tank was at 34.5 mpg.
 
The good news is that the more my wife drives the Accord the less she is driving the minivan. Ironically she would never drive my '07, but she loves the '13.

#2924 of 2925 ...50+ MPG is impressive to this sailor. by ezshift5

May 16, 2013 (8:05 am)

...my Accord V-6 6M has been augmented by a new VW JSW TDI 6M (but I've not attained the kind of numbers that you're reporting, amigo).
 
Perhaps after break-in, a long Interstate drive at 65-70 on flat desert (Arizona highways) terrain will lead to the mpressive numbers that others are calculating.
 
FWIW, at 65 MPH, the JSW TDI shows 1800 RPM - right in that flat torque curve section.............
 
Hang in there, Senor Dudley............
 
ez sends

#2925 of 2925 - by dudleyr

May 16, 2013 (9:38 am)

Love those VW diesels. I finally test drove a Passat TDI with the 6MT 2 weeks ago, when I was in the big city. Very impressive, right at 1600 rpm at 60 mph. Had some nice punch and indicated low 50's for a gentle highway portion of my test drive.
 
EZ is your TDI a stick? From what I gather the sticks do quite a bit better on the TDI's. I am sure you will be over 50 on a nice long drive like you described - a number that I could not touch without some wind or gravity aid on a real world highway trip.

Messages Page 293 of 293

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