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Honda Civic Hybrid Driving Tips & Tricks

167 messages,  Last post on Sep 09, 2009 at 5:34 AM

You are in the Honda Civic Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Civic, Hybrid Cars, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Coupe, Sedan

Messages Page 13 of 17

#118 of 167 Re: Even with zero traffic [pf_flyer] by kernick

Apr 01, 2005 (7:55 pm)

Replying to: pf_flyer (Apr 01, 2005 2:27 pm)
But what a charge your battery would have had, if you had a hybrid !!
 
And if you make your car out of balsa wood and crepe paper, you can get great mpg. Isn't mpg all that matters?
 
As far as the poster who thought it was okay to coast at sometimes, and the driver can determine that; what other law allows people discretion to make choices like that? Because few people are on the road at times, is it then okay to speed? is it then okay to drive slightly over the DWI limit? is it okay to drive in the breakdown lane if you think it is clear?
 
Everyone thinks they are smarter than average and know better. But obviously that is not true. And the least smart amongst us are more likely to not realize their limits, and believe themselves to be geniuses. So we try and make things simple, and tell people to obey the laws, and that way they don't have to waste their time. Its amazing how many experts the internet creates - read a couple of links or postings in 15 min. and you know more than the people who are educated and study highway safety for a living.

#119 of 167 Coasting in N and hypermiling by misterme

Apr 01, 2005 (9:25 pm)

pf_flyer HOST:
I'd say you used pretty bad judgment.
You traveled out of gear driving on a couple of miles grade, not knowing what is at the bottom, not realizing that your brakes would heat up to the ineffective point, and it causing you to "swoop" through an intersection.
Poor driving judgment like that can get you or others killed.
Hypermilers should be the least of your worries: I've never heard of hypermilers showing such poor judgment.
 
What really caught my eye was "But hey, it's your neck, not mine" because you completely distort what I am doing:
 
2:00AM, max speed 50 down to 20MPH on an almost level, familiar road I travel many times a day 365 days a year is not poor judgment, nothing as you have described.
 
rfruth,
"coasting in N is illegal in some states unsafe and does very little (if any) good in the MPG dept"
Coasting in N is only a small part of what I'm doing.
What I am doing has very, very good results- see my post:
 
misterme, "Hybrid Tips: Optimizing mileage" #231, 31 Mar 2005 9:04 pm
 
As for the illegal part, did you exceed the posted speed limit? You know those limits are placed for safety sake. How about rolling a stop sign? That's illegal too.
Have you ever tailgated a slow driver? Surely that's dangerous and is one of the leading causes of accidents..
 
kernick:
When you do any the things listed above do you think you are smarter than average and know better? Genius?
 
If I'm in the far right lane of an unclogged 6-lane freeway going the speed limit enjoying my 90MPG segment as most others just gas it going +10 to +15 over, tailgating each other in the speedy Left lanes among other things then who is it that thinks they are smarter than the law?
 
Are you among them? I hope not.

#120 of 167 Clarification by pf_flyer HOST

Apr 01, 2005 (9:50 pm)

I didn't go down the grade out of gear, just had it in fifth and was tooling along touching the brake to keep the speed in check. You want to call that bad judgement? It was an error on my part that resulted in an unintended consequence, not a conscious decision to give up part of the controls of the vehicle. Am I to assume that a hybrids brakes don't heat up when used going downgrade in neutral to control speed???
 
And for what it's worth, from the post prior to yours, the claim of being able to get a car out of neutral and into gear in milliseconds may qualify as THE single most outrageous claim I've seen yet. Reaction time is measured in TENTHS of seconds at best. And that's just to get the process started of stepping on the brake or releasing the clutch or whatever it is your about to attempt to save yourself.
 
My comment about it being your neck distorts nothing. You're taking a risk that I simply wouldn't take for some fractional gain in mileage. Just as I wouldn't take the risk that some of the tuners take on public roads with their vehicles. We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one I'm afriad.

#121 of 167 Re: Clarification [pf_flyer] by misterme

Apr 01, 2005 (10:57 pm)

Replying to: pf_flyer (Apr 01, 2005 9:50 pm)
Yes, let's move on.

#122 of 167 Coasting in Neutral by mole1

Apr 08, 2005 (8:47 am)

Here are some tips for getting better MPG without having to coast in neutral
 
#1 Take a large box....
#2 Search car from stem to stern and place all items not necessary for safety or comfort in box..
#3 Place box in Garage...
#4 Check all tyre pressures are correct for load in car e.g. higher if car is heavily loaded (See drivers manual
#5 Remove lead weight from right shoe
 
Here endeth the lesson
 
P.s. this works with any vehicle... hybrid or otherwise

#123 of 167 EV cruising mode by davem7

Jan 24, 2006 (7:12 pm)

Recently I tried an experiment early one morning when no traffic was on the road.
 
I set the cruise control of my '06HCH at 30mph and drove for about three miles on a level surface without stopping.
During that period the EV mode engaged two or three times as evidenced by the MPG gauge pegging out and two bars showing on the Assist gauge. Wasn't able to travel more than l/4 mile continuously without it reverting to the gasoline mode but it does work.
 
Conditions permitting I now use the cruise control when driving for an extended distance in a 30mph zone, its very easy to drive 5-l0mph over the speed without the cruise. So I reduce the chance of being stopped for speeding plus a micro mpg saving

#124 of 167 Remaining Miles in the Gas Tank by gibraltarla

Apr 26, 2006 (3:44 pm)

I recently purchased my Civic Hybrid and love it. Because of demand, I wasn't able to test drive the Hybrid; instead I purchased the VIN number and picked up the car a couple of weeks later. One gadget I was sure the Civic would have was a "remaining miles" meter or gauge that informs the driver of how far they drive on the remaining gas in the tank. While I try not to drive on fumes, it's really nice to know how much gas I have before filling up. My BMW had this feature and I loved it. Perhaps I overlooked a button that can display this information? Any guidance is very much appreciated.

#125 of 167 Re: Remaining Miles in the Gas Tank [gibraltarla] by jph3006

Apr 28, 2006 (1:17 pm)

Replying to: gibraltarla (Apr 26, 2006 3:44 pm)
Please describe how the vehicle drives being a hybrid, I would enjoy reading your obervations. Thanks

#126 of 167 Re: Remaining Miles in the Gas Tank [gibraltarla] by rysa4

Apr 28, 2006 (1:27 pm)

Replying to: gibraltarla (Apr 26, 2006 3:44 pm)
There isnt a miles remaining visual but it is very easy to track. Use either trip A or trip B for your current tank. It will show your total miles and your average MPG for that tank. Multiply by 12 x your average MPG. Thats the conservative total mileage you can go on one tank. Subtract the current mileage you have driven on the tank. The difference is what you have left.
 
This gives an extra .4 gallons in the tank. Also on the fuel indicator when the gas tank light comes on you are supposed to have two gallons left, or another 90-100 miles amazingly.

#127 of 167 Re: Remaining Miles in the Gas Tank [jph3006] by gibraltarla

May 02, 2006 (12:43 pm)

Replying to: jph3006 (Apr 28, 2006 1:17 pm)
The only difference I find between a Hybrid and a regular Civic is the horsepower and getting accustomed to the auto start/stop feature. The auto start is a bit awkward at first; when you remove your foot from the brake, the car instantly restarts. There's really no delay; however, the slight ignition sensation takes some getting used to. While not as fast as other vehicles, it's fun to drive and will get you 50 MPG (my current gas consumption).

Messages Page 13 of 17

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