How to improve mileage of Honda City (current: 18 kmpl; goal: 23 kmpl)?

HI folks,

I stumbled across carwale yesterday (searching for something specific) and then digressed into browsing random threads... I so liked you guys' intensity and passion about knowing and discovering new things and  concepts.. so, .... I joined!

I have a honda city exi 2004 model, purchased used @ ~43k. Changed nothing but tyres, the OEM set was a goner with sides worn, mostly due to underinflation. Chose Michelin Enerty XM1 - after searching a bit on internet, because they were recommended for FE.

I have got consistently better milages since I got into this addictive hobby of hypermiling. I was 12-15 kmpl for a long time depending on luck, coz I was not paying any attention on driving style. I am against crazy modification for FE improvement. I will only modify something that can be put back without a trace of removal.  Have currently removed spare tyre, boot flooring and removed all non-essential stuff from the car.

Recently I was  able to push myself up to 18 kmpl. Now I have a target of 23 kmpl

I request you fellas to 1. cheer me up thru this tough task 2. More importantly point out specific items that can improve FE. I will report tank-by-tank improvement (if this thread stays unlocked... :-| ), and report the effectiveness of your suggestions too. I am currently already using some techniques for FE, so if anything is already covered, I'll let you know.

Hope I will achieve my goal sooner than later with all you guys' help, Looking forward to your suggestions

Cheers!

Krishna

Warm welcome to CarWale and we will be with you in your pursuits-'ecomodding' and 'hypermilig' becomes the flavor for these stricken times and hence any endeavor in this regard is fully appreciated here.

Do write in with the full 'mod' to your cars and the journey till 18kmpl.

Guess you might have gones through these-but if not do have a look.

23 !!!!......well i really dnt want to break ur hopes...

so all i can say if a BEST OF Luck !!!.........

being a lil diplomatic---bt honestly.....i'll b really HAppy if u get that kind off avg.....(since i hav the Honda City too  )

cheers !

Well i suppose here what is being tried is not the 'average FE runs' but 'extreme FE practices'. This would involve modifing the car/playing with routes/'pulse driving' etc to achive the same.

Since some time i am also practicing 'pluse and glide' driving techniques and the last FE from my car in the city 100% AC has been 19.01kmpl !(dzire diesel).This again is not so easy on diesel engined cars(from personal experiance).

hi Binoy.....well Pulse and glide sounds good...bt Trust ME.....PLEASE DONT TRY THIS ANYMORE.....

they mite hav not mentioned this...but long back when i joined Carwale Forums...my cousin used to do the same only,we guys dint hav a term for it (Pulse n drive)..... dis is not only risky ...since imediate brakin wud hav no assists by the engine (like otherwise),also u really stand a BIG chance to lose control of ur car...

yes..maybe  sumtimes it can b done(when its less trafficy) ...bt please please PLEASE do NOt make this a habit.......

i dunno if BAN stil remember those questions or not......bt back then ..der was a  thread opened by me regarding the same.

cheers

Thanks for the inputs Karan-will keep in mind-more over the tubo boost on the 1.3L MJD means its more of 'pulse' and less of glide-LOL

Karan,

I never come close to taillgating anyone, to apply emergency brakes. Even those 'meant-for-8-carrying-30' three-wheelers overtake me. Doing P&G between 50-30 in quieter Gr. Noida roads means I am never hard-pressed for brake assists. Of course, one principle in hypermilinng is to be constantly aware, and manage your vehicle in a way to avoid any momentum loss, and any unnecessary need to engage engine, This covers the safety part. And keeping in mind always that I may need to stand on my brake pedal if required takes care of such occurances.

P&G and having a lighter car is all I do currently to get the milage I am getting. Am not aware of any tricks with the engine or other handling, hence the request to help.

Cheers,

Krishna

Well to start off would be

tyres-'rolling resistance' is a fuel killer-there are silica based tyres(especially newly launched Michelin silica based tyres)-also a lot can be doen with excisting tyres-maintaining pressure at 90% max load settings(36-38PSi) usually-this is an exteme measure but then we are looking for extreme FE!

Krishna reporting: Compliant on tyre brand/pressure!

Michelin Energy XM-1 tyres on all 4 wheels. I pump them up to 50 PSI, the sidewall max. Based on info around on the net, it is OK. As long as you think it would not hurt FE, and keep the RR low, let us keep the safety debate aside.

I checked on Michelin india website, they have just added another family XM-1+, but the improvements are for durability, not FE...  and I have 1000's of miles to go before I change...     so XM1+ are really far away in the future.

I am ready for next command, Sir!

Well from what i can gather your are an 'extreme hypermiler' (tyre's at 50PSI !!)- this is something that i personally donot approve of as it tends to be dangerous-and this being a public forum we do have to stay under 'safe' and 'legal' boundaries.(no offence meant please)

All the other hypermiling techs are just a google search away-so repeating them here would not be so prudent-mechanically what you can do is reduce weight of the car and do a 'lean re-map' of the stock Honda ECU.