[jenerate]

I have read several posts on here on things done to their E that allowed them to get better gas mileage and power. Is the K&N typhoon kit a good one or is should I look into a different exhaust setup?

 

[Twilightzero]

I know you're not gonna like to hear this, but the easiest way to get better mileage by far is to slow down. Proven time and time again.

That being said, increasing your air intake amount can lead to mildly improved mileage.

 

[Bengoshi-San]

I've done extensive logging of my gas mileage:

Good:
Accelerating nice and slowly (no revving past 2.5k)
Fill gas tank to top at every fill up
Fill gas tank before light comes on
Use gunk fuel system cleaner every so often (every 5k miles or so)
Driving on the highway at less than 65mph

Bad:
Dry Humping/ making out with the gf in the back with the heat on
Idling for long periods of time
Flooring the pedal
Driving over 65mph on the highway (driving 200 miles at 65mph vs 200 miles at 85mph is a significant gas difference)
City driving for extended periods of time

In general, when I am "good", I have seen myself get about 20.5mpg, and when I am "bad", I have seen the Element get about 14mpg.

 

[MegaLuddite]

One good trick...

I slightly hyper-inflate the tires. I split the difference between the recommended air pressure (from the side of the driver's door) and the max-sidwall pressure (as read from the tires themselves).

I forget the actual numbers I use. I'll make up numbers for an example. If the recommended pressure is 28psi and the max sidwall pressure is 36psi, I would inflate the tires to 32 psi, splitting the difference. It adds seveal percent to my actual mileage.

But particularly in city driving (which I do a lot) the Element mileage is always a little disappointing. Even on a manual like mine, the gear ratios are too low and the aerodynamics are sucky. My dream is to break 20mpg in city driving. I've never come close.

Good luck!

 

[Twilightzero]

I do run my tires at rather high pressure also, for what it's worth.

 

[marksbug]

good thing I live in florida we dont need the heater much & things hear arnt dry:shock: but fer mpg, a taller tire,more air pressure,easyer driving habits,slow down some.leave earlyer,go down hill everywhere.dont haull junk you dont need to be halling(including a donky/mule/jackass) lowering it a bit,frount airdam,.synithetic oil,good tune up,truck pushing you everywhere ,buy a scooter & ride it,xb5,cube,hamstermobile(my faveriote) preious,fit,bycycle,good shues.you might of just opened up a can of worms with this one.hey now that you got worms go fishen !!!

 

[kphth]

I
Fill gas tank to top at every fill up
Fill gas tank before light comes on

I don't see how adding extra weight to the car increases mpg. I usually put 4-7 gallons in for city driving where there's a gas station on every corner. Also, I have removed the heavy rear seats since I don't use them.

Take it easy on the accelerator and coast into stop lights/signs. Since you're driving a square metal box on wheels, don't even try to compete with the more aerodynamic cars on the road.

Also converted my 5MT to a 6MT, decreasing my highway RPM 25%. :roll:

I get around 30 mpg highway and 29 city.

 

[desinia]

I have read several posts on here on things done to their E that allowed them to get better gas mileage and power. Is the K&N typhoon kit a good one or is should I look into a different exhaust setup?

With a MPG meter in the car, I've noticed a few good things to remember.
-> The E gets LOUSY mileage when the engine's not warmed up. If you do a lot of commutes back and forth to work that run 15-20 minutes like I do, that means that half or more of your driving is done with an engine still in the cold mode and that means low numbers.
-> Leaving your engine idle for even a minute cuts the total gas mileage down quite a bit, especially if the engine's cold. Warming your car up before starting out is BAD.
-> My '08 gets best MPG's around 40-45. It's not bad up to about 60 but starts dropping rapidly after that.
-> Every time you have to stop and start up again, it takes a big chunk off of your accumulated mileage. Slow even starts help a lot but it takes a long time to build a good mileage score and one only stop light to ruin it again.
-> Mid-grade or Hi-test gas hurts your MPG's a LOT.
-> Winter gasoline with ethanol added cuts your MPG's a LOT more.
-> Mobil-1 synthetic oil in the 0-W20 grade helps quite bit, especially in winter, as much as 2-4 MPG.
-> For the people who keep saying that the E has no aerodynamics, putting a small light bar on the roof cuts the MPG's down about 3 MPG at highway speeds.

I keep wondering if adding a block heater would cut the engine warmup time in the winter enough to pay for itself in better gas mileage. The difference between a cold engine and a warmed up engine is amazing, especially since much of my commuting in the winter is done before the engine warms up.

 

[buttermilk]

I put a little extra air in my tires too. I take off easy and stop easy. If I see a red light, I just let off the gas and hope it will turn green before I get to it instead of running up to it and hitting the brakes. That will help on the mpg.

My lowest mpg from a tankful in city/county driving has been around 23 mpg. Highway driving at 70-75 mph gets me about 27mpg.

 

[rollertoaster]

i've done extensive logging of my gas mileage:

Good:
Accelerating nice and slowly (no revving past 2.5k)
fill gas tank to top at every fill up
fill gas tank before light comes on
use gunk fuel system cleaner every so often (every 5k miles or so)
driving on the highway at less than 65mph

bad:
dry humping/ making out with the gf in the back with the heat on
idling for long periods of time
flooring the pedal
driving over 65mph on the highway (driving 200 miles at 65mph vs 200 miles at 85mph is a significant gas difference)
city driving for extended periods of time

in general, when i am "good", i have seen myself get about 20.5mpg, and when i am "bad", i have seen the element get about 14mpg.

lols ..........

 

[Twilightzero]

lols ..........

It's true. Don't ask me how I know. Ask Brawsie instead. :evil:

 

[Andy14120]

What works

This works for me. Put in a Scangauge and set it to display instantaneous and average MPG. You will get immediate feedback about your driving which will show you what is good and bad. You can see what the cost of rabbit starts are, see how coasting helps, etc.

Mount it on the front window with a suction cup mount. Or take a very thin piece of metal and slip it between the instrument panel trim and the main flat part of the dash, then velcro it to it. You want it in your line of sight.

If you are under 20mpg, you have a lot of room to do better.

http://www.scangauge.com/

 

[gruvncubn]

In general, when I am "good", I have seen myself get about 20.5mpg, and when I am "bad", I have seen the Element get about 14mpg.

WOW! I get 20MPG when I am bad... that sounds like a lot of work to get so little a payoff in your MPG's

 

[Jojo]

Drive around in a car with horrible gas mileage then appreciate what you have;-)

Best Auto Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

[elemento]

YIPES! This sounds like way too much work just to drive. I think doing all that would actually take the fun out of owning an E. I just accepted that for everything the E is it aint a really high mpg vehicule. In Hawaii it's almost all city driving and it sucks but I just don't worry about it or try to think about it and just enjoy everything the E does well. Hope you peeps figure out a happy medium....cool

 

[jimofoz]

I've had my Element for a week (2010 EX AT). We took a trip downstate this week in horrible winds yet averaged around 25 mpg.

Here's some hints that don't require adding stuff:

- Drive like there's an egg between your foot and the pedals
- Slow down (we stayed right at 70mph), but slower = better mileage
- Anticipate lights and other stops - slow down before you get there and try to catch them after red.
- Look for parking spaces where you don't have to back in or out of.
- Keep windows closed at higher speeds and use A/C.
- Leave the barbell set at home when driving around. (Remove any excess stuff).
- Make it a game.

Remember - it's not miles per tank - that doesn't really mean anything, but it's miles per gallon (km per liter).

 

[Hygieneboy]

2010 Auto, rear seats out, 38psi in tires
22-25 mpg in town
25-28 hwy

Whether I'm driving miss Daisy or driving spirited doesn't seem to affect my mileage so I drive normally and have fun with the gas pedal.

 

[xequar]

The way to get better mileage?

Buy a car that's rated for more than 18/23.

With this car, the mileage takes a dump past 75 (60-65 is the sweet spot). Running any form of climate control, especially the air conditioner, hurts the mileage. Air con is an instant 2 mpg hit in the Element. Run the tires at no less than the 32/34 spec'd on the door, and a couple psi more won't hurt anything (I don't run more more than 2-3 psi over spec though). Don't gun it from the starts and don't race up to the stops. The E can accelerate, but it does not like doing that all the time. Every once and awhile helps keep things cleaned out and happy, but more than that and the E gets sad.

In my E, with the stock tires that had really low rolling resistance, I got 30.1 mpg on one specific trip where I kept my speeds under 70 with no air con and windows closed. In normal daily driving around Metro Detroit, where I'll be in stop-and-go, then doing 80, then slamming on the brakes because people get confused when someone merges off of the Jeffries onto the Southfield, I've been doing 22-23.

 

[Erik F]

You don't have to do anything the government and Honda have already done everything in their power to squeeze every drop of fuel out of your vehicle possible. Aside from driving like an ass-hat you will get pretty close to what the window sticker said. I actually find that taking it too easy on the gas peddle gives me worse mpg. There is a happy medium. Accelerate too slow and you are wasting gas taking forever getting up to speed. Accelerate to fast and you are wasting gas over coming inertia. I have gotten into the habit of a nice easy start I would guess up to 5-10 mph, once the inertia of standing still is over come I am a little more aggressive. My tank to take MPG seems to be all over the place, but using Fuelly, so far my mpg have been 21.4 total average. Pretty good for an AWD vehicle. Its too bad more people do not realize that a 2wd E is going to get about 10% better mpg than a AWD E. So some noob somewhere driving his/her new "4wd" E is wondering why some other person on the forum is getting 23/24 mpg average when he is only getting 20/21. Here is the math assuming 10% reduction in mpg due to drive train losses in the "4wd" compared to 2wd. If you look at what people are driving and the drive train they have, most fall into these sets of numbers.
23mpg x 0.9= 20.7 and 24mpg x 0.9= 21.6

 

[EforELEMENT]

You are right that there is a significant difference between 2WD and 4WD. However, it's possible to get 23/24 mpg with a 4WD as this is what I do on average, and with a roof top tent.

I believe that the E got a pretty good mpg for the type of vehicle.