What’s the Farthest You’ve Gone on a Tankful of Gas?
In theory, the S2000 should achieve 330 miles on a tankful of gas when driven on the highway at optimal speed. Our lives and daily commutes are anything but constant and frequently require us to take the path less traveled. This is all the more true when your choice of vehicle is a roadster like the S2000 that constantly tempts you to aim for the twisties and let loose. What then becomes of the 330 mile theory? Is achieving 330 miles on a tankful a realistic target or a hypermiling myth? We have to admit that it is not feasible to drive until the fumes evaporate and the car stalls, so for the purpose of this article, let’s assume we fill up with one bar remaining. How many miles do you think the S2000 can do?
With gas prices edging upwards constantly, the thought of “how much further can I stretch this tankful?” must have surely played on our mind and we are pretty sure that some of us have tried to stretch it. Nothing wrong with trying that, after all our car contains a 4-cylinder engine and Hondas are known for their efficiency, so why not try and do our bit for Mother Earth, especially when commuting along a series of straight lines. Might as well save some money and stick it to the oil company man.
Upon attaining 300 miles on a tankful (with a bar remaining) our member psychoazn started a thread on S2000 Talk to see if others had a similar experience. In response, quite a few owners posted up saying they had achieved 300 miles to a tankful. What we also noticed was a number of owners reporting mileage figures lower than normal. There are also two other discussion threads in the very same forum, one dating nearly all the way back to the beginning of time (our clock starts from the year 1999), talking about that three letter acronym, MPG (Miles Per Gallon). Definitely appears to be a trend there, wouldn’t you say?
Of course there are several factors that tie in to how much one can achieve from a tankful of gas. Weather conditions, tire pressures, tire compound, traffic, suspension settings etc. all combine to influence that MPG figure. It also depends on the quality of fuel. With ethanol content constituting 10% of the volume of gas in most of North America, gas mileage has dropped marginally and perhaps the best that can be achieved is around 300 (give or take a few) miles with one bar remaining. The United States Department of Energy states that gasohol (gasoline containing 10% ethanol) is expected to lower gas mileage by 3-4% per gallon which works out to a reduction of about 0.8-1.0 miles per gallon.
Driving style too plays an important role in extending the interval between plastic swipes to refill dino juice. Feathering the gas pedal, anticipating traffic lights (when safe to do so), as well as keeping the engine in the lower rev range contribute towards a higher fuel economy. Proper car maintenance is also another aspect of attaining higher gas mileage.
Our guess is that anything goes as long as one does not disrupt the momentum of traffic or hog the passing lane. If you derive your smiles from the miles you achieve per gallon, then more power to you.
Do tell us though, what is your MPG experience? Have you taken measures to prolong that tankful of gas or do you place more importance in the pursuit of top-down fun? What is the best MPG figure you’ve achieved and how did you achieve it?
Image courtesy of psychoazn
Related Links:
The Mythical 300 Mile Tank – S2000 Talk
Miles Per Gallon (from 2001) – S2000 Talk
Miles Per Gallon (10 years later) – S2000 Talk
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