Rangus00

i also have had good mileage. i got 32 miles a gallon on a trip to jacksonville about a month ago going 80-88 miles an hour. on the way home. i was cruising at 94 miles and hour or higher most of the way. lol mileage dropped to 28 a gallon. normally around town i get 23.5 to 25.5, when i first got the car i was getting 26 or 27... got it with 24k, now has 38. i think my mileage went down when i switched out the ngk plugs and put in iridiums. anyone else had that happen?

diondrum

I haven't seen your preaching concerning EPA ratings. I've always assumed the EPA used statistical BS.

The idea that a gas gauge "predicts" how much fuel is left in the tank based on driver input, rather than simply monitoring the actual fuel level will always baffle me. Rube Goldberg comes to mind.

s2cmpugh

I do use the trip meter to calculate gas mileage when I fill it up. I was just concerned to see it drop 3-4 bars after only driving around 30-40 miles. That is why I thought something was wrong w/ it. When I did fill up and put half a tank in, I calculated it out and got 24.6 or something like that. So I know I am right on target for gas mileage. If I am cruising around at 45 or so, I just put it in 6th and cruise.

I know I know I know I am stressing over nothing and as long as my gas mileage is consistent, then my motor is fine and I have nothing to worry about.

What about different brands of gas, has anyone noticed different gas mileage using different brands?

NFRs2000NYC

Believe it or not, youll get better gas mileage if you cruise in 5th at 45, rather than 6th. At that point, the car will get luggy, and you will have to push the gas pedal farther to make the car move, thus using more gas. In 5th, you dont need to hit the gas as hard, thus getting better fuel economy. I used to do exactly what you are doing, and have been getting 50 extra miles per tank cruising at 3500rpms or so.

vtec9

I constantly run the gauge down to zero bars. I usually get to zero bars after around 300 miles. The furthest I've pushed it has been to 340 miles, and I only filled up a little over 12 gallons.

s2cmpugh

Thanks for the tip! I will try to cruise around 3500 rpms then instead of around 2k-2500. I have noticed I get smoother shifts when I shift at higher rpms too.

Yflyer

Thanks for all the info on the fuel guage. I've only filled my car twice, but both times I had two bars; shortly thereafter the low fuel light went on, then in a couple of miles no bars. Fom light to E could not have been more than 5 miles. Drove another 10-12 miles for gas and put in 11 to 11.5 gallons.

Does the guage normally go 2 bars > 1 bar > E so fast like that? Honda says you have "about 2.22 US gal of fuel remining in the tank before the reading reaches E."

I've gotten 25 and 26 mpg on my two fillups

fastD

Somehow I doubt that the fuel gage is a simplistic trip meter. I looked in the service manual (2000 - 2004 S2000) and couldn't find any reference to back this up.

xviper

It's not. The fuel gauge is based on a simple float concept. This float goes up and down as the fuel level goes up and down. It's connected to a sending unit via a bent rod. The sending unit is no more than a simple "Weatstone Bridge" and changes resistance (in ohms) as the float level changes. It conveys this resistance to the fuel gauge, which displays it in terms of "bars" (or needle reading) as you see it. There's no magic to it. It's no different than for example, an oil pressure sender.

NFRs2000NYC

This does not explain the 0-4 bar behavior. I have had nothing on my gas gauge, only to calm my driving, and see 3-4 bars come back. Ive also lost from 5 bars to 2 bars within 5 miles when driving with my foot down.

Also, the float concept would also give you an inaccurate reading if you are parked on a steep hill.

Im not arguing, just wondering if you have actually looked inside the gas tank to see how it reads. You can very well be correct, but it doesnt back up that bars going up and down behavior. I can, on command, sit in any s2000, and move bars up/down at will...(maybe not by much, but I can raise/lower them based on driving, and there is no other car I have ever driven when you can move the gas gauge up.)