The tank was half empty so in anticipation of long highway drive filled it. Was shocked it took only 3.8 gallons Then checked out gas tank size and LOL it is only 7 gallons. Never realized it before. BTW do people prefer certain gas? There were lot of things about manganese etc in the manual. Plus I believe each gas station can blend it differently even if you fill in shell.
Start getting use to the 'dirty' look by the gas attendants. I have to explain to them every time i fill up (twice so far) that the gas tank is only 7 gallons. They were annoyed that the pump stopped so quickly....
So the question is how many miles does a full tank and full battery last on highway. Has to be less than a accord? updated - looks like it gives 303 miles for 7 gallons of gas. 43 mpg civic weighs 2742 and has 40 mpg clarity weighs 4052 and has 43 mpg? So what accounts for 3 mpg gain even with heavier car. If you use only gas in clarity why is it so much more efficient than civic
LOL, No, it is not a retro station. No gas attendants to check air and oil. I live in New Jersey and there is a state law that requires gas to be filled by an attendant. Lawmakers thought self-serving gas would be too dangerous for dumb NJ drivers. Now they can't get rid of the stupid law because too many people would lose their jobs. So, there is no self-serv in NJ for cars. You can however self-serv for airplanes....
The Clarity PHEV's Atkinson-cycle engine (which the Civic doesn't use) was the most efficient engine available when the car was released. I believe Honda claims the new Accord Hybrid's engine is a smidge more efficient.
Exactly, thermal efficiency of the engine. It is close to 40%. A typical gas car might be 25%. In other words, for every 4 gallons of gas you burn, the energy from 1 gallon is going to moving the car forward, the energy from the other 3 gallons is wasted as heat. The Clarity might be the energy from 1.6 gallons goes to move the car forward and the energy from 2.4 gallons is waste heat. An electric motor is about 80% efficient.
The Clarity burns regular up to 15% ethanol. I buy what is best value. Usually that is 87 with 10% ethanol. Honda recommends Top Tier gas, which just means those gas stations meet the requirements on all octane levels of their fuel, but in the US you will find most fuels are the same even between different gas stations. They might add their own additive package. Edits: So if you buy gas from one of these brands of stations: https://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/ It is guaranteed that all octane levels sold there meet the requirements set by Top Tier. Meaning, don't think you are getting a better deal buying Premium for the additives from one of those stations.
Hybrid has almost no value on the highway (other than allowing smaller and/or Atkinson cycle engine). The Insight has the same Atkinson cycle engine, which is why it does so much better. Better thermal efficiency than the Civic.
I don't know if AAA has a relationship to "Top Tier" but a report from them, https://newsroom.aaa.com/2016/07/aaa-not-gasoline-created-equal/ shows that top tier gas is better for your engine.
Have you tried using ethanol free gas? I’m at 1,500 miles and still on my original tank of gas. I drive mostly on ev since my daily commute is only 25 miles.
I looked up atkinson engine more. So its only on hybrid cars ... neeeds battery to give extra power. Prob need to think about buying accord hybrid now.
Yes, my point is hybrid itself isn't what gives good highway mileage, only the fact that hybrid allows you to use an engine like an Atkinson cycle engine that would otherwise be useless by itself, but combined with an electric motor for low end torque means you can use a much more efficient design gas engine, and not give up power for hills, and starts. No 4000 lb gas only car could get anywhere near 40 mpg on the highway and be as much to drive as the Clarity.
Thank you for that video! It answered one question that was nagging me: What happens to the air/fuel mixture pushed out of the cylinder during the Atkinson compression stroke before the intake valve closes? The answer: That pressurized air/fuel mixture simply goes into another cylinder that happens to be performing its intake stroke. The pressure provided by the first cylinder's compression stroke reduces the effort the second cylinder needs to expend to perform its intake stroke.
