Hypermiling........How my driving is.....

Barracuda

Shared on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 01:23

Ok, so I'm surfing the net the other day and I come across a video on CNN.com about some dude that's getting 50mpg in his non-hybrid Honda Accord. This interests me as I have to drive pretty far to work every day and I'm spending about $500/month on gas. So I put it to practice. I tried it out for a complete tank of gas and increased my fuel economy from about 20mpg to 27mpg by simply changing my driving habits. This was my first try and my goal is to average 30mpg in my 2007 Mustang. It's easy and you can do it in any vehicle. Follow a few simple rules and save 25-30% on gas. Even if you're driving a gas guzzler that only gets 10mpg, isn't 15mpg better? All of this adds up to between $125-$160/month savings for me. Plus I'm carpooling with a buddy which saves me another $100/month. Not exactly chump change. Here are the basics to hypermiling.

Drive like Grandma: Drive the speed limit or a little below. I never drive more than 60 mph now and that's only on the freeway. This from a speed demon who never drove below 85mph on the freeway. Then I read that for ever 10mph over 60mph you're adding 53 cents per gallon to your gas bill due to wind resistance. That woke me up really quick since I'll drive out of my way to save 5 cents/gal on gas. BTW in case you didn't know, your car is most fuel efficient while going as slow as you can in the highest gear. For me, since I have an automatic, my car shifts into overdrive at about 40mph. So my best fuel efficiency is at around 40mph.

Accelerate like Grandma: Ok, I piss some people off a little with this one, but I accelerate like I'm doing my very best to make the speedometer needle move upward as slowly as possible. HUGE gas savings on this one.

Keep moving. This is the part where you get to drive like a racecar driver and not a Grandma. Surprisingly it's your brakes rather than your accelerator that's your worst enemy. Your Goal is to keep your momentum going. You paid good money to get up to 55mph. Every time you hit the brakes you have to pay more money to get back to 55. Take curves and corners with as much speed as possible, thereby lessening the amount of gas you need to get back up to speed.

Avoid Idling at all costs. Time your lights and stop signs. If you can see the red light from far away or a green light you know is about to change, throw your car into neutral, turn off your engine and coast up to the light. This also works for long downhills. Keep your momentum going. Even if that means slowing down early and crawling up to a stop light so that you don't have to come to a complete stop. Starting from a complete stop kills your gas mileage. Even if you're only going 2mph, it's much better than starting from a complete stop. And if you do have to come to a complete stop, at least you're not getting 0mpg by idling at the light.

Here is a video and an article about hypermiling if you're intersted.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/03/btsc.hypermiling/index.html?iref=newssearch#cnnSTCVideo

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/06/11/squeezing-the-most-out-of-a-gallon/

Cuda

Comments

Walladog's picture
Submitted by Walladog on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 09:09
I saw this too Cuda. The gas mileage goes out the window though when someone has a serious case of road rage! I saw that CNN segment also. I have a long way to drive also...but most of it is on single lane roads where you cannot pass. If I had to sit behind someone doing 30mph in a 45 zone for thirty minutes like that dude in the video....I might get violent.
DEEP_NNN's picture
Submitted by DEEP_NNN on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 11:16
I've been doing some of those techniques for at least 30 years. Not consistently though. I generally practice the maintain momentum rule when approaching lights and stop and go traffic. I used to turn off the engine on long downhills but I got bored with it because I wasn't hurting for money enough. That's the motivating factor for most people, money, not the environment or supplies. So I offer this question to ponder. If you'd hypemile in a gas guzzler, why not make your next purchase a gas miser? When the pennies need to get pinched further you can still resort to hypermiling in it too. One thing the "experts" can comment on. Turning the engine off while moving in a car with an automatic transmission will potentially damage the transmission. It's the same concept as towing an automatic. Verboten in most cars..
Pantengliopoli's picture
Submitted by Pantengliopoli on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 12:12
I'm with Bayman -- less stressful and better fuel economy = happy for me.
LocGaw's picture
Submitted by LocGaw on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 15:55
What an awesome technique. If you live upstate, please bring your car to me for repairs... Seriously, you are destroying that car if you are driving it like that.
VenomRudman's picture
Submitted by VenomRudman on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 20:11
I don't recommend turning off your engine and coasting. Many people have power steering which stops working when you turn the engine off and makes it very difficult to turn the wheel.
IACO's picture
Submitted by IACO on Tue, 06/17/2008 - 12:02
dont you also loose your brakeing abality after a short while with the engine off?
KingBayman's picture
Submitted by KingBayman on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 06:05
I just read about this yesterday on MSN. Tried it last night on the way home. I'll probably keep doing it because if nothing else it made my drive through rush traffic less stressful.

Join our Universe

Connect with 2o2p