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Increase your gas mileage: A guide to 'hypermiling'
On today's show, I gave Kai a lesson on hypermiling, a method of driving that can increase your car's gas mileage and in turn save you from spending so much at the pump.
Want to give hypermiling a try? Here are a few of my tips:
Things you can do before you even get into your car...
• Make sure that your tires are properly inflated. Under-inflated tires are also a sure-fire way to rob you of fuel economy because of increased rolling resistance.
• Plan your trips accordingly. Your car starts and runs more efficiently when it's been driving for a while. So if you have to take a trip to two places, go to the one that's further away first.
• Remove excess weight from your car. If you have things like golf clubs, suitcases or anything else that you don't need on a daily basis, take them out. More weight = more for the engine to move.
• Basic maintenance. Take your car in for regular check-ups. Clean oil and clean air filter mean better MPGs.
While you are driving...
• Slow down! Driving 80 m.p.h. on the highway as opposed to 60 m.p.h. on a short trip won't get you there much faster. But depending on your car, it could cost you $2.
• Look down the road and pay attention! If you can anticipate what lies ahead, you are already operating the car more efficiently.
Some basic techniques:
• Timing lights. Try to figure out how the lights work on some of your drives. Like if a light turns green, maybe the next few will turn red right after -- then you know you can go much slower since you'll catch a red light anyway.
• Coming to a red-light or stop sign. Don't wait 'til the last second to brake. If you see a red light coming up, let off the gas and slowly brake to your stop.
• Minimize the time spent idling. If you need to stop for a while -- turn your car off. This means always skipping the drive-thrus!
• Driving without brakes (DWB). Try to drive with the minimal amount of braking. When you brake, you're just wasting the gas to get back to the speed that you were at.
• Driving with Load (DWL). An engine runs more efficiently in a narrower power band. So try to keep your car from deviating too far from a certain RPM.
• Anticipate Hills. Your engine has to work harder to take you up a hill. If you are approaching a hill -- accelerate to build up some speed.
• Minimize Cruise Control. If you're driving in a hilly area, it's best to turn your cruise control off.
• Slow Acceleration. Quick acceleration robs you of you MPGs. Accelerate gently and smoothly.
• Turn off the A/C. Your air conditioner can decrease your MPG by up to 30%.
• Accelerating from a stop technique. Your engine has to work that much harder to get the car moving from a dead stop. So when the light turns green, take your foot off the brake and let the car roll for a few seconds. Then apply the gas and start accelerating forward.
Rance Russo is a hypermiler and a commercially licensed pilot. His website is Every One MPG.
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I would have included a request for a study on the effects of hyper-miling on the over-all system mileage efficiency. Individually, the results might be better, but the impact of multiple vehicles doing different speeds at different times is likely to have an impact on the ordered system and create multiple congestion problems (AKA traffic Jams) and also produce an adverse impact on the mileage of the congested environment which would have the end result of decreasing the mileage in average. But, most of all, I would prefer a pros/cons approach to the reporting. There are a number of factors involved in highway driving, a number of factors in congested driving and those factors are not the same; this is not a one style fits all situation and it should not be handled as such. Want to encourage this? do it in a controlled environment that ensures safety, actually encures a cost savings in the system itself, and does not encure public hostility. Suggestions to consider, Eco-Lanes. Second suggestion, consequence engineering should be practiced and a balanced approach in all forms of reporting
I would have included a request for a study on the effects of hyper-miling on the over-all system mileage efficiency. Individually, the results might be better, but the impact of multiple vehicles doing different speeds at different times is likely to have an impact on the ordered system and create multiple congestion problems (AKA traffic Jams) and also produce an adverse impact on the mileage of the congested environment which would have the end result of decreasing the mileage in average. But, most of all, I would prefer a pros/cons approach to the reporting. There are a number of factors involved in highway driving, a number of factors in congested driving and those factors are not the same; this is not a one style fits all situation and it should not be handled as such. Want to encourage this? do it in a controlled environment that ensures safety, actually encures a cost savings in the system itself, and does not encure public hostility. Suggestions to consider, Eco-Lanes. Second suggestion, consequence engineering should be practiced and a balanced approach in all forms of reporting
Very interesting topic. I have been trying to hypermile for years. I have been doing it for the following reasons:
1. Obviously to save gas.
2. Reduce wear and tear of brakes.
3. It also keeps us more attentive.
But it hasn't been easy. Most drivers either give me a dirty look, or pass snide remarks, or more often than not cut in front of me only to slam their brakes before the light; not to mention the complaints from my lovely passengers (my wife and kids).
I am glad you mentioned it on your program. Hopefully, it will increase the awareness. I also feel it will reduce the number of accidents.
Thank you.
Hypermiling can be done at higher speeds and integrated into city driving. It's really about seeing far down the road and timing your movement so you don't lose momentum. Of course, safety and consideration of other drivers is paramount over trying to reach ever increasing mpg numbers. Being courteous, merging when it is your turn, filling the gaps in traffic patterns makes everyone move faster and saves more gas for everyone. Hypermiling to the point that a line of cars puts on the brakes wastes their gas and slows everyone. But then, speeding up to reach the stop sign before everyone else or stepping on it to beat the yellow light should be cause for one to reevaluate their priorities in life.
"Hypermiling" was taught in my driver eduction class in 1980 when gas was $0.80 per gallon and every affordable car for a 16 year old was a land yacht with a 30 gallon tank that got 10 mpg.
But consider too that the economic benefits go beyond saving gas as the driving style is easy on tires and brakes too. I'm amazed when people tell me they replace tires and brakes every 20 or 30,000 miles.
Hey, Marketplace! How much does a "hypermiler" save over a lifetime of driving?
I took 3rd place at the hypermiling contest at the press launch of the Honda Insight in 2008. Unfortunately, no amount of hypermiling by me, Kai, or anybody else will make a damn bit of difference in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without concerted government involvement. The problem is too great to solve by individual action alone.
On Long Island, NY, the many of the lights are timed to stop you at every light. Or, on Route 110, you can make them all if you do 70 mph in the 55 and 45 mph zones. Come on NY DOT. This is a solved problem. Packetize the cars and move the packet at a posted speed. On RR Ave, where there is a posted "Lights are synchronized to 35 mph", the sync is off and the signs are a lie.
I'm surprised that Rance didn't recommend watching the instantaneous fuel efficiency gauge (miles per gallon or kilometer per liter). Years before I'd ever heard of "hypermiling", that's what I experimented with. A goal I've tried to follow is to choose a minimum MPG (15, say) and try to stay above it, almost all the time.
I was also surprised that Rance gave so few statistics on how much of a difference these techniques can make. I've found that I can improve my efficiency by 20%, on some trips, just by altering how I press the gas pedal.
Another example where short-sighted, tailgate-style driving, as opposed to anticipate-and-decelerate-slowly-style driving, is less efficient for the entire population is in stop-and-go traffic. If everyone would just cruise along in a smoother manner, there wouldn't be so many sudden-braking and sudden-accelerating shock waves in the traffic flow, and we'd collectively achieve a higher throughput.
Some day our semi-autonomous cars will help us do this.
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