Comments on: You Tell Me: Hypermiling

By: Water Car Run on WATER+Fuel. Hydrogen Save Gas=FREE ENERGY!

Water Car Run on WATER+Fuel. Hydrogen Save Gas=FREE ENERGY! — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:47:46 +0000

Water Car Run on WATER+Fuel. Hydrogen Save Gas=FREE ENERGY!…

The reason I wanted to talk a little more about mpg is this; I am meeting people that still don\’t know what kind of mileage they get per gallon. I think this knowledge will make many think twice about two trips to the store, or letting the car run w…

By: Saturday Round-up | Oh My Aching Debts

Saturday Round-up | Oh My Aching Debts — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:24:31 +0000

[...] Frugal is writing about Hypermilling. Ok, this was a new one on me. I had never heard the term but apparently it means the practice [...]

By: Foxie

Foxie — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:50:26 +0000

@MITBeta: Thanks for correcting me, heh. *Opens mouth, inserts foot* I’m always partially right when it comes to car things, yet I overlook some simple ones… However, I use engine braking a lot, so I’m rarely in neutral. I’d rather have complete control always and use a little more gas than give up some control just to save some. I get good enough mileage in the Miata that it doesn’t bother me.

As long as you aren’t blocking traffic, go ahead with it. But don’t become a “rolling road block.” I ran into a minivan doing just such a thing yesterday. I was not happy. I wasn’t doing 90, either. Just 75, which, for the S, happens to be optimum gas mileage speed. (Engine tuned for racing, so it likes to be working a bit harder.) I had plenty of people behind me, too, and I hate being tailgated in a sports car… (Of course, the people around here have absolutely no respect for anything that someone has that is nicer than what they have. None.)

“Never put your car in neutral when you are using cruise control. We know a couple who got in a bad accident doing this. Something in the engine blew up and they lost control.”

I can’t see how this works, at all. You have to be in gear to use cruise control. Any car that would let you do that isn’t properly functioning.

@Alex: Try explaining that to people when you’re using A/C in a convertible. ;)

By: MITBeta @ Don't Feed The Alligators

MITBeta @ Don't Feed The Alligators — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:14:33 +0000

“That’s probably because it’s all based on RPM’s. The car can be in drive and have the engine idling, or it can be in neutral and the engine is idling. Either way, the engine is using the same amount of gas to continue working at it’s minimum. (~750 RPM for my Miata, for example.)

Your tachometer is what’s telling you how hard your engine is working, and it’d be based off of that. Of course, this is harder to control in automatic transmissions, if not impossible. For best fuel savings, and overall maintenance costs, manuals are the way to go.”

@Foxie: This is not true. The RPM of the car is mostly unrelated to the load and consequently the amount of fuel burned. A car in neutral at idle will use less fuel than a car in gear, moving at idle. Another example is if you are driving in gear at 2000 rpm and then start up a hill but maintain your speed. Your car will use more fuel to go up a hill at 2000 rpm then it would to remain on a flat road at 2000 rpm.

By: Summer

Summer — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:21:26 +0000

I’ve also been practicing hypermiling over the past few weeks and it does conserve a lot of gas. I put my gear in neutral going down hills and cruise when i’m driving on flat terrains. I just don’t like all the lights that are around my area and the people that drive way past the speed limit. Why rush?

By: RacerX

RacerX — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:16:18 +0000

The biggest way to save (15%+) is to moderate your driving aggression.

People forget that the 55MPH law wasn’t put into place for safety, it was place to save fuel!

By: Kings

Kings — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:01:07 +0000

We have been hypermiling ever since we read an article on Reader’s Digest about it. We have increased our average mileage by about 6 MPG’s. I am not sure what the $ savings is, but it has to be a lot! My husband always jokes that he is helping our national security by reduceing our dependence on foreign oil!

By: Brian LAng

Brian LAng — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:50:21 +0000

My daily commute is about 40 miles round trip on mostly rural roads. I’ve found that I’ve been able to cut my gas consumption from a full tank every week to half a tank a week. I slow down going up hills, and use cruise control on the flats. As I approach corners, I let my foot off the gas completely.
It’s saved me a lot of money over the last six months.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:38:01 +0000

I just read an article about people causing traffic hazards because they misunderstand hypermiling and its principles. People should be aware that:

1) Drafting is dangerous and not endorsed by many hypermilers.
2) Driving too slow can be as dangerous as speeding, and the police will cite you for driving too slow on freeways and major roadways.
3) Putting your automatic car out of gear or turning it off can be hazardous, especially in high traffic areas. You never want to do anything that will cause you to lose your power brakes, steering, etc.

It’s important to conserve fuel, but your safety is even more important!

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:37:39 +0000

Great tips! I also read something somewhere about air conditioner vs. windows and I think it’s more fuel-efficient to use the air conditioner on higher speeds and windows for city driving, but I can’t find my source. Anyway I will definitely keep trying the ones you listed here!