Hypermiling Becoming More Popular as Gas Prices Rise

The great thing is hypermiling doesn't just have to happen in a hybrid. I spoke with a hypermiler who owned a Yaris and was getting 52 mpg I believe. A couple links to check out and listen to if you like: http://www.podtech.net/classic/3634/hypermiling. Also at last years Hybridfest, I spoke with Eric Powers who hypermiles, and Bill Kinney who drove from the Seattle, WA area for the event and hypermiled they whole way. http://www.podtech.net/classic/3725/meet-hypermiler-bill-kinney

I hypermile all the time. I went from 23mpg in my Subaru Legacy AWD wagon '97 to 40mpg. I'm trying to get rid of my car, but knowing that I can get much better gas mileage at least helps for now.

For work I drive a 99 Chevy Venture, rated for 18mpg, and I consistently drive it at 26mpg now. That's a 45% increase!

I've been making an advertisement recently, and I am planning on teaching people how to drive more efficiently. After taking the time and patience to learn these techniques, I want to pass on the information so others can benefit too.

By the way, these averages were from only using safe techniques. I do not tailgate or endanger anyone else by my driving, if anything I am driving safer, with more care to my driving. If only everyone did this we could save money on gas and insurance while also reducing traffic accidents.

I've managed to improve my 2002 Ford focus (automatic) urban mpg by about 10%, from 25 mpg to 28 mpg, by nudging the shifter into neutral at stop lights. I haven't tried the other tricks because I started driving a Prius 2 years ago. The focus is the "dog car".

My current record is 50.2mpg in an Acura RSX that is EPA rated for 28mpg hwy.

I wanted to see what my fuel-economy would be on the highway, driving frugally, etc. Filled up the tank, and went out on the highway for about 80 miles, then filled up again, and one more time upon my return. This on a 91 Toyota Camry with nearly 176,000 miles on it, with the windows closed (but aircon on). No proper tuning of tire inflation or anything like that. Driving consistently at 55-60 miles per hour, and with a light touch on the accelerator, I got 46.5 miles per gallon. I did this twice (once on the way out, again on the way back) and got almost identical results.

My Dad has been a long time enthusiast of hypermiling.
I've sat with him many times where's he's been freewheeling, coasting, gently accelerating, etc.......only to blow it all on a balls-out overtaking move when someone has just come past him :)

I'll be interested to see how long people keep this up. It's almost like a rationing attitude. Considering how many cars offer high levels of power and torque now, trying to reign in your right foot must be getting harder and harder.

It reminds me of when we had the fuel blockades in the UK in 2000. Suddenly everyone was driving like a grandmother, and you certainly didn't see much "commited helmsmanship" then! And if someone came past you quickly, the first thought was "where the hell is he getting his petrol from? Has he got a secret stash??" !

56mpg (6.8l/100km) with a 1989 VW Passat III 1.8 driven on a partly mountain area autobahn aiming at 130km/h. I always put 0.2 (bar) overpressure on the tires.

Hypermiling is an admirable concept; people wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. However, it is dangerous. It puts other drivers on the road at risk of being injured. When you over inflate your tires you are reducing your traction. How much traction do you think you have when the road is wet or if there are leaves on it. Speeding around corners to reduce amount of momentum lost is also dangerous to other drivers. Someone could blow a tire or loose control. If people were really concerned about using less gasoline then they should man up and realize that maybe they should not be driving. There are bicycles. There is public transportation. If people are truely concerned about the environment then they would make concessions and pair their job time to bus schedules or carpool. One can not have everything.

56 is kmpg, it's actually 35 mpg. Me and math, you have to have a laugh.

This is an interesting technique.
As a driver of a truck how am I to know if someone wants to hyper mile behind me or is trying to get me out of there way?

Is there some sort of courtesy communication?

Plus, everyone please follow the law of the district.
I saw this Honda Insight going 40 in a 55. I think the minimum was 45 on that highway. I swear it was gonna cause a pile up. Unfortunate but true...

I regularly get 39-42 mpg with my 2004 Kia Rio 5spd manual. It is rated at 32/27 I think. My mix is about 25% city 75% highway. By manually turning my engine off at lights I get about 4-5 mpg and the rest comes from light acceleration and coasting/easy braking. It is nice to fill up less frequently.

Wow.. I never knew you could improve fuel efficiencies that much. Can any of you hypermilers recommend some good websites on hypermiling? The link at the end of the article above is misleading. Thanks in advance.

First off turning off your engine on a non hybrid is the easiest way to blow a starter thereby killing your gas savings.

Also turning off the engine while going down an incline is also illegal and dangerous. Overinflating your tires is dangerous also because while you get better mpg your traction decreases and makes the tire more succeptable to blowing out.

The only real way to get better gas milage is to keep it under 3,000 rpms. I did just that and my mpg went up to 27mpg from 22 in my 2004 corolla(its so low because ny has horrible ethanol gas)

I started by switching to a manual transmission car. I chose to slow down (to the speed limit), accelerate gently (shifting at 2000 rpm / 2200 on hills), shift to neutral on downhills that aren't too steep to coast a bit faster, start the car when I'm ready to drive off (no warmup), and never use a drive thru with the engine idling. My 98 Saturn with 137k miles is consistently getting 42 mpg :-)

Jon, if you think this is dangerous, be grateful you didn't see me as a teenager!

While I think this concept is fascinating, it seems a bit of a problem in a car designed to get better mileage without changing driving habits terribly much: the Prius. I know that some hypermilers apparently can do it, but how exactly are you supposed to not brake in a Prius when that energy is used towards charging the battery? If the battery doesn't charge the car shifts to the gas engine in order to charge it, which sounds to me like it would waste fuel and negate the purpose of this whole activity. Add in the fact that you get better mileage using the electric motor and the battery, how is this supposed to work? Maybe I'm missing something here.

My wife and I drive our Prius fairly normally, accelerating to speed normally and then pulling back to "coast" (also known as "pulse and glide" I believe, or something like that), braking gently, using the cruise control at the speed limit, and generally being as safe as possible. We don't get uber efficiency but it is leagues above what our old cars used to get and what the average car gets now. I'm a firm believer in driving habits affecting mileage more than the "magic pill" certainly; I still applaud the hypermiler folks who can eke out ridiculous numbers using a standard combustion engine.

I drive a 2005 Honda Shadow (motorcycle) One of the big reasons that I bought it was because of fuel economy. When I first bought it, I drove aggressively. When doing that, I achieved 50 miles per gallon. When fuel prices rose, I started considering my fuel economy even more. By reducing my speed on the highway to about five miles per hour under the speed limit when possible, turning off my engine when at long lights, pulling the clutch when I need to maintain about the same speed on level ground or while going down hill, and finally accelerating slowly, I have increased my fuel economy to 67 miles per gallon on a regular basis.

First, Hypermiling is not dangerous. Inflating you tires to the max recomended on the sidewall will actually give you better traction as any radial drag racer will tell you. You will also get better, more even wear. Remember, the people who tell you to inflate your tires to 32 psi are the people who sell tires. I use a few simple tricks in my 04 Mazda 6 Sport Wagon with a 3 ltr V6 and 5 speed auto. I always start off in 2nd, never let the tach go over 2K and put the car in nuetral and coast whenever I see traffic slowing or I see a light turn yellow or am approaching a turn or stop sign. I regularly coast .5 to .6 miles before stopping. I average 28 dity and 33+ highway in a car now rated at 14 city and 24 highway.

The examples given in the article (correctly or slightly overinflating tyres, removing roof racks, trying to keep a constant speed without hard braking or fast acceleration) are what should be a part of regular driver's education. When I took my test in the UK almost 20 years ago these safe ideas were taught as "good common sense", whatever happened to that?

However, some of these ideas are just dangerous, drafting (not begun a few years ago by truck drivers, try watching any motor sport, they've been doing it for almost 100 years) or riding with a wheel on the white line, both dramatically increase your chance of an accident. As does staring at your mpg on your trip computer rather than driving carefully. This isn't a green issue, it is about improving the standard of driving on the world's roads!

I'm not really a hyper-miler -- they're in a different category. But two things I have done were to change from a 2006 Subaru Impreza Sport (with roof-rack) to a 1993 Toyota Corolloa and adopt the mantra, "no need to speed." I'm now getting 35 mpg vs my previous 21.

I switch from a 4 cylinder supercharged car which normally gets almost 30 MPG to a single cylinder 125 cc Scooter and I get at least 80 mpg instantly...gonna be more conservative with the throttle and I will see how much more I can squeeze out of the gas tank.

"controversial practice of drafting behind other vehicles on the highway to reduce aerodynamic drag -- a practice begun a few years ago by truck drivers" - a few years ago? Like 30? Controversial? You mean tailgating?

I hypermile all the time. On my Toyota Celica, I installed a duct-tape upper and lower grill block, change gears at 1700rpm, avoid traffic lights and turn the engine off when stopped.

EPA rating is 26mpg. My current average is 54mpg.

@MY: I've been driving lighter for about 3 years, and for the past year I have been really working on getting better gas mileage. I wouldn't expect to ever not drive this way now.

@Jon: Thanks for the blanket response. Of course all hypermilers draft, speed around corners and drive like crazies right? Think again, the media makes that up for the most part to have a crazy story. Myself and some friends that hypermile all do it safely, and most people I have talked with on forums online commit to safe driving also. As much more aware drivers, we are focusing on saving gas AND safety, unlike most other drivers who focus on getting somewhere without wasting their time.

@CaptainAmerica,
Why is it that when people break the law by traveling over the speed limit it seems okay, but when it's to go slower it's not okay? Many roads around me are not safe at the posted speed limits. If there's an extra lane than just pass at a reasonable speed. If not, be patient, you'll get there soon enough.

@NationalParks:
http://gassavers.org
ecomodder
http://oneonta-region.wikispot.org/Car_Share

@MajorTom1981:
I haven't blown a starter and I've been shutting my engine off at lights for 3 years, and I'm at 190k miles on this car. Look in forums of hypermilers, it is almost unheard of to break a starter from overuse. They break from being old and having worn/bad connections. Turning engines off to coast downhill is illegal in some places, but not most. It can be unsafe to someone who isn't expecting an engine to turn off, but I am very safe coasting down hills because I am paying attention to my speed, and I usually don't do it if other cars are around. The best way to save gas mileage is by using a myriad of techniques, one of which is keeping the RPMs low.

@Samas, while many hybrids do have regenerative braking, it is still not as efficient as just rolling for a while before needing to use the brakes. Any time brakes are used there is wasted energy, but thankfully hybrids capture a portion of that energy, but certainly not all of it.

-Andy

Hypermiling is one thing, smart driving another.
To me, it comes down to chutzpah.
Do you have the chutzpah to accelerate at half the rate of the speed of traffic (10 seconds difference between zero and 55mph by my measurements)?
Do you have the chutzpah to coast to a stop when the Lexus behind you is 12 inches from your bumper because they want to get to that red light right now?
Do you have the chutzpah to slow on hills (below the speed of traffic), and not move up six inches at a time in heavy traffic?
I have found that driving conservatively lowers my blood pressure and allows me

Hypermiling isn't the only way to get GREAT fuel economy. I drove a 96 Jeep Cherokee 6cyl auto 4wd, a gas guzzler at a stock 16 city and 19 hgwy. After doing EXTENSIVE off road modification ($14000 worth) adding over 1600 pounds in weight, and dropping the gear ratio to 4:10 for tons of torque. Normally, this would bring about 10 city and 13 hgwy, right? Wrong. With a few relatively inexpensive modifications in the vehicle I was getting over 20 city and 26 hgwy! Without having to change those aggressive driving habits we've all developed at one point or another. Don't get me wrong, if done correctly the hypermiling sounds fantastci, and I'm curious as to what the mileage could have been on my Great White Beast. So in order to gain efficiency, also look for other methods. Less restrictive airflow, and exhaust systems, a spacer for the TBI, and an inline (actually in the air intake system) turbo (can be built and installed for $100 if you're handy). Imagine what a typically gas guzzling beast like My Jeep could have been applying these techniques. As for tires I was on 32 inch all-terrain tires at 10.5 inches wide, 4.5 inch lift, under body and frame armor, custom steel bumpers, a huge cargo rack, spares mechanical tools and equipment, on board air compressor, all sorts of stuff totaling at least 1600 pounds over standard curb weight
Good luck to all of you, and good job on helping break the addiction! --- JuglsKnivs

"@CaptainAmerica,
Why is it that when people break the law by traveling over the speed limit it seems okay, but when it's to go slower it's not okay? Many roads around me are not safe at the posted speed limits. If there's an extra lane than just pass at a reasonable speed. If not, be patient, you'll get there soon enough."

There does indeed seem to be a double standard. Both seem to be equally as dangerous. The situation I was referring to has a posted minimum speed limit for just such dangerous practices. The danger, which I saw, is that the major longer on/off ramps have cars already traveling near the speed limit, which means no room to merge or get off.
IDK, maybe more of a design flaw.

Has anyone heard of a courtesy signal so I would know someone was wanting to tailgate but not pass?

I LOVE CLAY BUTTS!!!!!!!!!!111

All good stuff.
I think there is a diminishing return to turning off your engine at a light or something. If you are turned off for less than 30 seconds and turn on again, you use more gas? Some fuel injected cars squirt more gas into a motor at startup to get it going.
My car is tough to start sometimes.
I think the Stop/Start cars in Europe have heavy duty starters to cope with the extra on/off cycles.

A few pounds over the door plate limit won't hurt anyone. If the door plate says 34 pounds of pressure and the tire is rated for 40, no one is in danger if you put in 38-40 pounds. If you start putting 65 pounds in, well, just wait for the explosion. Sometimes a slightly smaller contact patch gives you better grip. Softer tires are better in clumpy grass and muddy conditions. Keep all tires at the same pressure, higher on one side and lower on the other and the car will pull to one side while braking, etc.

While I am blessed to be able to do most of my running around on a bike, there are lots of people out there who can't so take it easy on the eco snotty nonsense.

Good Luck,
vsk

Hypermilling is relatively easy with any car because, cars are incredibly ineffecient to begin with! No thought is given to the simplest ways of increasing gas mileage. On average only 3% of fuel is actually used to move our bodies around now thats the problem. We have these big metal cages weighing anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 lbs to move usually only one person at under 200 lbs!

The whole concept of "personal" transportation needs to be re-imagined.

Just saw a news brief on hypermiling--interesting. As someone who has been advocating fuel-economy in vehicles and alternate energy sources (including solar, fuel cells, CNG, PHEV, and used vegetable oil) for transportation (and other!) needs, I think that hypermiling is a great start. Some of the techniques are just plain common sense (no jack-rabbit starts, no slam-on-breaks stops, keeping tires properly inflated, driving steadily at the optimum speed limit). Some of the techniques are questionable. Others are good techniques to implement. I've linked to a hypermiling site on the following website www.squidoo.com/alternate-vehicle -- With the price of gas continuing to rise, we'll be seeing more and more about this and other conservation methods appearing in our media--Your site is a great start!

2003 tiburon 2.0 auto
was 26 mpg average best was 31mpg Im not a hot rodder.
I put new air filter and bosch v platnum plugs in at 60k miles tires at 34 psi and air filter got me to
39 mpg with a light foot i turn on a/c compressor
down hills and i dont hit accelerator more than1 inch and shift when that amount doesnt pull anymore, around 3k rpm and still do 0 to 60 in 16 seconds. Lastly I beat this by getting 41 mpg
for $1 extra , I added octane booster i purchased from a dollar tree store It treats 15 gallons so why not make regular into premium for 7 cents a gallon.
I just drove 204 miles and topped off tank to tippy top with 5.033 gallons , and still have most of the octane booster from last fill .
200 miles for 20$ I am sold on Hypermiling If everyone did this with' common sense 'we could do the equivalent of taking 1/4 of cars off the road.
Shutting the engine off is nuts and I would never
do that . As for aerodynamic drafting there is a very safe way to do it 25-30 feet away , if you ride behind a trailer , open your window 1 inch and listen when your window is fairly quiet you are
saving fuel ,compared to when no truck is in front
and 1 inch of open window is loud.
One more thing , If you shut off your engine
on the road you will be at fault for any accident
The black box would record it and your power brakes and steering wont work , Dont save a dime
on the backs of peoples safety , and dont drive light footed merging on a crowded freeway either
Take the beating of the 15 cents worth of gas and
keep the highway flowing , or the 3000 cars behind you will burn more gas Than you will in your entire life ,in traffic waiting for the emt's to scape your guts off the Mack Truck that couldnt stop in time because he was being TAILGATED!

2003 tiburon 2.0 auto
was 26 mpg average best was 31mpg Im not a hot rodder.
I put new air filter and bosch v platnum plugs in at 60k miles tires at 34 psi and air filter got me to
39 mpg with a light foot i turn on a/c compressor
down hills and i dont hit accelerator more than1 inch and shift when that amount doesnt pull anymore, around 3k rpm and still do 0 to 60 in 16 seconds. Lastly I beat this by getting 41 mpg
for $1 extra , I added octane booster i purchased from a dollar tree store It treats 15 gallons so why not make regular into premium for 7 cents a gallon.
I just drove 204 miles and topped off tank to tippy top with 5.033 gallons , and still have most of the octane booster from last fill .
200 miles for 20$ I am sold on Hypermiling If everyone did this with' common sense 'we could do the equivalent of taking 1/4 of cars off the road.
Shutting the engine off is nuts and I would never
do that . As for aerodynamic drafting there is a very safe way to do it 25-30 feet away , if you ride behind a trailer , open your window 1 inch and listen when your window is fairly quiet you are
saving fuel ,compared to when no truck is in front
and 1 inch of open window is loud.
One more thing , If you shut off your engine
on the road you will be at fault for any accident
The black box would record it and your power brakes and steering wont work , Dont save a dime
on the backs of peoples safety , and dont drive light footed merging on a crowded freeway either
Take the beating of the 15 cents worth of gas and
keep the highway flowing , or the 3000 cars behind you will burn more gas Than you will in your entire life ,in traffic waiting for the emt's to scape your guts off the Mack Truck that couldnt stop in time because he was being TAILGATED!

You know I have been hearing a lot about this Hypermiling lately, but 12 years ago my exgirlfriend and her father had been trying to get me to drive this way. They were from Czech...when it was Communist...Actually the same techniques can be used in other areas like.. How much water do you use when doing the dishes.."All you need is a small stream, Jakob." He use to say..and also with your A/C...shoud be in the 80s and you should run around the house half dressed to keep cool. and unused rooms should have the vents closed off with towels under the door....I guess these techniques could be called HYPERLIVING.

two words for ya "toyota yaris" epa mpg is 29 city 36 hwy. i easily double that in ths car hypermiling.... it's like this car was designed for it!

So I had heard about this a few years ago, and thought, "Interesting...but I wouldn't have the patience, time, 'know-how', or 'what if i break my car?'" However, with rising gas prices, and my arrogant need for an SUV, and thus consequentially a rising fuel bill, i have decided to give it a go. For nearly 6 weeks I have practiced the basics: I do not allow my RPMs to EVER go above 2K, I let off the gas, roll and then slowly, barely touching the pedal, accelerate, coast to stops, begin coasting up ramps, coasting to red lights, anticipating red lights, attempting to reduce idle time - and in doing so also throw it in neutral on some of those fun down hill curvy slopes and watch the RPMs drop well below 1K, conserving that precious fuel.

I have a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer...it has 20 gallons in its tank (we all know it's like 21, cuz I top it off)...and I typically got 300-330 miles out of a tank: if we take a mid-point, 15.5 MPG. NOW...CONSISTENTLY i ma seeing 400 miles out of a tank...an increase of 90 miles per tank: 20MPG (nearly 5 MPG), that's an increase in efficiency of nearly 30%!

I also use the cruise control as this link suggests... http://www.hypermiling.com/index.html ... Cancel will begin deceleration without drastic loss of motion due to increased friction from brakes; and using the accelerator mode will increase 1/2-1 MPH without a drastic push on the pedal, saving fuel.

I do NOT drive slowly on the free way (like 45MPH), I do NOT roll through stop signs (well most of the time :)), and certainly do NOT turn the engine off when in neutral....practice safety people...However, driving the speed limit, not being in a hurry, and pracitcing the simple is stretching my dollar a couple more days in fuel terms.

I highly recommend hypermiling to all.

So I had heard about this a few years ago, and thought, "Interesting...but I wouldn't have the patience, time, 'know-how', or 'what if i break my car?'" However, with rising gas prices, and my arrogant need for an SUV, and thus consequentially a rising fuel bill, i have decided to give it a go. For nearly 6 weeks I have practiced the basics: I do not allow my RPMs to EVER go above 2K, I let off the gas, roll and then slowly, barely touching the pedal, accelerate, coast to stops, begin coasting up ramps, coasting to red lights, anticipating red lights, attempting to reduce idle time - and in doing so also throw it in neutral on some of those fun down hill curvy slopes and watch the RPMs drop well below 1K, conserving that precious fuel.

I have a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer...it has 20 gallons in its tank (we all know it's like 21, cuz I top it off)...and I typically got 300-330 miles out of a tank: if we take a mid-point, 15.5 MPG. NOW...CONSISTENTLY i ma seeing 400 miles out of a tank...an increase of 90 miles per tank: 20MPG (nearly 5 MPG), that's an increase in efficiency of nearly 30%!

I also use the cruise control as this link suggests... http://www.hypermiling.com/index.html ... Cancel will begin deceleration without drastic loss of motion due to increased friction from brakes; and using the accelerator mode will increase 1/2-1 MPH without a drastic push on the pedal, saving fuel.

I do NOT drive slowly on the free way (like 45MPH), I do NOT roll through stop signs (well most of the time :)), and certainly do NOT turn the engine off when in neutral....practice safety people...However, driving the speed limit, not being in a hurry, and pracitcing the simple is stretching my dollar a couple more days in fuel terms.

I highly recommend hypermiling to all.

Hi, When I looked up hypermiling I saw a bunch of ads that say something about adding water to get better gas milage. Would someone who understands this idea comment on it please?

I've been hypermiling for awhile. I'm getting close to 60mpg out of my $600 '89 celica.

I just bought a '92 ford festiva and can't wait to see how many mpg's I can get out of it.

I am courteous to the other drivers on the road. Always drive in the left lane as much as possible.

I tried it last night for the first time and i went from 32 mpg in my 2007 malibu to 41mpg a 22% increase. not bad for a first timer im going to keep it up i know i can hit 50 mpg if i just drove for a longer distance.

It will take small cars to reach 100 mpg. Low car weight (or mass) is the most important requirement for improvement in fuel economy. An electric car, a hybrid car, or a hydrogen car will be more fuel efficient if they are lighter. Light weight is dangerous in collisions unless crumple zones for the rear and side of a vehicle are provided.

Please see my website www.safersmallcars.com

If you like the idea, please tell the car companies. At this time they have rejected my idea.

Hypermiling???
I bought a 90 Festiva and get 44 mpg without having to change my driving habits. Very much more relaxing for me. Don't get me wrong. If you want to hypermile go for it. My cousin has a 96 Ford Contour, and has averaged 42 mpg over the last 2000 miles applying a lot of the techniques posted here. It's just not for me. At least not yet.

Jeff

I just bought a 2008 5-speed Corolla rated at 37/g. I am getting 38.5 before hypermiling. Now I am keeping below 3000 rpm and coasting(engine on) at downgrades and keeping under the limit.
I am also anticipating lights from way off . If they tail gate me I slow down so they pass me.
Will know how much hypermiling works in a bit
But I have a good car for it. Keep to the right is a must on dual carriageways. The trucks call that second lane their own.
I see more people obviously hypermiling (daylight only) and I see a lot of sale signs on SUV/pickups.
Owe more than trade value !!!

Cousin Otto use to coast and glide all the time when he took his wife Nelly to Wall-Mart in his old Dodge Pickup. 'Course back then we called it "rubber-necking." I understand the practice is alive and well in Flolida. Senior citizens do it all the time down there.

I live in New England, home to extreme winter storms and ice and for that reason I drive a 2003Ford Explorer. I know I know it has a bad SUV reputation, but that is not the point of my post. By employing some very simple changes in driving habits I am able to exceed the expected fuel efficiency of this vehicle. Its rated at 22 mpg highway. At my last fillup, I got 22.1 mpg, up from the 19 or 20 that i was getting. I keep the speedomoter at 58-60, coast whenever possible, and avoid those tempting jackrabbit starts when somone has cut me off rolling up to a traffic light. I am proud of my changes in habit and since it is already paid for I will not be getting rid of this vehicle anytime soon. I will be continuing my quest for ever increasing fuel efficiency by sropping down my speed even more. Good luck to all as we try to change our habits. Thank you.

Been driving a diesel Rabbit and Jetta VW since Dec 1 1980 .Logged over half a million miles in 2 cars ...both still going ..... Avg mpg 45-52 for 28 yrs...... thats is real long term savings.
ps - no tune ups or extra batteries need.
Maybe hypering will pulll it over 100mpg..
Will let you guys know
AL

wow i really have to get me a hybrid... i get like 17 miles to the gallon.. this frugal way of saving gas would help out my wallet big time..! great article!

i drive a 2007 jeep wrangler and if i realy focus on the road i get 30 mpg other wise 26 but thats beter than the 18 city epa rating

Here's some other mileage hints:
1. Tune up the car! Do it according to factory specs-- stock spark plugs, no "ring of fire" or "dragon's breath". Install exactly what the manufacturer says. Check other components, like air cleaner.

2. Get rid of the oversize and wider tires-- use the narrowest size the maker recommends, or even 1 size less. (Take a look at Honda Insight tires, for example). Larger/ fatter tires do not automatically provide better traction-- traction is also lbs. per square inch, tread pattern, inflation, and driving style.

i wish all you people would put more energy on trying to save fuel and focus your energy and demand form our government that they lower the fuel prices. what, you say it cant be done, yes it can, where is the oil from Iraq? we have spent billions of dollors fighting over there, it i time for them to pay up. BUT, the oil companys wont let them bring the oil here. go fiqure. this is just one example.

Lately I have tried hypermileing and last night I got an incredible 55 mpg. usually I get around 35mpg this is in my 95 VW pasatt!!! and I still drive carefully.

i am a mechanic and a racer and i guess a hyper miler from the old days , i do everything but drafting and shutting the motor off , there are other mechanical things you can do to save gas , by changing the accessory pulleys " make them run slower " adding a electric cooling fan , this can save as much as 25 horsepower that translates into gas mileage , my 85 mustang with a 302 cid roller motor had a top speed of 185 mph and would get 35 mpg when drove correctly at 45 to 55 mph ,i think electric cars are the future and i am starting to work on building one .....

I do the following:

1. Keep RPM below 2,000 whenever possible. This means no fast starts and accelerating very slowly.

2. If I go over 40mph, I roll up the windows and use AC. Read somewhere that the drag of open windows makes a difference at 40mpg and higher.

3. Go into idle whenever possible to coast. Is this bad for the engine? I have not found anything saying yes or no on this technique.

What I have not done is check the tire level. Really got to do that.

If you're trying to find a direct way to control the amount of gas you are using, i have found that monitoring how hard your engine is working is key. A/C, acceleration, and speed all, of course, affect work but these are not direct indicators. Try monitoring the RPMs (or revolutions per minute) your engine is running at. Its like monitoring your pulse to find out how hard your heart is working. You will find that there are RPM ranges which are ideal for your car and others that are not. For me when ever my engine is running at above 3000 RPMs i find that I am accelerating unnecesarily at a low gear. So i ease off the pedal and let the engine build up a higher speed at a lower RPM. The lower average RPM you travel the lower your work and this DIRECTLY determines your gas mileage. How do you monitor your RPM? Most cars have a left guage next to the speedometer called the odometer. It measures your RPM at x1000 which means if your guage indicates halfway between 2 & 3, you're running at 2,500 RPM. I have found that my comfort/efficient RPM zone is between 2000 and 3000 RPM, However I try to stay below 2000 as much as possible and not much over 2700 only when necessary, such as moving up hill through a traffic light from a stopped position. This means I don't get above 40 MPH but not necessarily. I find that I can achieve 50-55 mph in the city and up to 65 MPH on the highway and still be running at 2500 RPM. Try to find your confort/efficient zone and perhaps you can get a few more MPH's by watching how hard your engine is working!! :)

The important part is finding a balance between optimizing your MPGs and optimizing your safety. If you're a "normal" driver, you can probably increase your mileage by about a third. BUT BE SAFE! Especially in an emergency situation.

At least a couple of devices have been invented in the last 30 years that can nearly double the mileage of cars. Guess who bought the patents and all legal rights to them, then put the information in the very back of their vaults? The oil companys - they don't want to cut their income in half. The poor devils, just can't seem to get enough millions. It's criminal.

JOHN, please cite your sources. Thanks.

I began hyper miling coming home from Vermont. I coasted a total of 53 miles during a 238 mile trip I got 31 MPG vs 24 MPG. I commute 28 miles to work in traffic each way and I am getting about 27mpg just coasting. I have been doing this for about 3 weeks. Today I began shutting car off at lights. shifting into neutral to coast and even shutting off engine while coasting. I can't get enough of it. I would strongly reccomend getting a wheel alignment. I increased 4mpg because my alignment was soi far off.

To all of you who say they turn off the engine while coasting downhill...How do you steer? The power steering pump turns off while the engine is not running, so to all of you safety advocates, this seems unsafe to me.

It seems to me that the problem lies in the engines we are using. The piston engine is used so widespread and yet it really hasn't had any major improvements in design over the last century. There needs to be engines designed more efficiently to utilize fuels better. The Quasi-turbine is an example of a "revolutionary" engine, but it has not been put in production yet.
http://quasiturbine.promci.qc.ca/QTVehiculeE.html

I have a 2006 Ford Freestyle and began hypermiling a couple of months ago. On the average since I began Hypermiling I have increased my gas mileage by 15% - 20%. One day I will trade it in for a more fuel efficienct car like a Prius, but that will be when my 4 teenagers leave home. I have actually taught them (the ones that are driving) how to hypermile because we all know how much teenagers like to speed. I like hypermiling because anyone can learn how to do it and it does not take any special skills.

I agree with tim from texas. one of the problems with hypermiling is other drivers. it's really frustrating to them when you only get up to 30 mph because the light in front of you is still red. or when you accelerate super slowly.

i think a good way to raise your mpg is just to drive a stick shift though. it's easy to coast down hills and around corners in neutral, and you can change gears a lot earlier. i don't drive very economically on the highway (i usually have my windows down and i definitely speed... ), but i still get about 35 mpg on a 1999 ford escort with about 25% of that being city driving.

now, i'm not condoning what i do, but i think everyone should at least pick some rules of hypermiling to follow.

I am driving an '08 Honda Fit manual and have recently been trying some basic hypermiling techniques:

1. Coasting to stoplights/stopsigns and just reducing breaking when possible.

2. No A/C under 50 mph and no windows down over 50 mph.

3. Coasting downhill sometimes in neutral.

I do mostly backroads driving to and from work. I raised my mpg from around 34 mpg to 43 mpg just by doing these things. I love it! I will keep trying new things in order to beat my best mpg.

For someone like my dad, who is forced to commute 60 miles per day for a job that doesn't pay much in the first place, hypermilling certainly would have a great use. Thing is, he lives in rural area locally where the job market is almost nonexistent. He has to go that far to make a living. Walking that far is obviously infeasible for a 46 year old heart patient.

Here's the other thing: the cost of living out in that area is dramatically lower. So for anyone wanting to respond with "live closer" wouldn't otherwise understand the context. Pay $130 for rent out in the country with minimal utility bills, or three times that much in an urban area working the same job?

Hypermilling has its use.