The new automatically hypermiling hybrid can get 200 miles out of one gallon of gas, which is good news to drivers who are used to pain at the pump. However, it’s not just owners of hybrid cars that are noticing the benefits of changing their driving habits, with fuel efficiency in mind. “Thoughtful driving techniques can make a difference even in old gas hogs,” says Richard Keeler, who hypermiles his 1979 Nissan 280ZX sports car. One of his favorite tricks is “pulsing and gliding,” where he’ll get going to 70 in a 65, then practice hypermiling coasting until he reaches 65 again. Doing this, he can get up to 18 MPG, which isn’t great, but is much better than his gas guzzling vehicle usually gets.
“When I see someone roar past me, I think ‘They just used enough gas to last me a week,’” says hypermiler Laurie With. She owns a Honda Civic hypermiling hybrid and drives ever so slowly wherever she goes, as to not waste any precious fuel. In suburban areas, she coasts when she sees a red light and waits an extra second when the lights turn green. When she’s on the highway, she sticks behind semi trucks, which block her draft, and trucks along at a slow pace. She’ll also plan her travel routes down roads with fewer stops to increase gas mileage.
People serious about saving gas use techniques like “pulse and glide” — where you accelerate and coast for as long as possible before accelerating again. Parks your car facing outward to avoid shifting from reverse to drive, and avoid making left turns whenever possible, so you won’t have to stop and wait for the oncoming traffic to pass. Learn your routes and know the lights; if you do it right you may never hit a red light. And don’t complain about being stuck behind slow-moving cargo trucks because this allows you to burn even less fuel by traveling 20 on a 55 mph road.
No one knows hypermiling hybrid tactics better than Clean MPG website founder Wayne Gerdes, who has won multiple awards for his hypermiling excellence. He once took his Honda Insight hybrid on a 40-mile journey and reached an unthinkable 200 miles per gallon fuel economy. Similarly, he took his Prius on a 30-mile trip and reached 127 MPG. Even his 2005 Honda Accord reached 66 MPG and his 2003 Ford Ranger pickup got 85 MPG, even though gasoline mileage was an afterthought during the production of these vehicles! “A top-rated hypermiler will shave about half off the gas bill of a non-hypermiler in the same vehicle,” Gerdes explains. He recommends using a Scan Gauge to calculate instant MPG ratings, let drivers know how much a certain trip has cost them in gas and provide video-game-like feedback so drivers can score their personal bests.
Wayne Gerdes, the hypermiling hybrid expert, currently holds the world record for getting 2,250 miles from a single tank (164 MPG). He drove 800 miles from Chicago to New York in his hybrid Toyota Prius in 17 hours and still had a quarter tank of gas left over when he reached his destination. Whether you’re driving a hybrid or an old gas guzzler, the experts say the first step to getting better gas mileage is to be aware. Hybrids come with automatic MPG calculators, but regular drivers can buy one for $170 (www.scangauge.com), which will show them in real-time just what a difference their driving habits can make. We can complain all day long that our cars “aren’t built efficiently.” Or we can accept our role in fuel consumption and do something about it.
There are a number of ways to cut costs when you’re on a budget, but learning how to save fuel for your car can make a significant impact on your bank account. Click here to find out more about how to Save Fuel.
What sort of picture do you get when you think of hypermilers? Perhaps you imagine young people from Berkeley, California or Portland, Oregon, sipping their Fair Trade coffee, operating their homes off solar power and converting their old cars to vegetable oil mods. Or maybe you just imagine that annoying slow-driving person in front of you who seems hardly bothered by the fact they’re coasting several car lengths behind everyone else at 10 MPH below the speed limit. What you may not have expected is that Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. uses the hypermiling technique to save gas.
Hypermiling is a method used to get more gasoline mileage out of your car, whether you’re driving hybrid cars or old gas guzzlers. Many drivers weren’t satisfied with the initial offering of hybrids that got 30 to 45 MPG and were convinced they could do better. However, one beneficial component built into these new vehicles was the fuel economy gauge, which allowed drivers to see what drove down their MPG ratings or picked them up. They began accelerating slower from green lights, coasting to a stop well before the light and changing their driving habits to get as much as 100 MPG. It may surprise you, but many of these same strategies were first used by professional race car drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., who couldn’t afford to run out of gas mid-race.
In June 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. caught flack from critics for coasting past the pace car to hypermile as much as possible, and making it to the end of his Lifelock 400 race just in time to run out of gas. He turned his engine off to coast whenever he could, knowing that the race would be extended past the scheduled 200 laps. “I didn’t know how much they were going to worry about it,” told news reporters. “All the cars out there are gassing it, shutting ‘em off, coasting about a half straightaway, cranking ‘em back up, gas it, coast. Everybody’s doing it.” This technique is also known as “pulsing and gliding,” which works by making your engine use fuel when it’s most efficient. Drivers accelerate with lots of throttle and then glide or coast in neutral with the engine off. When the speed begins to drop again, the driver will give the vehicle another pulse on the gas pedal. Experts say this fuel economy technique is not recommended in heavy traffic, but is rather designed for open road driving.
With twenty laps to go, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. determined that the Number 88 Chevrolet would be just two laps short of finishing without refueling. Eury told Earnhardt to conserve as much fuel as possible using the pulse and glide technique to save gas. “We miss it by one lap, we finish 25th,” Eury said. “If we pit and put fuel in it we’re going to finish 25th. So, who cares? Go for it.” Earnhardt said that all the cars out there were “gassing, shutting ‘em off, coasting about a half straightaway, cranking ‘em back up, coast.” Even though there were no rules regarding this gas mileage conserving technique, Earnhardt admits, “I was getting a little greedy… I wanted to coast farther, so I’d gas it harder and coast past the pace car and just let him come on and catch back up, and that way I could keep my motor off longer.”
Using the hypermiling technique to save gas on the Nascar track takes a lot of guts and nerves of steel. However, it’s a wonderful feeling to pass all the other drivers and pit crews stopping to refuel. Even though pushing his gasoline mileage to the limit was an enormous gamble, Earnhardt still came out on top. In the process, his fuel conservation was doing something good for the environment. Perhaps if more race car drivers and owners of hybrid cars took note of his driving techniques, we wouldn’t have so much to worry about with looming fuel shortages.
There are lots of ways to save money when money is tight, but fuel saving measures for your vehicle can make a particularly significant impact on your bank account. Click here to learn more about how to Save Fuel.
While the type of vehicle you drive dictates a particular range of mileage, improving fuel economy can also be effected by many other factors. The way you drive can improve mileage, no matter the type of vehicle. In these ways you can save money, reduce emissions, and hedge your average spending during a gas price spike.
No matter what kind of car you drive, altering your driving style can have an effect on your fuel economy and gas mileage. Punching the accelerator is a notorious fuel burner. Speeding, rapid acceleration and braking, especially on the freeway, does your mileage no favors either. Sensible driving can improve fuel use by up to thirty percent at highway speeds. The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that every five miles per hour over 65 mph represents a seven percent decrease in mileage. Using cruise control can make it easier to maintain a reasonable speed, and also improve your mileage by maintaining a steady speed, but only on flat roads.
Even in frigid climates, most modern, fuel injected engines don’t need to be warmed up. Thirty seconds, at the most. The heater will warm up the interior of the car quickly enough, and frosty windshields can be scraped of ice instead of waiting with the engine running for the defroster to melt it.
Just keeping your vehicle maintained will improve fuel efficiency. The owners manual will list the recommended grades of motor oil and octane. The manual will also list the mileage markers for tune ups and service scheduling. A regular tune up will untangle issues like a clogged filter or marred spark plug. During the tune up, the mechanic will be able to spot any serious issues under the hood. Tire pressure should be checked regularly, during and midway between oil changes are well timed. Tire inflation levels are listed on the tire itself, and in the owners manual. Fuel economy can improve up to three percent when driving on properly inflated tires.
Keeping your vehicle exterior clean and waxed improves aerodynamic drag, as does having the windows rolled up. If you can stand the windows up and the air conditioner switched off, you can double up on your fuel savings in regards to aerodynamics. If you’re just driving around town, you would be okay with the windows down, and better off with the air conditioning on while driving on the highway. Roof racks, even empty, increase drag and decrease fuel efficiency. A trunk full of heavy items will also reduce fuel mileage. Unloading one hundred pounds of excess weight increases mileage by up to two percent.
One strategy people use to maximize their gasoline spending is to gas up when the fuel is cold. On cold days and cool mornings, fuel is denser, and gas pumps measure by volume.
Something as simple as combining trips can save a surprising amount of fuel. One, longer excursion that combines your errands or stops can conserve half the fuel used in multiple, short trip. Put your hand on the hood twenty minutes after turning off your vehicle, and you’ll feel how hot is stays. A cold start uses more energy and gas than one while the engine is still warm. Also, minimizing the time you spend in heavy traffic will increase mileage. Going as far as staggering your driving times for work or school to circumvent rush hour will save you and your car from all the starting and stopping.
Better than trying to squeeze every drop from your gas tank, is to find alternatives to driving. Carpooling gives you a break from being behind the wheel, your car from the road, and cuts your emissions. But when it is necessary to drive, the methods above will help you to keep your car running better, save fuel, and money.
No matter what kind of vehicle you drive, altering your driving style can have an effect at your fuel economy and gas mileage. Inside information now at http://www.funandsafedriving.com/fuel-economy.html
