I’ve been feeling the pinch (as I’m sure everyone has) of gas that’s nearly $4.50 a gallon. Recently I’ve been hearing about hypermiling, which is driving as efficiently as possible, and I’ve been implementing some of its techniques into my driving style.
The car I drive is a Honda Element 2wd classified as a small SUV, which according to the 2008 EPA guidlines gets the following milage. (City/Highway/Combined; 2WD) 20/25/22
On my last lead-footed tank of gas, I got about 21.5 mpg, which is pretty close to the EPA combined.
Using hypermiling tecniques, of got 31.9 mpg on my last tank. This is a 48% improvement! I wasn’t even close to perfect efficiency. This included 40 miles of speeding (70mph) to a wedding I was late to, driving with a roof rack, and about 80 miles with a bike and a uni on top. I used AC for probably close to 100 of those miles. A good chunck of those miles were also in stop and go traffic.
Other than that, I simply accellerated very gently. Timed lights so that I used my brake as little as possible, avoiding stopping completely, stopped my engine at long lights, I drove 55mph on the highway, and left a large gap in front of me when driving in traffic to avoid having to stop completely.
Has anybody else modified their driving due to high fuel costs?
I’ve modified my driving, but high fuel costs aren’t the only reason.
High stress is another. Driving like you’re fleeing a crime scene will invariably put you face-to-butt with a slow driver… and it isn’t pleasant for either party. Nor is it pleasant for my significant other. On a good day, she leaves the car with white knuckles; on a bad day, she’s green with nausea.
Nonetheless, I’ve seen my overall average mileage climb from 22 MPG to 26 MPG, and my highway mileage increased to almost 30 MPG. That’s even more than the manufacturer advertised for my car!
I agree. My overall driving experiece has been MUCH less stressful. Now instead of being pissed off at the slow driver in front of me, I am that driver! In the past, slow driving has just been boring to me, but by turning it into a bit of a game, it becomes engaging.
Yes I’ve been doing similar, but not checking my actual results. I’ve taken to driving with my little trip computer set to show the “current MPG.” Obviously these numbers are merely an estimate, and I’m not even sure how they are calculated, but they give you an idea of where your gas is going. Most of it gets used taking you uphill, and getting you from a stop back up to speed. My favorite is long periods of coasting, where I get the limit: 99 mpg!
I recently read and example of a Toyota Camry’s fuel economy (Consumer Reports article on saving gas). Driving at 65 mph instead of 55 reduced the car’s MPG from 40 to 35. Upping it from 65 to 75 cut it to 30 mpg. That tells me two things. Your maximum driving speed makes a HUGE difference, and the Toyota Camry gets pretty darn good mileage! Consumer Reports does its own measuring, based on real-world driving, and does not go by the EPA numbers.
More from that same issue (July 08):
Gas saving gadgets don’t work. Some actually lower your fuel economy. I’ve been getting increasing amounts of SPAM email telling me how I can fuel my car with water. One way to know if something is untrue is that you hear about it in SPAM emails and not on the “real” news.
Premium gas can be a waste of money. You don’t need it unless your car requires it. If it’s only recommended you can do without. It does not appreciably improve the car’s performance. (If you’re interested in performance you’re reading the wrong thread anyway) Mostly premium gas reduces pre-ignition, which causes pinging in your engine. Cars that run at high compression, like my wife’s old Saab, do require it for their engines to function properly. On the bright side, premium has never been cheaper! It still tends to be 20 cents more than regular, but proportionally that price difference keeps getting smaller and smaller!
Consumer Reports top cars for fuel economy, measured by vehicle price per MPG:
Honda Fit
Toyota Prius
Mazda3
Nissan Versa
Honda Civic
Hyundai Elantra
Scion SC
NOTE: I simplified the list, leaving out the various different versions of same model, which may have appeared more than once on there. Also note that this list is based on the American versions of these cars, which may vary (a little or a lot) in other countries based on both price, and how those cars are outfitted for different countries.
For going uphill, I’m avoiding situations where I start from a stop going uphill, and also I’m learning that gently decellerating uphill is more efficient than keeping your speed constant. Of course, that only applies to relatively short hills.
I expect the smartcar to be added to the top of that list. The base model is inexpensive, and it’s fuel economy is better than any other current non-hybrid I know about.
This opens up a can of worms. People get violently angry when you slow them down. Perhaps you live in a more civilized and less crowded part of the country than I do. For your sake, I hope you do. I’ve had more than one reasonable and sensible friend tell me to speed up before I get myself killed. I’ve been driving the speed limit for just shy of two years. I’ve had more than my fill of angry tailgaters. Also, you will be forced to drive in the slow lane, which is where you are most likely to get into a collision (from people entering and exiting the highway). Welcome to my world. Good luck. Ask yourself whether it’s worth it.
David Stone reports getting 45 with his, which he’s driving up to NS for Ride The Lobster. But Consumer Reports didn’t include it on that list because they only used cars that are “recommended” by them, which the SmartCar didn’t make. The fuel economy is excellent, but they weren’t crazy about the build and reliability. Also it’s one of those cars that requires premium gas, as does the Mini!
I just negotiated one more day of telecommuting. I’m up to 3 per week now. I’d like to go for 4 at some point, but at least I’ve just taken 76 miles, about 2 gallons, off my week.
They do get angry, but they’re not interested in hanging around for confrontation. They’re in a hurry, remember? The roadway is full of angry drivers. These people burn more gas than they should and cause accidents. Although I try to drive as respectfully as possible, I don’t feel badly for sometimes being in their way.
Hey, my friend, don’t give me your theory. I live with this problem every day. Many do hang right on your ass. Some don’t even realize they are doing something dangerous. Some feel justified (you are, after all, slowing them down). Often the adjacent lane is going so fast that they can’t get out from behind you.
Sorry! Nobody wants to keep hearing me bitch about this. We have 15 pages of that. Stay safe. Come back in two years and talk to me. I think your attitude will have changed by then.
And please don’t misunderstand; I’m glad other people are slowing down. There is safety in numbers and right now, I’m the only one going 10 to 15 MPH below the prevailing speed.
Are we threadjacking? Like I said, I’m not going to keep bitching (I’m trying), but driving slowly is a major part of getting good gas mileage (kilometerage?) and people should know what they are getting themselves into.
That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long, long time. Driving is my biggest source of unhappiness and my biggest drain of energy. I don’t get the same results as you with tailgaters (sometimes in PA, almost never in NJ). I hope your good fortune continues.
To try to get back to the main point of this thread… I’ll have to measure my gas mileage and compare it to the manufacturer’s claims. I don’t use your hill technique, but I do accelerate somewhat mildly and I keep my speed down. On the other hand, I rarely use overdrive because it’s too freewheeling. That must be costing me $$$.
I’ve been doing this recently. Out of basic consideration for others, I don’t accelerate realllly slowly in traffic heavy enough so that I can’t be passed easily, but if the streets are empty (like late at night), then I accelerate pretty dang slow and drive pretty dang slow, sometimes even below the speed limit. I’m normally not in a hurry, so I don’t mind adding 5 minutes to a 10-15 minute drive to get a few free extra round trips per tank.
(Most places are about 8-9 miles away from me, and I drive a minivan that gets about 18 with normal driving [no hypermiling], so I just pretend that for every extra mpg I can squeeze out, I get an extra round trip [I have a 16 gallon tank].)*
Has anyone else tinkered around with driving settings when the road is mostly empty? I’ve been messing around with it, and I’ve found that the lowest RPM I can get is accelerating to a bit above 40, and then backing the cruise control off to 38. I can hover at about 1600 RPM there. I’m pretty sure that just keeping the RPMs low is the best way to save gas mileage, correct? If I’m wrong, feel free to laugh at me and correct me.
I also, like someone mentioned up there, take turns as quick as I can. It’s more fun, and I don’t have to brake. Yay.
Happy, Dave?
*I apologize for the above butchery of punctuation.
