Hypermiling
I don’t know how many of you already know about hypermiling, but this is a term that I needed to find out more about. Hypermiling is a set of techniques to increase fuel efficiency and keep down fuel costs, so naturally I was interested in finding out more. It’s all about learning to adopt certain driving methods to get more miles per gallon of fuel. The technique has been around for some time now, but gas prices being very volatile recently have made is really popular in recent times. According to the hypermiling site, there are six main steps to follow:
1. Always know your gas mileage after every visit to the gas pump. Obviously you can’t improve on something until you know how good or bad it is in the first place.
2. Don’t drive aggressively. Rapid accelerations and frequent braking are really bad for mileage. It would seem that most drivers use the brakes at least 10 to 25 % more than required. To reduce braking, leave a big enough buffer between you and the car in front and don’t accelerate if you see traffic lights coming up. You are also advised to concentrate on driving etiquette and focus on maximum carefulness while driving to see results.
3. Sitting still at intersections / red lights. As soon as you see the red light before you, take your foot off the pedal and remember that idling does not improve your MPG.
4. Avoid traffic congestion. In this very interesting article, William Beatty talks about traffic ‘Waves’ and how to avoid them so that you are not caught in traffic snarls that cause you to stop and go stop and go. It’s about not going with the flow.
5. Accelerate slowly. To get to a certain speed in 3 seconds, it takes more acceleration (fuel) than it would to reach that same speed in 4 seconds. So don’t waste that fuel to save a second, makes sense I think.
6. If you have cruise control, use it. See here, to read about how Cruise control can be used to your advantage.
To discuss tips and techniques with Hypermiling buffs (or just to pick up a few pointers) you could go visit the Hypermiling Forum.
A friend of mine just emailed me one of your articles from a while back. I read that one a few more. Really enjoy your blog. Thanks
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This is an incredibly important topic – both for the enviroment, and your wallet. I’ve been doing it (albeit without the mpg computer) for a while now and its made a huge difference in my consumption. My understanding is that the slower acceleration is one of the most important rules to observe. I generally try and not hold up traffic, but when no-one is behind me, I take my sweet time getting up to the speed limit. I bet most people could increase their fuel economy 50% by just watching how they accelerate.
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There is no control over fuel economy by any single person and by any country in the world.
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Great post. This is an interesting piece of article.
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Excellent post. These steps really helped me and i learned a lot from this post. Thanks for sharing such a useful information with us. Great work
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I have heard of the tips, but never knew they were called hypermiling. Another great reason to use your cruise is setting your speed to one that won’t get you arrested! So that one is a double-duty tip!
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Does every one want to save fuel?
Not even 5% of people who care about fuel.
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[...] strong need to increase fuel efficiency and decrease fuel costs? Yes? Read up this article about hypermiling, courtesy of Nicole [...]
Smart driving… These tips are good not only for reducing expenses on fuel, but are just for safer driving – if everybody drive calm, keep the distance, accelerate slowly – there would be much less car crashes and accidents… Good for all i think:)
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Just to add, I don’t think many people would bother to follow all those.
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never heard of this, thanks for sharing the info! with steep prices for gas, this is definitely something i’m willing to try..
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I know someone who does this and he gets noticably better mileage on his small truck. Of course every time I try my impatience gets to me and it does not work.
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Thanks so much for providing us with all this great info about hypermiling. Too Shy to Stop writer Isabel Adams just did an article for our magazine about hypermiling. You can read the full article here.
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Good subject and content of blog! Really whole world is suffering from the cost and insufficiency of fossil and petroleum oil and gases. As automobile vehicles are increasing day by day and the feeding oil is reducing in the same proportional way, it is harming the environment and increasing the green effect.
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This is awesome advice!
My hubby and I are very careful as to how we drive, practice good traffic etiquette and try to take our time as much as possible.
Not only is it better for your fuel mileage, it’s better for the wear and tear on your vehicle!
Kimberly
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Really whole world is suffering from the cost and insufficiency of fossil and petroleum oil and gases. As automobile vehicles are increasing day by day and the feeding oil is reducing in the same proportional way, it is harming the environment and increasing the green effect.
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