Maybe all of you have heard of the hyper-mileage people. People who go to extreme extents to get the maximum gas mileage out of their cars. For instance I saw a news (CNN I think) article and other news references to them recently and how they often get twice the rating of their car's gas mileage - e.g. a 24 mpg Accord getting 50 mpg etc.
So I thought maybe there is something to be learned there.
Here's a few ideas off the top of my head (perhaps more from a motorsports perspective) and some tricks I use and others I have merely heard of:
1. One of the most interesting: A few years ago I came across an article of someone having done some research and discovering that accelerating slowly to freeway/highway speeds was NOT the most efficient way to obtain optimal gas mileage. They found that moderately (whatever that means - probably no VTEC for me!) brisk acceleration to get to "cruising" speed and the higher gears actually yielded better mileage in the long run because you ended up spending more time in higher gears.
2. The obvious one - slow down a bit. 80 mph does not get as good gas mileage as 45-50 mph. However, notably my '88 Turbo Daytona actually got better mileage at 80 mph than at 60-70 mph ... a function of really high gearing....lugging up hills when not in the power band! Weird, but true. So in that car, I drove faster in order to get better gas mileage. ;)
3. My '90 MIata actually got slightly better gas mileage on mid-grade fuel than regular or premium. Also felt more peppy on mid-grade according to my butt-dyno. I documented the evidence over many years of ownership on excel spreadsheets. Why, dunno. Wouldn't do it again.
4. Keeping speed up in corners. Drive a good line around those freeway ramps and you will not have to slow down nor speed up as much. Besides, it's good practice.
5. Drafting - yep some of the hyper mileage guys tuck in behind semis and tag along for the ride. I'm not sure I recommend following others too closely - besides you might get a ticket. What I do is less dangerous: Do the bulk of the accceleration when in the "draft" of a vehicle - e.g. behind it and off to the side of it (like riding the wake of a boat). Maybe I should get into NASCAR?
6. Hypermilers: (I like this idea) Park such that you can pull straight out instead of having to back up etc. Also manuevering the vehicle is better done when the engine is warm and more effecient.
7. Shutting the engine off at long lights. If you KNOW the light is a long one (like the one outside my place), you might shut the engine down while you are waiting. This is something I heard on TV many years ago - good idea but I still wonder about the extra wear on the starter etc.
8. Back many years ago while a teenager I was visiting my uncle in Finland and he used an interesting tactic to save fuel (yes, fuel was about 2.5-3 times more expensive over there even then!). In particular I remember the wild drive to his summer camp on the lake in his Ford Taunus (European model) wagon with the whole family on-board. The road was curvy, hilly (often with curves on the hill) and gravel. Think of the WRC Finnish rally - Rally of the 100,000 lakes - that is where I was born. Well, we would do 4-wheel drifts around the corners and if there was on-coming traffic, he would simply change the drift angle to fly by the other car! Scared the beejesus out of me! And did I mention he drove pedal-to-the-metal continuously? There was no speed limit there at that time. Obviously he didn't mind. Ever wonder why so many rally drivers come from Finland? Now you know the rest of the story!
But, I digress!
For better fuel economy, he used to put the std. transmission into neutral and glide down hills, letting the engine idle. Once at the bottom it promptly went to the floor boards again and off we went!
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Your turn!
Reijo