Hypermiling – A Complete Guide on How to Hypermile
Hypermiling 101 – A Complete Guide on How to Hypermile
Hypermiling is the term used for drivers who regularly get more than the estimated mileage than a car’s stated performance. Driving techniques, driving habits, auto body modifications or mods and newer equipment technologies are all used to hypermile, to get the maximum MPG.
Hypermiling Origins
The term “Hypermiling” can be traced back in print at least as far as an article in the magazine Mother Jones dated January/February 2007 featuring Wayne Gerdes, who is said to have invented the term, and even further to a posting of August 2005 on the GreenHybrid online community board. The Gerdes article really pointed out the extreme measures he’d go through while trying the achieve the best mpg possible. Using well known hypermiling techniques such as minimizing a car’s weight, not using auto accessories (air conditioning, etc.), minimizing speed, road techniques such as ridge-riding, pulse and glide, sling shotting around turns, timing lights en route using momentum to propel the car, gliding downhill with the car turned off, and drafting behind vehicles.
Hypermiling Techniques and Habits
Stay within the speed limits, no need to spend extra dollars for gas trying to make your commute shorter. The average commute is 25.5 minutes, so going 75 mph instead of 65 mph you would save 1:14 for every 10 miles source essentially saving you only about 3 minutes [denison.edu]. Not worth it. To check out the average local commute in your area click here.
Clean out the car and have no excess weight
Tune your car engine, an efficient engine will perform better and save gas
Inflate your tires to the max recommended pressure only, under inflated tires require more power and energy to push.
No excess idling. On a trip to Switzerland I noticed that our taxi driver always turned off his car during stop lights to save gas. Gas is much more expensive there, we (United States) always had inexpensive gasoline.
Dangerous Driving and Hypermiling
Overinflating tires is a trick some hypermilers use, this is a dangerous technique, leaving the driver with less than the best possible traction to the road and tire performance.
ridge-riding, which is driving the to the side of the grooves in the road made by the traffic over time, this is said to sap speed.
Forced-auto-stop is never a good idea, for those of you who never heard of, it is the practice of turning off your engine with your car in neutral. Having your car traveling while off is dangerous, some cars lock their steering wheel if the key is positioned off, and may prevent safe driving as well as braking systems turn off and are usually good for maybe a pump or two, everyone knows that having bad brakes even while your car is on is very dangerous.
Even though many of the techniques are dangerous, they are not worth doing, the risk/reward is not in your favour, dangering the public and yourself over a few dollars is short sighted as well as plain dumb.