And You Should See ‘Em Pop a Wheelie 6

Hypermilers squeeze every last drop out of their fuel economy

Your hybrid only gets 47 miles per gallon? Too bad for you, sucka. A small group deeming themselves "hypermilers" has adjusted driving habits to use the teeniest amount of gas possible, and boasts of achieving up to 112.2 mpg. These bad-ass fuel economizers have moved beyond everyday gas-saving techniques like smooth acceleration and consistent speed; they over-inflate tires, coast out of parking lots without turning the car on, draft off of larger vehicles, and drive below the freeway speed limit (way slower if no one's behind them). "When I see someone roar past me, I think, 'They just used enough gas to last me a week,'" says hypermiler Laurie With. So you wanna be a hypermiler? You must learn to "pulse and glide": accelerate above the speed limit, then shut down the engine and glide to a slower speed. Sure it's dangerous, and also illegal in many places -- but when you're driving 35 miles per hour on the freeway, you've gotta get your rush somehow.

source: MSNBC.com, Associated Press, 29 May 2007

see also, in Gristmill: Hypermilers

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  1. cavenoid Posted 6:33 am
    05 Jun 2007

    Kinda like a Homemade Hybrid.Yeah, this works! I've increased my mileage -- not that radically, but enough to realize that we could instantly reduce emissions by 10% by doing nothing. I got 15% more mileage per tank just by kicking the idling habit. Now I turn the engine off when the light turns red, even though I'm still a block away. I've made the shift to only using gas for forward motion. When it's SAFE!

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  2. geekguyandy Posted 12:05 am
    22 Jul 2007

    It's works, and just needs patienceMy Subaru is said to get 23 miles per gallons, and I do use hypermile techniques and now get just about 40MPG. It takes a little longer to get somewhere, but it's going to save me hundreds and reduce my emissions. Gassavers.org is a wonderful resource for more information.

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  3. paz Posted 10:49 am
    13 Nov 2008

    There Oughta Be a Lawagainst excessive idling.  Anyone have any ideas how to politely bring this up with strangers?  Little makes me crazier than watching some SUV idle for five minutes or more while its owner chats with someone or even leaves the vehicle to run an errand!
    I live in a little town, but there is one long stoplight intersection where I usually turn off my car.  I assume hypermilers do this, too ...

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  4. ecoellen Posted 12:42 am
    18 Nov 2008

    cost of turning on and off carI always understood that turning your car on and off used quite a bit of fuel as well so is turing it off at a long light really a good idea?

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  5. paz Posted 8:45 am
    21 Nov 2008

    That's Old TechnologyTwenty years ago, I heard that if your car idled for longer than three minutes it was more fuel-efficient to turn it off.  Ten or fifteen years later, the interval dropped to one minute.  I've recently heard 30 seconds, but I usually turn my car off if I anticipate a 90-second degree or longer.  NEWS FLASH:  Drivers in Minneapolis are now ticketed if they idle for longer than three minutes if not in traffic.

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  6. paz Posted 8:48 am
    21 Nov 2008

    Degree?Sorry, I'm flustered.  Of course I meant a 90-second delay.
    I'm flustered because I tried unsuccessfully to convince a woman today to turn off her (unattended) RV, which had been idling for a good five minutes when we met, and according to people nearby had been idling for much longer.  I unfortunately had to get the police involved (since she was also in a red zone).

     

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