[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', '
')
In town bicyclists put him in apoplectic shock by hopping curbs in and out of traffic. His heart skips a beat as they sprint through red lights. In the neighborhood, from the ankle-chopping vista of the Miata cockpit, his forehead breaks out in hives as children leave pedestrian sidewalks and run out onto the street.

The Anarchy! The Chaos! Its all too much.

[BlisteredWhippet]

Roads are bad for the human condition, I'm convinced. They are boring, unnatural, and dangerous.

That said, they can be fun!

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'I')f you don't mind the (lack of) safety factor and dressing like you have a leather fetish, there's always the motorcycle option.

[crossthread]

Drafting Semi's DO result in increased gas milage, Too a "point"
Test's were done on "Mythbusters" drafting a semi... At different lenghts. At speed (i can't remember whether it was 55/or 60/65 MPH.

If I recall correctly, about 100/125 foot driving behind a Semi results a gas savings of around 43/45 %....Any closer than that savings then drops...
The concept of drafting, is that a "Low pressure" area forms behind the trailer, thus "PULLING" the car along with it, (breaking the fricton and air in front of you...
Same thing with just 2 normal cars drafting together...
NASCAR drivers do this, it's a very WELL KNOWN fact that "drafting" pushes the car in front more effeciently, while REDUCING drag on the car thats behind...
Simple Physics...
Think driving behind a large boats wake...

IN ADDITION.........
Driving around with windows DOWN AND NO AC, results in increased drag on the car/truck/van which in turn INCREASES Gas milage...
So folks keep that AC/heat on and windows up...
CT

[BlisteredWhippet]

I'm seeing a 22% increase over average fuel economy using hypermiling.

Mostly I just turn the engine off and glide. I also started doing more intense glides, like shutting the car off and on 3 or four times, on different roads, on a trip into town. On the highway, I probably took in 6-7 miles on my last 60 mile trip. If factors allow, hypermiling is much easier and safer. For instance, an early morning trip, weekend trip, etc. there will be less traffic.

But drafting, in my compact pickup, with all-manual controls, and questionable braking capability, is out of the question.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'I') agree with yesplease.

[JoeW]

It has been a number of tanks of gas since I last posted on this thread. Since my initial attempt, I have not been able to improve significantly on my fuel economy. My best run was 410 miles followed by a 10.5 gallon fillup (39 mpg). I need to get to 420 miles/10.5 gallon to break the 40 mpg barrier. Sometimes my wife will take my car on a short trip, which destroys a perfect streak I have going (no traffic jams, etc.) where I think I'm going to make it.

I once made it to work (25 mile trip) and used the brake only 6 times, including when I parked it in the garage.

By the way, some people have a very negative view of "drafting", but I don't think they understand that this can be done safely. I live in an area where there are always other cars on the highway, so technically, you're always following someone at a safe distance. I choose to seek out the situation where it is a tractor trailer, van, or other large vehicle that I am following, in the slow lane, at a safe distance. I call that "drafting". It is not the same as "tailgating".

By the way...my car is a '99 Ford Escort. I agree with some of the other posters here that the hybrid cars are totally not worth the investment. My car cost me $2999 used and I have already gotten 50,000 miles out of it (purchase price = six cents per mile and dropping).

Someone wanted to know if there is a motorcycle that is capable of 70 or 80mpg. If there is one, it is probably the Kawasaki Ninja 250 or a similarly-styled machine. Imagine if they would make it fuel-injected diesel instead.

I own a Kawasaki KLR650 that has achieved 50+mpg. I have never ridden a whole tank of gas with the goal of getting the best fuel economy, so it may be possible to get 60mpg.

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jdmartin', 'I')sn't one of the "tenets" of hypermiling drafting, ie following too close?

[BlisteredWhippet]

I propose individual speed limits based on a verbal, mathematical, and spatial ability. In other words, a REAL test of ability, intelligence and judgment.

Speed limits should be based on a formula.

Now 'scuze me as I hit this bong.

[Chesire]

I get around 40 + miles per gallon in our camry . If the govt mandated 55 mph and backed it up with action. IE no car made could exceed 55 and any car without a governor installed that limited older cars to 55 would not get an inspection sticker. We could make a lot of progress.

As far as "hypermilers" go if they have a vehicle thats standard. They can count on angry angsty gas hog drivers with nothing to lose. Ramming them at least once as the country powers down.

[ClassicSpiderman]

I drive a small car (2004 Hyundai Accent--manual transmission) and according to the internet, it gets 31 mpg on the highway.
I've been getting 35+ mpg from combined city+highway driving by "coasting in neutral" as much as possible. This has freaked out many a passenger (my wife, mostly) because being in neutral on stick shift supposedly prevents me from quickly accelerating the car in case of a sudden hazard that would require me to do so.
In all of my time spent during driving, 99% of hazards are avoided by slowing down or applying the brakes. And I'm skillful enough to go from N to a gear when needed anyway.
When going down a hill while in gear, the engine actually prevents the car to take advantage of the momentum gained from gravity that one would normally get if he/she chooses to stay in neutral.
Whenever I approach a red light, I usually coast to a stop (that requires very little use of the brake) rather than race up to it. Sometimes this pisses off the guy behind me (you know the type that always likes to drive 20+ km/h above the posted speed limit) and he races and then comes to a sudden stop at the lights. Why do people do this?
Driving stick is also more fuel efficient and makes one more conscientious about thinking ahead. Will I need to come to a complete stop 100-200 meters from now?
There are hardcore hypermilers out there who go to even greater extremes--they like to tailgate larger vehicles (to cut down wind resistance) and sometimes they even go as far as completely turning off the engine when they coast down a hill. I refuse to do this, as it sounds dangerously insane.

[kjmclark]

You know, I think it takes an engineering geek type with a manual transmission to get into hypermiling. I know I was doing a lot of what they talk about before I had ever heard of the term.

Most of the time I glide, I don't take the car out of gear, I just hit the clutch. It does most of what I want without having the gear change issue. Presumably that's still illegal, but to hell with that inane law.

My favorite way to approach a red light is to slow well before I get to the light and glide up to the light. Often the light will change before you get there, and you can avoid using lower gears. Of course, since most people are brain dead opportunists, you can only do this when there isn't some idiot prepared to cut you off to get in front of you. I think that's the type Spidey talked about. What can you do, some people are cretins.

I hadn't thought of the whole pulse and glide idea. I've tried that a few times, but it doesn't seem to make much difference at expressway speeds, since the air drag is so high you slow down really quickly. It rocks below 65mph. I just wish I had an instant fuel economy gauge. We don't drive the car enough to have any idea what our mileage is when hypermiling.

[Byron100]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kjmclark', 'M')ost of the time I glide, I don't take the car out of gear, I just hit the clutch. It does most of what I want without having the gear change issue. Presumably that's still illegal, but to hell with that inane law.
My favorite way to approach a red light is to slow well before I get to the light and glide up to the light. Often the light will change before you get there, and you can avoid using lower gears. Of course, since most people are brain dead opportunists, you can only do this when there isn't some idiot prepared to cut you off to get in front of you. I think that's the type Spidey talked about. What can you do, some people are cretins.
I hadn't thought of the whole pulse and glide idea. I've tried that a few times, but it doesn't seem to make much difference at expressway speeds, since the air drag is so high you slow down really quickly. It rocks below 65mph. I just wish I had an instant fuel economy gauge. We don't drive the car enough to have any idea what our mileage is when hypermiling.

[kjmclark]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Byron100', 'W')hy would putting the clutch in be illegal?? I've never heard such a law Besides, enforcement of something like that is totally 100% impossible, so who cares, right? I put my car into neutral all the time to coast to a stop...it just seems a perfectly natural thing to do... .

[Polemic]

Riding the clutch is a good way to rag it out, is it not? Replacing the clutch is usually around $500.

[mgibbons19]

not as long as the pedal is completely depressed?

[JoeW]

I started a similar thread a few months ago. When I take extreme measures, my '99 ford escort (epa says 34mpg highway) gets nearly 40mpg. Without getting too extreme, I easily get around 36 or 37 mpg in mixed driving (but mostly highway). Prior to "driving smart", as I like to call it, I was regularly achieving about 27mpg.
I always calculate mpg by using the trip odometer on the car (miles) divided by gallons at the gas statin to fill the empty tank.

The whole reason I started driving smart was to save money. I save about $40/mo. just by driving smarter. I also quit cigarattes, saving at least another $75/mo.

The easy path to hypermiling is just two things:
1) The slow lane
On the highway, get in the slow lane and stay there, preferably behind a truck at a safe distance (NOT tailgating). The speed limit is your friend. If the limit's 65, do 65. If it's 55, do 55. You should never do more than 70, because after much fooling around over the summer, 75mph seems to be the magic number in my car for declining fuel economy.
2) You have no brakes.
Drive like you have no brakes. This is where the "safe distance" for highway driving is really important. You want the vehicle in front of you to cut through the air for you. But you don't want to have to hit the brake hard if he decides to slow down for whatever reason, preferring mainly to take pressure off of the throttle to slow down.
Where the 'no brakes' rule really applies is in town where you have traffic lights and stop signs. Try to hit the traffic light green without using your brake at all. Try to stop just ONCE at each stop sign, rather than stop behind a car or two that are already stopped.
In mixed driving, I used my brake only six times one morning on the way to work and was pretty proud of myself.

Other things that I have done to increase fuel economy seem to result in much smaller gains than the driving technique above. I've tried keeping the windows up at all times, and later decided that aerodynamics are not important in town at low speeds, so with no air conditioning, I put the windows down for city driving and saw no difference in fuel economy.

I test drove a used Prius a few weeks back and on a 10-mile trip, I achieved 47.4mpg with half of it on the highway. The fuel economy gains of the hybrid really don't amount to much when you consider that you could buy two Chevy Aveos for the price of one Prius.

I am not advocating any kind of driving technique, just offering my own observations. Safety always comes first.

[Rabbit]

For the past few months I have been driving a 96 Toyota Tercel with a manual transmission. It needed new tires so I put the thinest tires I could on it 165 X 85 13's. I then put 60 psi in the tires to reduce rolling resistance. With thin tires aired up like these you just don't need power steering, so I removed the power steering belt, further reducing the load on the engine. I average 40 mpg around town and 45 on the freeway. I don't shut my motor off while driving but when coming to a light I will shift to neutral to increase the coating distance to the light.

I plan to replace the Tercel with a Yaris. Hoping I can get similar mileage.

[KillTheHumans]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Rabbit', '
')I plan to replace the Tercel with a Yaris. Hoping I can get similar mileage.