Anyone hypermiling?

[gmarblestone]

I have a 2002 honda accord v6 that gets pretty good gas mileage for a v6... about 24/28. But my wife just got a prius. So i have been reading about this new toy and how to get the most miles out of the gas we put in. The prius is complex and there are many tricks to get it to glide, use battery only (for a short time), etc. But, i figured why not try some tricks on my honda to see what i can get as well. I don't have the official results yet, i am going to fill up today, but i think they will be positive. I think i might average 28 and i rarely if use the highway during my normal driving day.

Anyone else? The craziest thing i am doing right now is turning off my car if i get to a light just as it is turning red. They say 10 seconds idling is the time it takes to make up for restarting your engine.

G

[picman]

This is a fun distraction while driving
http://www.scangauge.com/

Brian

[t00mies]

No crazy hypermiling techniques in use over here. However, I did adjust my driving habits to aim for better mileage.

The biggest and hardest adjustment was to limit my max driving speed to 70mph (!). Also, the new, but bigger car stays in the garage more now, and the old beater car (205k odo) is back to being the primary car again because it gets better gas mileage.

When I do drive the big car (Honda Pilot), I play the "ECO" game -- when the engine senses that it is not under too much of a load, a green "ECO" light comes on when the car is in the 3 cylinder mode. I can get 22mpg if I work to keep it in ECO mode.

I would love to have a scangauge so i can see how well my driving style affects the mileage.


t

[gmarblestone]

HAHA... i tried to be good and my car just laughed at me... i got 23mpg after calculating and filling my tank. I think i will try one more tank and if i don't see at least 24-25, its back to aggressive driving for me! I look on fueleconomy.com and they say my car is 18/26, but i don't think i have ever gotten less than 20.

G

[SCone]

Mileage....... ride a motorcycle. Comfort, family, friends, recreation.... take the SUV.

I'd take the bike more, but it's just so difficult to stack everyone on the handlebars.

[ekohl]

i've got a 2001 accord- 4cy 5 speed EX model sedan with the v-tec.. i average 29-30pmg in town, 3 on highway. If i could get another one just like it, i would.

The VW jetta/Beetle TDI (2000-2002) looks attractive @ 35/44 mpg (or so they claim).

[12stones]

My POS car (85 Volvo 240) forces me to hypermile. It won't take off fast, it hates going above 60mph, A/C needs recharged so it's never used, brakes aren't too great so there's lots of coasting. The upside is that I get about 30mpg city!!

[JohnT]

The only things I've done are focusing on driving the speed limit on the highway (city streets no problem for me) and keeping the tires inflated at the recommended PSI. I do need to get a tune-up so we'll see how that improves my mileage.

[alamoshutterbug]

Not an extreme hypermiler, but I do lots of coasting and keep the speed down on the highway and off the line. Our new Scion XB just got 34 mpg on its first highway trip keeping it under 70 and driving more like my grandparents.

In town driving our saturn SC1 for work I coast and go slow and can do high twenties in that car. Once you know the light set-up of an area you can figure out where its good to speed up and where you should just let it coast up to the stop. It's fun to play it slow, watch the annoyed fly past you, and you still end up right next to them at the red light. I am afraid to kill the engine for fear it won't start being an old car.

[Spec A!]

It kills me to be in 6th at 1800 rpms but I've been able to snag 3-4more mpg out of my Spec-V by shifting no higher than 3K (usually around 2500), and watching the speed limit as well as the lead foot. I can get around 25mpg in The Woodlands, but I haven't had much need to go above 45mph so I suspect I could get close to 30 on the highway.

The cool part is every now and then I'll burn a little gas and floor the crap out of it- suddenly my car seems likes a beast because I've gotten used to driving it a lot slower. :)

[rockin-photos]

My POS car is a '93 Escort wagon 190k miles. 5 speed. The AC isn't working, I try not to jack rabbit my starts, and judge the lights so I rarely have to stop. I get between 35-37 mpg driving 30 miles a day to & from the park & ride.

[Dobick]

Originally Posted by ekohl

The VW jetta/Beetle TDI (2000-2002) looks attractive @ 35/44 mpg (or so they claim).

the claims are actually on the low side -- if you don't drive aggressive in town, and keep it steady, I had a friend who got 46 and change on the highway in his.

He is normally very aggressive driver, and gets between 39-42.

[pippin]

having no choice but to drive an suv i do hypermile, but am not seeing too much difference between my usual driving and my hypermiling.