Do you hypermile on the roads?

[OutBy40]

This question has probably been asked before, but I always like to get the opinions of some of the newer folks to the forums since the last time this topic was discussed.

Just curious how many people here actually employ hypermiling on the roadways. What has your experience been with this [probably significant] change in your driving habit?

[ketchup]

Like MMM, I don't really call it "hypermiling," as much as just "normal, non-ridiculous driving."  It's always been part of my driving skill-set, and I've never had trouble beating the EPA ratings on cars I've driven (my own and others').  It's just a habit.  I break it once in a while if necessary or if I just want to have fun for a second.  Downshifting and zipping around a corner is a lot more fun when you don't do it all the time.

[fartface]

Yes I consciously do this daily. My favorite part of hyper milling is coasting slowly to the red light while some impatient douche canoe speeds past me -then angrily slams on his brakes -only to have me join him at his side moments later with a big shit eating grin on my face.

[RWD]

I try to drive in a manner to avoid using my brakes as much as possible. Though I'll do it less if it will inconvenience someone around me. I'm not conservative with my acceleration as I want to get up to an efficient cruising speed sooner. So nothing extreme and I'm averaging about 36% better fuel economy than the EPA city numbers around town.

[BlueMR2]

Saves on brakes...  My brake pads were getting a bit thin and I was looking forward to a replacement in a year or so when I started improving my driving.  That was like 3-4 years ago and the brake pads look basically the same now as then.  Coasting to red lights is a HUGE reduction in brake wear!

OTOH, driving slower doesn't seem to make any difference at all.  Gas mileage is identical.  Probably because instead of being in traffic and benefitting from the draft, I'm out on my own since everyone's passing me.  On the plus side though, the drive feels a lot more relaxed as I no longer care what other people are doing (as long as they're not actively crashing into me).

[OutBy40]

When I do this, I don't actually drive any slower than I used to.  The real difference is how soon I let off the accelerator when I'm approaching either a stop light or a stop sign.  Now, it's much, much sooner.  The only exception to this might be in extremely heavy traffic and the oblivious asshole behind me probably won't realize that I've let off the gas and will plow into the back of me.

[Rezdent]

Well, yeah...kind of.   I'm conscious but not hard core.  I consistently surpass the estimated mileage for my car but I don't purposefully impede others.  I do stick to the slower lane and try to ride behind big trucks, and avoid braking.

[OutBy40]

Like MMM, I don't really call it "hypermiling," as much as just "normal, non-ridiculous driving."  It's always been part of my driving skill-set, and I've never had trouble beating the EPA ratings on cars I've driven (my own and others').  It's just a habit.  I break it once in a while if necessary or if I just want to have fun for a second.  Downshifting and zipping around a corner is a lot more fun when you don't do it all the time.

It's all psychological, for sure.  The less you do it, the more special it becomes.

[lexie2000]

I prefer to call it "mellow driving".

[forummm]

Yes. I don't obstruct traffic or anything, or even delay my own arrival time. Mostly I accelerate and decelerate gracefully, anticipating conditions in the road ahead of me. And I almost never use heating or A/C. It was 32 this morning, but I have a coat and that's good enough. I have an electric car, so I adapt my technique to its strengths. Especially with the regen, my brakes should never wear out in that car. And I only charge it about 1 or 2 times per week.

[OutBy40]

Yes. I don't obstruct traffic or anything, or even delay my own arrival time. Mostly I accelerate and decelerate gracefully, anticipating conditions in the road ahead of me. And I almost never use heating or A/C. It was 32 this morning, but I have a coat and that's good enough. I have an electric car, so I adapt my technique to its strengths. Especially with the regen, my brakes should never wear out in that car. And I only charge it about 1 or 2 times per week.

I'm curious what the life is out of those electric car batteries nowadays.  I remember in the past that used to be the most limiting issue of electric cars.  How far can you drive in city traffic with your car before having to worry about charging issues?

[dios.del.sol]

Like MMM, I don't really call it "hypermiling," as much as just "normal, non-ridiculous driving."  It's always been part of my driving skill-set, and I've never had trouble beating the EPA ratings on cars I've driven (my own and others').  It's just a habit.

This.

Just got back from a road trip in a Hyundai Elantra. Including some stop-and-go traffic and in-town driving, I got 43.3 mpg. It's the small victories that keep me going.

A week of so ago some yahoo straight slammed on his brakes right in front of me. I came within inches of hitting him. I spent the next several days totally grateful for the fender bender I didn't get into on account of just driving reasonably. (It's remarkably hard to be grateful for something that could have happened but didn't.)

[boarder42]

Yeah its so much easier and fun to do in a Hybrid than a normal car though b/c i can add 50% to the EPA numbers its great!

[ketchup]

Yeah its so much easier and fun to do in a Hybrid than a normal car though b/c i can add 50% to the EPA numbers its great!

My '99 Metro is great for this too.  It's rated at 34 city/42 highway somehow.  Over 15,000+ miles I've averaged 45MPG.  If I had to guess (hard to say for sure based solely on tank averages), I'd say I get about a range of 40-50MPG city, and 35-40MPG highway (often doing 70-75MPH; that little engine screams going that fast). 

The 161,xxx-mile engine has almost-barely-minimum compression (spec is minimum 156psi and I've measured 150-155 on all cylinders); I'm guessing that is affecting my highway mileage more than my city mileage for some reason.  I'd probably be able to hit 50MPG average with a rebuild of the engine to factory spec.

[sabertooth3]

I try to, but honestly I don't see a difference in terms of mileage. I drive a 2007 Honda Accord LX (paid for in cash), and it gets about 20 mpg city. It got about 20 mpg pre-hypermiling, and it still gets about 20 now. I coast to red lights/stop signs, am much easier on accelerating, and coast as much as possible trying not to use brakes unless I'm at a red light/stop sign or about to hit something.

I think the reason is that my drive to/from work is very short (3.5 miles each way). I drive to a metro stop and take metro. Before you jump in, I drive my wife also, so we carpool to the metro. Those 3.5 miles are hilly, have lots of stop signs, traffic, and traffic lights. Sometimes there's only so much you can do...

Biking is not an option, as the route from our home to the metro is not bike-friendly. Narrow, heavily congested roads with impatient and aggressive drivers.

[OutBy40]

Just got back from a road trip in a Hyundai Elantra. Including some stop-and-go traffic and in-town driving, I got 43.3 mpg. It's the small victories that keep me going.

Wow, some nice numbers there. 

[pagoconcheques]

Probably about 80% of the time, and I beat my EPA numbers by several miles a gallon.  The rest of the time I'm either in a hurry (happens) or in with enough traffic that I prefer to just go with the flow.

[This_Is_My_Username]

I improved my fuel efficiency from 7.0L/100km to 6.0L/100km.

I did several minor modifications to the car, and have adjusted my behaviour to minimise braking and accelerating. 

I save $180 per year, which is equal to a $4500 lump sum in todays dollars, and reduced my FIRE date by 1 month.

[happy]

I'm not an extreme hypermiler, but I certainly consciously try not to waste fuel. With my Prius my latest game is to see how long I can go in "Electric Vehicle"mode  without the petrol engine cutting in. As long as the uphill is not too steep, by keeping the speed stable, or at least accelerating very gradually I can stop the petrol engine cutting in. The art is go go as fast as possible,  (No speeding involved), just below where the petrol engine will cut in, which will increase the glide uphill. Of course there's a limit to this because unless I'm going net downhill the traction battery will flatten and the petrol will cut in to recharge. Sometimes this involved driving in a way that probably is obstructive, so if there's traffic behind me I feel obliged to moderate my behaviour. I have a particular starting point on my way home.. and recently set a record of over 4k from the crest on one big hill to the next major hill ( no avoiding petrol on that one)…no cars behind me, so a lucky run to practice my skill. 

[frugalman]

My 2012 Honda Fit is rated 27 city/33 highway. My overall average is 36 mpg. Avoiding braking by cutting the cruise when you see a red light ahead, driving in the right lane at the speed limit, and leaving a good gap between you and the vehicle in front, are my "hypermiling" habits. Also tempered by, as others have said, not being a big nuisance to other traffic. I have 68,000 miles on the vehicle (commute is too long, and we had a cabin for 2 years of this). At 65,000 miles, I felt for sure it would need brakes, so I took it into repair shop and they said brakes look fine, only about 1/2 wear. So at that rate, I'll get 130,000 miles on my brakes!

[Bob W]

I use many hypermile suggestions.   Coast to stop lights/signs, gradual acceleration, use brakes as little as possible.    I also like to drive around 60 on most highways and let other people zip past me while talking on their phones.

One suggestion that everyone can use is to over inflate tires.  I've looked into the safety and tire wear issues a bit and it all seems good.   So you could easily ad 3-5% mpg by this simple step.  Doesn't seem like much, but if all cars in the US did it that would add up to maybe 4 billion gallons of gas not used in a year.

Of course a big savings in gas is to organize trips so that there are no extra little trips.  i.e. If you commute stop at the grocery on the way to work or on the way home.    Let that car rest 2 days per week.   

With gas so cheap now it is easy to get lazy and sloppy with driving habits.

[Optimiser]

I hypermile probably 95+% of the time. I installed an MPGuino to give me instant feedback so I stay motivated and can hone my techniques. This makes hypermiling a game for me. It is just as fun as seeing how fast I can get somewhere.

 I do all my coasting in neutral and try to stay off the brakes. I also try to keep my speed down on the highway. My 1990 Miata is rated 22 city and 28 hwy, but I average 34mpg with personal best of 44.7.

Even though I only put 3,000 or so miles a year on my car, that's $1500 in gas savings over 10 years to devote to my stache .

[This_Is_My_Username]

I do all my coasting in neutral and try to stay off the brakes.

do you have a manual or automatic transmission?

I thought it was more efficient to coast while in a gear, instead of neutral ?

[Greg]

I do all my coasting in neutral and try to stay off the brakes.

do you have a manual or automatic transmission?

I thought it was more efficient to coast while in a gear, instead of neutral ?

"Coasting" is when you are moving forward while in neutral, "engine braking" is what it's called if you let up on the gas pedal while in gear.  In many places, actual coasting is illegal.  Engine braking is a nice way to gradually slow down approaching a stop, and can save a bunch on fuel as well depending on your engine's fuel management.