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A few simple changes add up big, drivers say (http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/07/14/hypermiler.ART_ART_07-14-08_A1_62AO1KO.html?sid=101)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Aaron_Carito.jpgDan Gearino - Columbus Dispatch - July 14, 2008

Aaron’s 55’ish to 80 mpg in one easy Hypermiling clinic. You cannot do much better than that ;) -- Ed.

Cut your speed. Pump up your tires. Lay off the brakes.

Those steps could put you on a path to mileage enlightenment -- and lower fuel costs.

Aaron Carito, an educational aide from southwestern Ohio, thinks just about anybody can get on the path, regardless of skeptics who question the validity of the methods.

"To me, it's all about saving money," he said.

Carito is a hypermiler, someone who alters his driving habits to boost mileage.

Or, to be more accurate, he is an apprentice hypermiler. A week ago, the Monroe resident attended his first meeting of the Cincinnati-area hypermilers, an informal group of about a dozen.

He sat in the passenger seat and watched someone get 114 miles per gallon in a Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid. When he got home, he used the techniques he learned to get 80-plus miles per gallon in his own Prius; the car's government-rated mileage is 46 miles per gallon… http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/07/14/hypermiler.ART_ART_07-14-08_A1_62AO1KO.html?sid=101

I remember trying to tell Aaron how to pulse and glide properly while we did the course. :) From going from 40's and 50's to 82 MPG in the space of about fifteen minutes is nothing short of amazing.

Just imagine if every driver out there got clinics with hypermilers. :)

Woot! Nice PR for cleanmpg! :D I wish we could get a tire expert/manufacture to debunk the misconception that pumping up your tires to max pressure does not increase FE.

I think part of AAA's perception on the tire pressure not improving mpg is because of how they drive to do the test with little to no coasting. There is a slight to modest increase in mpg increasing your tire pressure as proven on racetracks. However, our biggest improvement is in the distance we can coast. Though I didn't max out my tires I did notice I could coast for longer than the recommended pressure. It may be a difference of 20 to 50 feet (guessimation) but that adds up over time and travel. Imagine a car magazine saying a car's stopping distance was improved by "only" 20 or 50 feet. They never would because for stopping distance that's a huge difference. In measuring the rolling resistance of tires when comparing two different tires that distance could also make a big difference.

Great job Aaron. Now you'll be going for those 1000 mile tanks.

A couple of small things really can make a difference. I got an extra 5 MPG out of a 2001 Accord just by inflating the tires to the correct pressure, driving 65 instead of 80, and limiting the use of air conditioning. I got 32 MPG over a 600 mile drive. Groovy.

I remember trying to tell Aaron how to pulse and glide properly while we did the course. :) From going from 40's and 50's to 82 MPG in the space of about fifteen minutes is nothing short of amazing.

Just imagine if every driver out there got clinics with hypermilers. :)

Humph!! It's taken me two years, wish I had gotten a clinic.

Great job Aaron and Jud!

very nice. does dan post here now? he should, since he's officially a traffic blocker, according to the comments. ;) seems like every article brings out one or two of the "get out of my way i have to speed" morons. or perhaps there is just one who posts over and over on different articles. overall, though, i think the tone is changing to positive.

congrats on a job well done, dan. :woot:

I found it interesting that the AAA guy said pumping up tires won't increase FE, yet at the bottome of the article they recommend it as a "basic" way to improve FE. Not that I need any more convincing, but I can see where someone would be confused.

I inflate my tires to 51 PSI.

Congratulations Aaron! Those are some good numbers.

Great job Aaron! And the comments seem to have a more positive tone! :rolleyes:

Thanks,

Bob

"Mr Slow"

I too am an "apprentice" hypermiler, though I am not too anal about it. When I first heard about hypermiling (here on this site) I was getting between 26 and 28 mpg. My first foray into increased fuel efficiency techniques brought my MPG up to 33 and with the purchase of a ScanGauge it is not around 34 to 35.

Not setting the world on fire perhaps, but if just 25 percent of the driving public were willing to go the conservation route, much of our energy worries could be mitigated.

Yes, Aaron, great job. This is a very balanced article, that does not try to portray the practice in good or bad terms. Just the facts. AAA gives their typical negative (and woefully ignorant) speech (and I think more and more people are losing their trust in AAA as "experts," because even their own experiences prove what we say is true).

And yes, it didn't take long for the trollers to climb out of their holes: "If you want to save a few pennies, that's your business, just stay in the right lane. JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

They are so dumb. If it was just a few pennies, few would do it. We are talking a couple of car payments a year, and more for some. And we do stay in the right lane, so these people are just taking their selfish anger out on us. They are most likely the road ragers. Their anger is simmering just below the surface, because they can't always go as fast as they want. They do not SHARE the road, they own it. These are the 'rabbits' we need to get off the highways.

I wonder who appointed some of the "experts" they quoted? If switching to a lower-weight oil or shutting off the engine when idling aren't worth the trouble (and how much trouble is it to put a few quarts of 5W20 in your shopping cart?) then why are the automakers starting to do these things to increase fuel economy? It wasn't that long ago that 20W50 oil was the lightest you could find, and 30 weight was probably the most common. Now Honda recommends 0W20 in the Insight...

Thanks for all of your support. Everyone on here has been great.

I practice all the recommended gas saving techniques, but nothing illegal (drafting, etc.). CleanMPG (FireEngineer, Bestmapman, Lamebums, many othes) and PriusChat have been a wealth of information for me. I'm happy as a beginner that I could help raise awareness in a POSITIVE:woot: way.

See you all at Hybridfest 2008!

-Aaron