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Some of the hypermiling, esp as depicted in Insight Marathon Attempt: Live - Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, 2006 (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233) is not everyday driving, however, it should not be dismissed. Some of the techniques can be applied in daily driving and the experience can bring an awareness of all the factors that can affect fuel economy.

I've known if I accelerate long or hard on the freeway ramp to work, it will make a significant impact on my work commute. At the Insight Marathon, the acceleration was down to a science - what speed to start the engine, what speed to shift, the speed to cut off and glide....

So many trivial things can make a big difference, but a few simple ones will help. Things like coasing rather than accelerating to a stop, proper tire inflation, trying to keep a steady throtle.

Replace steady speed to steady throtle.

Ironically, I have discovered that hypermiling has improved the way I flow with traffic. Right now my MO is to go with the flow but apply whatever techniques happen to work for a given situation. But spending 6 months in max FE mode has put me in the habit of planning every last move miles in advance. It turns out that jockeying for position ("Normal Driving" :rolleyes: ) is way more trouble than just paying attention, planning ahead, and using the brakes as a last resort.

"Too much work?" I think not. And my last tank was pretty darned reasonable, if I do say so myself. :D

Replace steady speed to steady throtle.

It's Monday :o

With traffic moving. I can keep a cushion, fas and keep a good number. But no amount of hypermiling helps in near grid lock, or grid lock. Repeated forced auto stops, Ingnition off alot and such is about all I can do short of pushing the car. NOT!

It's Monday :o

It's okay. I fixed it fro you ;)

I drive much slower in everything than I used to. Somehow I equate "More gas pedal = more fuel burned" which most folks fail to understand. (Or at least its impact)

Yesterday I was late to work and drove over 70, and touched 80.
Funny how we get used to things.
80 Seemed really really really really really really fast! :Banane54:

Things like coasing rather than accelerating to a stop, proper tire inflation, trying to keep a steady throtle.


I don't Coas as much as I used to. I prefer to coast as much as I can. Preferably with the ICE off. :Banane18:

And yes, it is amazing how all those little changes can gestalt together into a major beneficial impact on fuel economy, something sadly few people are willing to admit or impliment. After all, flooring it to race up ahead to the next red light and come to a complete stop is the vastly prefered method to my accelerate slowly and maintain a lower speed so you hit the light green with enough time that traffic in front of you is moving, as I'm usually the only one who does it.

Everything mentioned in my "message to the masses" thing, which
incidentally I handed out maybe 500-600 of at Altwheels but certainly
didn't empty the entire box of 1500 copies. The one rainy morning
and questionable forecasts for the rest of the time didn't help
attendance numbers, I'm sure. So as time permits I think I'll
start dropping stacks of them at libraries, grocery stores, and
any other sorts of places y'all may want to suggest to try and
get better coverage. Maybe I should wait till after Nov. 7 to
really get into it, though...
.
_H*

My fiancee and I took a trip this past weekend, about an hour and half's drive (mostly interstate) from home. We took her 2006 Corolla instead of my Prius, for two reasons: 1) We really hadn't taken it on the highway for anything more than short trips since she bought it, and we wanted to see how it would do on the open road in all regards, and 2) I just bought a ScanGauge and I wanted to use it -- and some of the non-hybrid-related hypermiling techniques I've learned since buying the Prius -- to maximize FE.

Besides the trips down and back, we spent most of Saturday afternoon visiting local shopping venues (go figure!), with multiple stops and suburban/urban driving conditions. Even with that, Saturday's fuel mileage was close to 40 MPG, and for the entire trip it was 46.7 (about 10 better than EPA estimate, if I recall it correctly). She's been getting MPG in the low 30s, with a combination of an 8 mile commute on mostly country roads and her frequent shopping trips (go figure again!) of various distances and durations. She and I were pleasantly surprised at how high I could push it through simple modifications of driving technique, much of which I've learned here.

Thanks to all of my hypermiling mentors out there!

Smilarly, I just took my 1999 Taurus back from Tallahassee to Orlando (275 miles) and managed to use less than half a tank. That's under 8 gallons for a 34+ MPG, which, for a Taurus, isn't too bad. =)

Just had to brag.

That's a lot of car to take at over 30mpg. :)

"Why Hypermiling Can Affect Your Normal Driving" is only partially correct. I have witnessed two other affects:
- "Why Hypermiling Can Affect Others' Normal Driving"
- "Why Hypermiling Can Affect how you Perceive Other's Driving"

Some people seem to have figured out that I coast to red lights. Those people stay behind me and just coast along with me. You can always tell what they are thinking: the angry ones ride your butt while the enlightened ones are maintaining a safe following distance.

But as I've eluded to, that's not to say all people are enlightened. As I'm driving ONLY 38 in the 30 and ONLY 44 in the 45, there are people flying past me and jumping in front of me as I creep to stoplights. I notice now more than ever that these people are ignorant. I didn't say they are all stupid; I said ignorant. They simply don't know what they are doing.

To prove that point, I was passed on the right by a guy who dipped into the "right turn only" lane to pass me and screech to a stop at the light. Only after I rolled up behind him did I see that there was at least one child in the back seat. I guess that if you're going to pollute and consume all the oil for your children you might as well start endangering them at a young age.

That's a lot of car to take at over 30mpg. :)

Thanks, Delta. Lots of drafting, and the elevation change from Tally to Orlando drops (thankfully!), so I managed to use very little gas pedal. Also, loads of long sloping downhills to FAS on. Not exactly a hypermiler's dream being in a Taurus, but nevertheless, when ya get lemons . . . ;)

Johnf514,

I miss seeing the Taruses and Oldsmobiles on the road - Detroit let them die while milking the SUV cash cow. Of course they are probably having second thought to allowing that market to get Accords and Cameries instead....

I look way head now. I can tell by other peoples braking if the light is red or not (even if i can't actually see the light because there is a curve in the road).

yep, i don't rely on the brakes lights to tell me that they are slowing down, I can visually see that my car is approaching hot towards their bumper...

HA yeah right... not in a million years... not at how much insane space I leave in front of me mua hahah! People behind me will be pissed but if they rear end me, at least I won't smack myself in front of a car that usually just leaves 1 or two car spaces in between. NO I must require more! there are just too many risks... yall all can honk at me and thank me later.

Johnf514,

I miss seeing the Taruses and Oldsmobiles on the road - Detroit let them die while milking the SUV cash cow. Of course they are probably having second thought to allowing that market to get Accords and Cameries instead....

You couldn't have said it any better. Ford and GM thought the SUV gas-guzzler craze was going to last forever, and their sedans became the sacrificial lamb for a short-term gamble that they lost severely. I'm still unsure as to why they bet it all, but all they bought was the farm.

Talk about a dried up cash cow. ;)

Hi All:

___What an excellent thread.

___Tim, your posts and improving use of your head vs. the go pedal impress me to no end.

___Psy, after fighting the Oklahoma winds and abnormally high October temps these past almost 2 weeks, I have great respect for you pushing your Civic to numbers most could never dream of let alone achieve. I had a little of the grid lock just out side of St. Louis 2 nights ago on I-44 and except for crawling down the descents in a FAS using the E-Brake, I was screwed too :(

___Hot Georgia, SG-II reported a high of 82 mph on my way back from Arkansas to the MO/IL border 2 days ago. Not only are those speeds insane and scare the hell out of me, this was 18-wheeler truck traffic pulling the same! I mean what in the heck is wrong with those guys (me too!) anyway :(

___JimboK, welcome to CleanMPG! Pulling mid 40’s out of a Corolla on the highway is pretty spectacular, isn’t it! I would save the Prius II’ for when she is really in her element but she can approach 55 – 60 mpg + without much effort at highway speeds too! It sound like trying to stay away from the Saturday - woman’s day out - shopping regiment will be the real challenge ;)

___John, nice job pulling some decent numbers out of that Taurus’ ancient V6!

___Tony, I had a similar experience yesterday afternoon as I was arriving home. Hit the death turn at 50 in a FAS (I-94/Grand Avenue - West exit), coasted all the way around, up and over the overpass, down the other side towards that Shell station on the right … Just as I entered Grand Avenue on the far right while RR, a red Dodge Ram P/U started riding me at 25 - 30 mph into the red light up ahead at the Gurnee Mills entrance. He was shaking his fist all the while the left lanes were stopped for the light. I continued and coasted right through the light as it turned green. All I could think of was to say, this message was brought to you by a CleanMPG member and to say “priceless” would be an understatement :D

___Kickflipjr and Phil, you guys have caught the bug in a serious way too and are doing great when you are thinking that far ahead of the game!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

___JimboK, welcome to CleanMPG!
Thanks! Good to be here. I appreciate all the info you and others present for the rest of us.

I would save the Prius II’ for when she is really in her element but she can approach 55 – 60 mpg + without much effort at highway speeds too!
Oh yes, I know. We usually take Prius on our trips, in town or out. I've gotten as much as 60 on the highway. When spring arrives (no highway trips planned between now and mid-November), I'll try to nudge it even higher. As I posted in another thread here, I'm fascinated by Hobbit's study of the high speed "sweet spot." I'd like to try duplicating his results without his instrumentation, only a ScanGauge.
It sound like trying to stay away from the Saturday - woman’s day out - shopping regiment will be the real challenge ;)
Mid-40s in a Corolla? For sure. Mid-60s in a Prius? Working on it. Mid-Saturdays without shopping?? Gimme a break! :)