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I'm a newbie, and hoping to get insight from a few people.

I own a 99 Ford Escort, Manual Transmission, 154K miles. I was regularly getting 28-29 MPG without doing anything.

So I stripped down the trunk, over inflated tires by 2 lbs, always coast in neutral downhill, and very slowly accelerate below 2000 RPM.

I'm now up to 34 MPG.

I was hoping for some more suggestions.

Note: I am not comfortable turning the car off at high speeds, or following big rigs too closely. I am a Capitol Hill Staffer and drive about 18 miles each way to work on 395. That means they're good highway miles, without too much stopping, because I pick up 2 slugs every morning so I can do HOV.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Welcome to the forum! You are off to a great start. You already got me beat with 102 pmpg (34*3) compared to my 50 pmpg . If you haven't already read this for the overview http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12761
Think of hypermiling as a buffet table, and you may pick and choose just those methods that you are comfortable with, not to mention that your passengers might be scared if you shut off your ICE. I think that the best suggestion I have is for you to try pulse and glide which can be done with engine on for the glide. If you do it just right on the slight downhills, your passengers will not even notice it. But read up on the link because there are many other things that can help, such as switching to synthetic oil.

In the summer months I'm getting over 40MPG, on my 98 Escort 5 spd SOHC with 185000 miles. I use ICE on coasting and driving without brakes techniques, with some slow driving. Everything is stock, except for synthetic 5w20 in the crankcase and synthetic ATF in the trans. My cheap tires have Max 35PSI on the sidewall so that's what I run.

Nicely done, especially on a car with so many miles on it. Keep up the great work! I never thought of synthetic ATF for better FE , maybe I'll try that on my next fluid change. You might consider pulse and gliding because it gets you much better MPG than steady state driving. That's what propelled me from the 40s to the 50s.

Edwin, be sure your seals can handle that fluid first -- it is a bit more corrosive than "dino" oil and can chew through your gaskets. If that is an issue with your transmission you can get it rebuilt with different seals to avoid that problem, but the cost probably isn't worth it.

Papabile, you are on the right track and I suggest you follow Tw40x81's lead with NICE-ON coasting. At highway speeds the difference in FE when compared to FASing is minimal. Have a look at P&G as a technique -- that can sharply increase your fuel economy. Click on the Elantra banner in my signature to see how it has benefited me.

Edwin, be sure your seals can handle that fluid first -- it is a bit more corrosive than "dino" oil and can chew through your gaskets.

A big thank you for the heads up, because I don't want to risk that because tranny seals can be very expensive (labor intensive) to replace.

I will be finishing my second tank of gas since starting my downshifting to neutral and coasting while the engine is on. I believe by doing this, I consistently pick up 6 mpg. I am emptying the trunk and increasing tire pressure this weekend, and we'll see what that does.

Glad to hear the update. Sounds like you are on the right track. It seems like a lot of work at first, but it really pays off, and soon becomes a habit.

Papabile, I have a 98 Escort wagon with 140k miles on it. My best MPG so far is 43 MPG on a 300 mile, mostly interstate trip and that included using the air most of the time.(It's worth it to me living in Florida)

I've made no mods to the car, put 35psi in the tires and crusing at 60 most of the time.
Coasting in nuetral and timing lights works well for me.

The scan guage II has been the biggest help to me.

Papabile, I have a 98 Escort wagon with 140k miles on it. My best MPG so far is 43 MPG on a 300 mile, mostly interstate trip and that included using the air most of the time.(It's worth it to me living in Florida)

I've made no mods to the car, put 35psi in the tires and crusing at 60 most of the time.
Coasting in nuetral and timing lights works well for me.

The scan guage II has been the biggest help to me.

I have a '97 Escort Wagon 2.0L 5 speed and have gotten as high as 48.216 MPG that was all interstate driving with the C/C set at 55 and no A/C on. I've been able to break 47 MPG a couple of other times with about the same conditions. My tires are rated at 44 maximum psi and I think at the time I was running 40 psi, but I've bumped them to 45 since.