An anniversary: 5 years of HMing, more than 600 gallons saved

[WriConsult]

I was just looking at the mileage logs, and noticed that my first entry -- the first time I recorded a tank due to hypermiling -- was May 8, 2007. 5 years ago today.

I remember doing it as a skeptical experiment. With science in my blood I put forth my absolutely best effort, sincerely resolving to apply the techniques as I understood them consistently and with discipline for an entire tank or two. But to be honest I hoped and expected the results to show that despite all this, it didn't make more difference than maybe 2mpg. My underlying motivation was to prove that I could go back to my leadfoot behavior without guilt.

Boy, was I wrong.

I got 28mpg on the first try. Way higher than my previous average of 23mpg on that Subaru. Up until that point my driving included a lot of foot-to-the floor acceleration, highway speeds of 70-80mph and a roof rack frequently laden with bikes or skis. My highway mpg was often no better than my local mpg.

What a revelation! For me this exploded a whole bunch of myths and assumptions about fuel consumption and driving behavior. It was a genuine paradigm shift for me, and it changed my driving radically. I was ultimately able to get my Subaru's average up over 30mpg.

Here's what 5 years of hypermiling has accomplished, versus what I would have gotten otherwise:

Vehicle	EPA mpg	Miles logged	My actual mpg	My non-hypermiling mpg	Gallons saved
Subaru Outback	19/26/22mpg	11896 mi	30.3mpg	23mpg (actual)	124 gal
Jetta Wagon	21/29/24mpg	32882 mi	32.4mpg	25mpg (est)	300 gal
Golf TDI*	35/44/38mpg	12701 mi*	47.3mpg	40mpg (est)	49 gal
Elantra Touring	23/31/26mpg	16382 mi	35.9mpg	27mpg (est)	151 gal ... so far

* Golf is my wife's car, so the figures only include the full tanks where I drove it.

Not counting rental cars, I've saved something like 624 gallons of fuel over these 5 years. At least 10 gallons a month.

[WriConsult]

Oh, and at this anniversary it's fitting that I just recorded the longest distance I've ever done on a tank in a gas car: 505 miles. That tank included part of Sunday's run to Olympia and back, which managed to average 44mpg. Not too shabby for hwy driving in a car rated for 31mpg hwy.

[xcel]

Hi Dan:

This is to excellent and thank you for saving! I tweeted it too

Wayne

[frv]

Great work Dan! 624 gallons saved is awesome

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Congratulations! Nice work.

Your achieving the same savings as us, without the help of replacing a near-clunker with a Prius is impressive.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Fantastic, Dan!! Congratulations on an excellent 5 years of savings.

Here's to many more of the same!!

[msirach]

Great job! Congrats!