Introduction and My Commute

[CRT1]

Hello all,

I am new to this site and to hypermiling. So far I am really impressed with this site and this community.

I'm a mechanical engineer, have loved cars my whole life, and I work in atmospheric research so this hypermiling business is right in my wheel-house. Surprised it took me so long to find it.

I live just outside Boston and commute into Cambridge (USA). My commute has three legs for a total of about 15 miles. The first 4 miles are suburban with light traffic, the second leg is about 9 miles of highway that varies from stop/go to steady movement in the 20-40 mph range depending on the day, the third leg is about 2 miles of city driving.

I drive a '11 Honda FIT Sport A/T 5S. Love the car but when I first got it I was unhappy with the ~28 mpg I was getting. Recently, I started to get buyers remorse so before looking at a trade-in I decided to try to max out the mileage.

The first tank of hypermiling, I upped my combined mileage to 33.6 mpg based on the gauge on the dash. I am most of the way through my second tank and it is reading 35.8 mpg! So far I have using buffers and better anticipation of lights, etc. and am still on that learning curve.

I am happy with the increase in FE, but one thing that I was not expecting is that I am showing up at my destination much more relaxed and happy. Before hypermiling, I was not aware how much sub-conscious energy I was expending just trying to get where I was going sooner. Since I am often in heavy traffic this would wear on me, but hypermiling frees me of that burden!

Questions:
- What is the maximum FE I can expect from this vehicle with moderate hypermiling technique? What about summer/winter differences?

- What are some other techniques I can use to save gas in this vehicle?

- Does it help to put the A/T in Neutral when coasting down a hill?

- What about turning off the engine at stop lights?

Thanks in advance for all of your advice!

-Chris