Hypermiling a guzzler

[phoebeisis]

I strictly motor on P&G with my 5.7 GM 1998 "truck/SUV".
With a cold motor my 6.2 mile trips gives 16mpg(uses .7mpg warmed up at idle ac on-.6ac off-once warm of course)
If I don't turn the motor off or just one minute-just one redlight worth a shut off
It drops to 15.5mpg
6.2 miles .4 gallons=15.5mpg vs 6.2miles .388 gallons=16mpg

So if you have some lights of over 30 seconds-shut it off-assuming your charging system and starter are good.
I run slightly over sidewall-about 48psi-my trucks glides in D the same as in N- GM 4L60E AT characteristic-
Charlie

[herm]

How do you actually P&G your 5.7?.. pulse up to 55, back off the throttle down to 45 and repeat?.. it is nice not having to clutch it.

[phoebeisis]

Herm-I P&G motor on-just in city driving. Long Hy trips 21.3mpg-mainly CC
On 2 long hy trips-NOLA to Flagstaff AZ- (3020 miles RT) I put the CC on 67 mph in 70-75mph zones- 55-58 in 60 mph zones (Hy 287)-most importantly I obey all speed limits-lots of towns cities hy work zones with 25-35-45 mph speed limits. Lift immediately-well before speed changes-no braking if I can avoid it.
Trip mpg (2 trips) 21.2mpg and 21.3 roughly 142 gallons 3020 miles.
My actual average driving speed is probably 60 mph.
Lots of road work-45mph-where I get 25mpg+ maybe 150 miles or so.
At 67mpg I probably actually average 20mpg.

Of course I D/C the CC when climbing hills overpasses etc-just DWL bleed off maybe 10-15 mph 60 down to 45mph-just depends on traffic etc-Gotta be careful on I-635E DFW- lotta crazy drivers on that ring road-they might drive straight up my tailpipe
You Live near DFW?? I-635 dangerous drivers-in the rest of TX drivers pretty polite-

In city driving I pulse to 35mph- my speed carries me to 37mph(speed limit 35 mph,yes I cheat some-keep fellow drivers happy) I lift and glide down to 27-28mph.
This means my average speed is about 31 mph in a 35mph zone-fellow drivers should have no cause to beef about that.
At those speeds I drop about 1mph per 3-4 seconds-cover about 1/3 mile per cycle.
I have the stops/lights timed- 32mph gives same trip time as 35mph-at most I lose 20 seconds.

Just holding a steady 32mph gives 12.5 mpg cold motor
P&G as described 15.5-16 mpg-cold motor.
Updated EPA 12/17-so mild hypermiling gives 125% EPA city and 125% hy-(219,200 mile 5200 lb brick-Suburban).If I was braver-motor off glides- I would get 19 mpg-starting with cold motor on a 6.2 mile trip-save about .07 gallons -use .33 instead of .4-
Right on your 150% of EPA.
Obviously a(195,000 MILE) 98 Suburban isn't an ideal city vehicle-reliable,cheap and easy to DIY repair,cheap to buy($2950)
BUT EXPENSIVE to fuel and EXPENSIVE to repair if you can't DIY-cheap if you can DIY.
Yeah it is a bad city vehicle-expensive to own despite being cheap to buy(unless you DIY and hypermile).
Wife doesn't hypermile it-gets under 10 mpg on short trips-so it is a horrendous second vehicle-we drive under 2800 miles per year-so not too big a concern.
At 10,000 city miles per year-$3700 just to fuel! Another $1500 per year to repair-and cumbersome to drive for most people.
I knew all this going in-and it has delivered better mpg than I projected- been more reliable also- but $1500 in parts-5 years-would mean $7500 in shop repairs 5 years.

Never buy a used guzzler if you can't DIY-think twice in any case
We have lots of pets to evacuate 2 leggy dogs 4-5 cats in carriers-NOLA
Charlie
PS Prius other car,so....run the wheels off it

[phoebeisis]

Guess I got carried away.
OP- just as others said-I find I l get 125% of city EPA with just tire pressure-mild P&G-
Shut down at long lights-135%
Motor off P&G shut down at lights- 150% city EPA-like having a 2 sizes smaller car.
This is just what other posters said.
Motor off P&G is too tricky for me.
Just the simple stuff gets you mpg of a one class smaller-and several years newer-car.
Saves $$ also-costs only 2-5% time in city driving-usually less than a minute on a 20 minute trip.

Overlong post as a caution against buying a cheap older guzzler-1/2 tons 2000 and older-are expensive to fuel-and repair>$5000 year for 10,000 city miles.They become tempting-cheap($3000)-when gas goes up in price.The 5.7 GMs are the best bets if you go that route(Dodge horrible mpg-Ford slightly more expensive parts-somewhat lower mpg-and the Excursion(Suburban sized) is just horrible in all respects)

[herm]

Excellent results Charlie