on Apr 3rd, 2007How to save gas? Try HyperMiling.
So I read about this guy Wayne Gerdes in an article about hypermiling in MotherJones.
Wayne gets 59 MPG in his stock automatic Honda Accord all by using Hypermiling techniques.
Intrigued I decided to see how well I can do. I drive a 2001 5 speed honda civic. Right out of the gate I got 46 MPG which is 27 percent better than my usual 37 MPG. Here’s how I did it:
The safe things I did
1. Made sure my tires were properly inflated.
2. Slow accelerations and coasting to a stop whenever possible. I have a stick shift so I can coast a lot.
3. Driving the speed limit.
The not so safe things I did
1. Driving 2.5 car lengths behind semi-trucks so that I can benefit from their draft. 2.5 car lenghts is a pretty safe distance on my easy morning commute at 55 mph. Semi trucks have a 1.5 second delay between when their brake lights come on and when the brakes actually engage, plus semi trucks don’t ever really slam on their brakes unless they want to jack knife. (Quick note, many people don’t believe you get a draft benefit 2-3 car lengths behind a semi-truck. Consider this, the force of a Nascar stock car travelling at 200 mph disturbs the air for a length of a half-mile. The force of an 80,000 pound semi truck travelling at 60 mph is 7 times greater… In other words it is punching a huge ‘hole’ in the air. You are definitely still saving gas at 3 car lengths behind a trucker.)
2. Taking turns at higher speed in order to save my kinetic energy. For example: A turn you would normally brake for, and take at 15 mph; I would simply downshift and hit it between 25 and 30. That way I don’t lose as much speed and have to waste gas re-accelarating.
3. Rolling stops through 4 way stop signs. Out in the country where I live there are tons of 4 way stops, and no one is ever there! I just keep my eyes open, and if the coast is clear I drive through.
Using these tricks and refining my acceleration and coasting I’m pretty sure I can get 50 mpg. Which would be a 35% increase. Which means 35% LESS i have to spend on gas. Which for me means saving about $500 on gas a year.
Those are some tricks you can try. Saving gas means saving money, and as we approach a nationwide average of $3 a gallon that’s one trick we can all use.
PS. If you don’t know how to calculate your MPG here’s how you do it:
1. Fill up. Record how many miles are on your car.
2. Drive.
3. The next time you fill up record how many miles are on your car, and how much gas you put in.
4. Subtract your first mileage from your second mileage. This gives you how many miles you have driven.
5. Divide that number by how much gas you just put in the tank. That gives you your MPG.
So, if you’ve driven 300 miles since your last fill up, and you fill up with 10 gallons of gas that means you got 30 mpg.