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Are You A Hypermiler?
By Bloggaman | June 13, 2008
Do you know what a hypermiler is? If you don’t you aren’t alone. At the same time, you will likely hear about it a lot more as we work our way through the summer months and the gas prices continue at their current levels and even increase more.
First, what exactly is Hypermiling? Well for one, it isn’t a new term. It has actually been around for a few years. It has just gained in noteriety because of the insanely high gas prices of late. I don’t use Wikipedia as a true resource but I like the definition they have for Hypermilers.
Drivers who exceed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated fuel efficiency on their vehicles by drastically modifying their driving habits, sometimes even without regard for the safety implications of other drivers or the law.
OK, that is a great definition but what does a Hypermiler do to increase their gas mileage? I am glad you asked because I have a list of techniques they use to do just that.
- Tire pressure and balance - low tire pressure means it takes more energy to get your car up to, and keep it at a certain speed. Hypermilers inflate their tires to the maximum recommended pressure. They check often to make sure it stays close to that pressure as well.
- Tire balance and wheel alignment - Hypermilers like lighter cars but that means you need to make sure the tires are balanced and aligned. It doesn’t help to save money on gas and spend more on tires that don’t last as long. This is something that should be done even if you are not a Hypermiler.
- Minimize the weight - Like I said in the previous point, lighter cars get better gas mileage. This means you leave the extra crap at home if you don’t need it.
- Watch your speed - I have seen this a lot and as much as I understand it I don’t usually follow it that well. I have a leadfoot and should slow down. If you want to save gas you should stay within 35 to 55 MPH when possible.
- Avoid stops - The more stop signs and stop lights you come across, the more gas you are likely to use. If you sit for a minute idling, you are using gas. If you can find a route with minimal stops you are saving gas mileage. Hypermilers go to the extreme of stopping their cars at stop lights if it will be more than 10 to 15 seconds.
- Lower weight oil - by using a lower weight oil it will take less energy to pump the oil through the engine. Hypermilers also keep oil levels at the lowest possible level. Please note that you need to be careful with this. You could damage your engine if you let oil levels fall too low.
- Hybrid cars - Hypermilers tend to favor hybrid cars but they can improve gas mileage on non-hybrids as well. Hybrid cars have features that tend to help with some of the Hypermiler techniques.
- Scan Gauge - Watch fuel consumption, cost-per-mile, coolant temperature, engine speed, horsepower, and much more in real time. You can use this tool to see the effect your driving habits have on the overall mileage you are getting. Can do so much more but the Hypermilers want that feature the most.
I think you have a pretty good idea what a Hypermiler is now. You can make your own decisions as to how much you want to do to save gas mileage. Either way there are some common sense things that we all should do to save ourselves the money. Good luck and happy driving.
I have also included a story from CNN about hypermiling. Good information all around.
Topics: Money |
