Ten Fuel-Saving Tips from a Hypermiler

Delta Force

Delta Force

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I came across this article on forbes dot com and thought I'd pass it on to everyones benefit.

1. Inflate your tires to their maximum recommended pressure. High pressure in tires enables you to accelerate with less gas and coast farther. It also enhances turn-in capability and facilitates better tire longevity.

2. Use the lowest weight oil recommended for your vehicle. Low-weight oil is easier to pump through an engine, and the engine components will interact more efficiently.

3. Change your air filter at least once a year. Engines work harder when they have to pull air through a dirty filter.

4. Drive as if you hypothetically do not have brakes. Gerdes says that drivers usually burn fuel to get up to an excessive speed, then throw that energy away by slamming on the brakes at a stop sign or red light. Thus, he asks drivers to imagine driving a brakeless vehicle and adjust their driving style accordingly. He recommends accelerating only as needed, and coasting up to red lights and stop signs when possible.

5. Don’t use cruise control or worry about keeping a constant speed — instead, be concerned with not changing the load on your engine. In other words, it’s acceptable to slow down as you go up a hill, as long as your engine continues to work only as hard as it did when you were on level ground. You’ll make up the loss in speed on the other side of the hill due to the assistance of gravity.

6. Don't drive above the speed limit. The faster you go, the more you increase drag on the car from the wind, consuming more fuel.

7. Turn your engine off if you are idling for more than 10 seconds. Idling is one of the worst fuel wasters.

8. Practice “potential parking.” First, seek out the highest point of a parking lot and, if parking lot topography permits, coast uphill into a spot where you can face out, allowing you to coast right out when you depart.

9. Instead of relying on your fuel gauge, odometer and your long division skills, install a ScanGauge (scanguage.com) automotive computer that calculates and displays your fuel consumption. Many luxury vehicles already have this functionality.

10. Sweat it out sans A/C. Running a mechanical and electrical accessory like air conditioning steals fuel from the engine and decreases fuel economy. Operating the air conditioner on its maximum setting can reduce miles per gallon by up to 25 percent.

these tips are based on this fella Wayne Gerdes he's what they call hypermiler something I just heard for the first time and wold like to try my self.

"Wayne Gerdes knows how to wring a gas tank dry. He can squeeze 84 miles per gallon from your standard-issue Ford Ranger pick-up. He once averaged more than 100 mpg during the course of an entire summer. And while behind the wheel of a hybrid electric Honda Insight, he coaxed the vehicle into yielding an astonishing 180.1 mpg. Gerdes can do these seemingly impossible things with a car because he is one of a rare breed of drivers known as hypermilers."

Enjoy!
 
wastedwhiteboy2

wastedwhiteboy2

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#2. This depends on how many miles you have on the engine. Sometimes a thinner oil does not protect the engine as well and it will burn a little more oil. I always ran thick ass oil in my race car because I was more concerned about making the engine last as long as possible. My daily driver has over 100k miles on it and I run 10w/30 instead of the 5w/30. The other tips are good.

The 100mpg out of any truck is something I'd have to see. You can get way over the sticker but it's pretty unbearable and not safe to do.
 
Wanderlei

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He forgot to mention drafting on the freeway to save fuel!! :D

Also if your car calls for premium or is a high compression motor use premium gas. I didn't think it would matter but now that it only costs 5% more I tried it and I actually get at least 20% better mileage. New cars will retard the timing to prevent pinging so you end up with less mpg and less power. My friend told me about this and since he's quite knowledgable with autmobiles I tried it out. Sure enough my high compression motor loves premium.
 

FcuktheFDA

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Doesn't it save you gas to use cruise control while on the highway? Most people tend to constantly decrease and increase speed on the highway.

I do appreciate you sharing this article, especially at such a time as this.
 

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