# Hypermiling



## adamtheha (Mar 14, 2007)

Has anyone here experimented with hypermiling techniques? IE, shutting the engine down when coasting to a stop, superinflating tires, etc.
All I did was pump my tires to 45 psi, coast to a stop at lights (when I can), and shut down the engine at long lights, and I've already seen a HUGE difference! I'm at 600km already, and I've still got 1/4 tank of gas. Normally I get 560-630 km per tank. I didn't even start doing this stuff until I'd burned through 1/3 of the tank already! 
It's actually amazing how much mileage you can get when you REALLY conserve.
By the way, for us Canadians, gas is expected to hit $2.50 this summer, up from $1.25 now. I just put a 49 cc motor on my bicycle, and I'm going to use it to get to work whenever I can!


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

I don't shut down when coasting, but like you, I do most of the other fuel saving tricks and have for a few years. 

From my record keeping, Shell gasoline does far better than some of the ethanol/gasoline blends. Apparantly, Shell gas has no ethanols. 

Right now, I'm running a 93 Mazda with a 1.6 litre and a 5-speed. If you are driving a manual transmission, another trick is to drive in the highest gear possible without "chugging" - i.e. keep the RPMs as low as practical. 

$2.50 by summer? I doubt that - I heard $1.50



adamtheha said:


> Has anyone here experimented with hypermiling techniques? IE, shutting the engine down when coasting to a stop, superinflating tires, etc.
> All I did was pump my tires to 45 psi, coast to a stop at lights (when I can), and shut down the engine at long lights, and I've already seen a HUGE difference! I'm at 600km already, and I've still got 1/4 tank of gas. Normally I get 560-630 km per tank. I didn't even start doing this stuff until I'd burned through 1/3 of the tank already!
> It's actually amazing how much mileage you can get when you REALLY conserve.
> By the way, for us Canadians, gas is expected to hit $2.50 this summer, up from $1.25 now. I just put a 49 cc motor on my bicycle, and I'm going to use it to get to work whenever I can!


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Keep in mind that most gas gauges have more gas in the first 1/4 than they do in the last 1/4. Either way if we do some of the things like keeping our tires inflated and driving the speed limit we can save a LOT of gas. Our gas is about $3.60 a US gallon and by doing both of those things I can save about $.40 a gallon.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I heard $1.50 per litre too. Not sure I can realy sign on to over inflating tires and shutting off the engine...... we'd be brushing past some established safety boundries there. Saving gas is great but not at the expense of everything else. Even if gas cost an extra $2000 this year, I'd find other things to cut or find a way to make up the diffrence. Homesteaders should be a versatile bunch. Now a motorized bike would be interesting to me. We need more bike routes too.


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

Hyper-miling???

I have been using conservation measures for years, even when gas was $1.25 a gallon.

*Shutting off your car and coasting to a stop???? How are you going to explain that if someone gets killed??*

Be safe. Be smart. 

Don't take *foolish* measures just to save 7 cents of gasoline.

Sorry to be harsh...but this is down right dangerous!!!!

Clove


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Although I "overinflate" my tires, I only go about 3 lbs over. Too much and you run the risk of :

- poor control on wet roads
- wacky tire wear
- blowouts, especially if your roads are heavily pot-holed
- increased risk of time damage, even if it doesn't blow
- wearing out your suspension prematurely, as the tires don't absorb any bumps

So basically, too much inflation is a safety risk, and you may not be saving any money - as the money saved in gas is basically spent in other repairs/maintenance.

Everyone likes to save a bit of money, but don't do it at the expense of safety. Drive slow, drive smart, no sudden starts or stops, keep your vehicle tuned/maintained, use quality gasoline, proper tire inflation, etc.

.


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## Ambassador (May 13, 2008)

clovis said:


> Hyper-miling???
> *Shutting off your car and coasting to a stop???? How are you going to explain that if someone gets killed??*


It would be difficult to explain if someone were to be killed, but I haven't heard of anybody being killed by those techniques (not that there aren't any). But in order to prevent that, you kind of answer your question in your next line...


> Be safe. Be smart.


There's safe and smart ways to do this technique. I will have to concede that it is not the safest thing to do in a vehicle, but it is no where near as dangerous (if done safely and smartly) as putting on makeup, shaving, talking on the mobile phone, driving while distracted, etc...

If someone is going to cut their engine off in bumper-to-bumper traffic, it doesn't matter what kind of mileage they're getting - they would be morons to do it.

If someone is out on a road where it is somewhat safe to do this technique on (clear view, minimal cars, daytime, etc), I don't see a reason to not do that. Some people get far more than $.07 for gas by doing that. The savings could be up to 30%+ per tank. When we have prices like $4.00 a gallon, times 10-20 gallons in a tank, that is no where near $.07. Also, this is not the only technique in hypermiling, so if anyone were to ever mention hypermiling, it doesn't mean they will be turning their car off.


Now... as far as hypermiling... I try to hypermile, but my car is too efficient. I would really like to purchase a hybrid, but I think I will have to wait until the 3rd generation Prius is out. Right now I have two very economic cars (not to me they aren't - I prefer mileage in the 40-50+ range), so I'll have to wait.

As far as tires, I also don't recommend pumping them up too far for safety reasons. I think they are fine around 40psi. Apparently, it doesn't make much of a difference (so I've heard).


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## HockeyFan (Jul 27, 2007)

I hypermile reguarly and it does work.


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

Ross said:


> I heard $1.50 per litre too. Not sure I can realy sign on to over inflating tires and shutting off the engine...... we'd be brushing past some established safety boundries there. Saving gas is great but not at the expense of everything else. Even if gas cost an extra $2000 this year, I'd find other things to cut or find a way to make up the diffrence. Homesteaders should be a versatile bunch. Now a motorized bike would be interesting to me. We need more bike routes too.


 One of my ways to conserve,,,,








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## adamtheha (Mar 14, 2007)

Esteban29304 said:


> One of my ways to conserve,,,,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey, that's great! I just sold my first motorized bike to a guy for about $500. He was thrilled when he tested it out, and I got enough money to build myself another really good one. I have purchased a bunch of these in bulk, and I'm building them for others. I've had a bunch of interest so far, I might run out of engines before I run out of customers!


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Very nice front wheel drive too!  Weed wacker engines?


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Metro MPG

Above is a link on the MetroMPG site - a very good all-around site for fuel saving information.


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

Mine is a factory kit from about 1969 . Orline, is the brand name, using a tough Ohlsson & Rice 1hp motor. Some kits were sold as " Chicken Power. " Mine is rated at 125mpg & is a " HOOT " to ride. I am going to sell the motor or complete bike, to have the cash I need to finish the next project. $150, plus shipping. Adam, if you are using Chinese kits in frame mounts on bikes, you,,, & others ,, may like this website.

http://www.motoredbikes.com/


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

OntarioMan said:


> I don't shut down when coasting, but like you, I do most of the other fuel saving tricks and have for a few years.
> 
> From my record keeping, Shell gasoline does far better than some of the ethanol/gasoline blends. Apparantly, Shell gas has no ethanols.
> 
> ...


Ethanol has a much lower energy density than gasoline therefore adding it to gas will lower the miles your car will go on that gallon of fuel.


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

clovis said:


> Hyper-miling???
> 
> I have been using conservation measures for years, even when gas was $1.25 a gallon.
> 
> ...


How so? Most cars today will have power brakes for several minutes after the engine is shut down (try it and see). Also I drove a van for quite a few months with the power steering out. Not much fun to park but no problem to steer as long as it was rolling.

I'd say don't turn off the engine for a stop because the wear and tear on the starting system wouldn't be worth the small amount of gas saved. Its penny wise and pound foolish to wear out a $100+ starter to save $10 worth of gas.


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

OntarioMan said:


> Although I "overinflate" my tires, I only go about 3 lbs over. Too much and you run the risk of :
> 
> - poor control on wet roads
> - wacky tire wear
> ...


Depends on what you call 'over inflation'. Most tires are inflated well below the max pressure the tire is rated for by the manufacturer. Auto companies don't want you to inflate them that much because it makes the car ride 'harder'


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,

A pretty interesting video from CBS about and "ordinary" driver and a hypermiling driver going from Chicago to New York in identical cars:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/earlyshow/main4107075.shtml

This is the website of the hypermiling guy:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/cmps_index.php

They were both driving Priuses -- the reporter got 45 mpg and the hypermiler got 70 mpg -- he did the whole trip on on tank of gas -- 8.9 gallons. 14 hours for the reporter and 17 hours for the hypermiler.

Gary


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

If you're willing/able to just reduce your speed, you can achieve some impressive fuel efficiencies. The metrompg.com link I posted above shows a slightly modified 1998 Pontiac Firefly (a Geo Metro) getting 82 mpg at 35 mph - yet only 49 mpg at 60 mph.










.



SolarGary said:


> Hi,
> 
> A pretty interesting video from CBS about and "ordinary" driver and a hypermiling driver going from Chicago to New York in identical cars:
> 
> ...


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

Around here, when your engine is turned off your steering lock is turned on. Getting your steering lock off can take a few seconds. This is not good when moving in traffic.

Keeping your tyres at the high end of their recommended pressure range is worthwhile, unless you are habitually driving on washboard gravel roads.

The best thing you can do for fuel economy is drive evenly - that is, at the average road speed, not stop-start. That also means DRIVE AHEAD. That is, watch further ahead than most do, move out of blocked lanes before they stop you, slow down (foot off pedal) if you can't (which maintains road speed to move out of the lane later if you couldn't before), start coasting when a traffic light way up there turns red rather than having to use the brakes when you get to it. You do a lot better if you're still coasting when you reach the light as it turns green than if you've raced up to it then tromped the brakes and come to a full stop. You feel pretty good when you coast through a light just as it turns green and get past a jack-rabbit driver for the third or fourth traffic light in a row. P's them off something spectacular too. You're likely to pass them not much further along pulled over with red-and-blue lights flashing behind them.

Honestly, the most wear-prone element in the traffic is the driver, and if you drive at a moderate and even speed you'll get there only a little behind the Fangios of the freeways, sometimes ahead, MUCH more relaxed, and on average much more often. That alone is worthwhile, even without the fact that it's cheaper.


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