Hypermiling Update 8-5-08

[terrible_greg]

Filled 'er up this morning for the first time since the last update. That was SEVENTEEN DAYS ago

Comments

[jagreen79]

I tried to hypermile and my mileage went DOWN, from ~30 to 27. Obviously I'm doing somthing wrong.

[terrible_greg]

What kind of car are you driving? Does the engine idle real high? My mother-in-law has this problem where her car's engine idles higher than if she were driving in gear, and that obviously will be no help whatsoever in saving gas.

What, exactly, where you doing in your attempts?

[jagreen79]

The same Honda Accord I've been driving since time immemorial (just broke 204,000 miles on Monday). It can sometimes idle high, but as a general rule it idles at about 750 RPMs, which is pretty low.

As for what I did, I was mostly trying to accelerate more slowly from a stop and use my brakes less, and also stick closer to 60 MPH than the 65-70 I usually drive. Unfortunately, it's been balls-ass hot in St. Louis so I've been using the A/C instead of rolling down the windows, which could account for some of it.

My last tank (just refilled yesterday was a little better, just a hair over 28 MPG.

[terrible_greg]

I've got bad news for you: it's quite a bit more difficult to get the super-high mileage on the highway unless you're willing to drop it all the way down to 55 or 50 mph. I actually try to avoid highway use any more simply because you have to drive at such gas-guzzling speeds. Once you start getting over 50ish, or getting above 2500-3000 rpms, you just flat-out lose mileage for speed. Hypermiling really is more for city driving. If there's a non-highway route that isn't terribly out of the way, you may want to try that.

Also: the effects of A/C and open windows are way over-stated. I do both and still get the mileage I've discussed.