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Hypermiling from the start
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A mileage log, displaying date of fill-up, main odometer
reading, trip odometer reading (fuel range), cost to fill up
price per gallon, and amount of fuel purchased.
Hypermiling is a term that describes techniques and modifications to driving habits and to a vehicle in an effort to maximize gas mileage and conserve fuel.
In the previous article I suggested ways one can prepare to begin hypermiling by understanding how to use and operate a car's trip odometer, and to understand the importance — for tracking's sake — of using as much of the fuel in a gas tank as possible between fill-ups. Read more --> www.examiner.com/x-15291-Chicago-Hypermiling-Examiner~y2009m6d25-Hypermiling-A-primer
Logging your data
You filled your tank, you zeroed your trip odometer, you have driven as you always have, and now you're nearing the time to fill up again. As always, try to run the tank as close to empty as you feel comfortable with.
When you get to the filling station, jot down the number displayed on your trip odometer. This number represents your fuel tank range. Ideally, you've logged your fuel range for several tankfuls in order to create a good average, but it's not necessary. This may be the only number you care about, just to see if hypermiling increases your range. I keep a small log book in my vehicle, and at every fill-up, in addition to the trip odometer reading, I jot down the date, the main odometer reading, the price of the gas, how much it cost to fill up, and the amount of fuel it took to fill up my tank. I suggest you record these numbers for your car. They can come in handy for all kinds of fun math, which I will get into in future articles.
Then — again, this is very important for tracking your success — zero your trip odometer. Make this a habit at every fill-up. However, if you should forget to zero it, or it is zeroed accidentally, writing down the main odometer reading at every fill-up is a reliable backup.
Basic hypermiling techniques
There are quite a few 'tricks' you can employ to start saving fuel immediately. They involve mostly changes in habits and a few minor sacrifices. There are radical hypermiling techniques, but we'll get to them later. Adopting only a few of the most basic techniques can score you a significant savings on fuel consumption from the very first tankful, but it does take practice and dedication, and the real desire to save some money. Before hypermiling, my gas-greedy SUV was getting an average of 250 miles on one 19-gallon tank of gas (an average of approximately 17 gallons per fill-up). Within a couple months of implementing these hypermiling techniques, getting used to them, and making them my habits, I extended the average range of my SUV to an average of 300 miles. That's a 50 mile increase per tank of gas! That's roughly a 17% increase in fuel economy!
Starting off easy
There is a very simple way to start saving fuel immediately, and it starts, oddly enough, at the start: when that traffic light turns green, go easy on the accelerator. Unless you're in a NASCAR event, or you're racing to (or from!) a bank robbery, there's no reason to push the pedal to the floor and get up to speed quickly. You're not impressing anybody, you're creating a potential hazard for yourself and other drivers around you, and you're only getting yourself back to the gas station sooner.
Many cars, trucks, and SUVs have a tachometer included in the array of dials and gauges packed into the dashboard. It's the dial that measures the engine speed in revolutions per minute (RPM). Ease the accelerator pedal down and — if you're driving a car with an automatic transmission — try to get it to shift to second gear between 2,000 and 2,500 RPM. At that rate of acceleration, the transmission will likely shift up to the next gear in the same RPM range each time. The same rule applies if you drive a car with a manual transmission (or a "semi-automatic"), except you have total control over when to shift gears.
If your vehicle doesn't have a tachometer, get to know the sound and feel of your car's engine while you're driving. Accelerate from a stop as you normally do, and listen and feel how much the engine races. Then do it again, but more gently. Your automatic transmission will shift at a lower RPM based on your decreased demand for power.
Using the sound and feel of your engine, you can gauge when to shift your manual transmission by trial and error: if you shift up to the next gear and your vehicle feels like it's bogging down, or it's lurching, then you shifted at too low an engine speed.
You know you car better than anyone else. With just a little practice you will hone this technique, and it will soon become second nature.
Tachometer or not, the important point is to avoid hard acceleration. The easier you start, the better your fuel savings will be.
This is only one technique. Utilizing it, you may see a result at the end of your first 'hypermiled' tank of gas. If you don't see an improvement, don't be discouraged. Changing the way you drive can be difficult, and will take some time to get used to.
Next time: Using your log; saving on the coast
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