A rational guide to hypermile driving

 

People who have wanted to get the best gas mileage have been Hypermiling for years, why people feel the need to keep inventing new words to describe the same old things, I will never understand. If one researches Hypermiling online, all the search results produce sites that delineate the same methods that good drivers have been using for years to get the most mileage for their dollar. This rational guide to hypermile driving is written for the new driver, not the old pro who already knows all this stuff.

Hypermile driving requires a vehicle that is in tiptop mechanical condition. Keep your vehicle properly serviced at all times with regular oil and oil filter changes. Follow the maintenance schedule that is found in your owner’s manual. Dirty air filters, fuel filters, fouled sparkplugs, an improperly maintained cooling system, etc all rob your engine of power and make it consume more fuel than a properly tuned and serviced one would. Replacing a dirty air filter can increase your gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Many of the routine maintenance tasks can be done as DIY (Do It Yourself) projects and that will save you a lot of money. If the Check Engine light is on, get it checked by a professional. For example, if the light is indicating a faulty Oxygen Sensor, getting it replaced will increase your gas mileage as much as 40 percent.

Hypermile driving depends on keeping your tire inflated to the proper pressure. Properly inflated tires can increase your gas mileage by as much as 3.3 percent. On the average, your gas mileage will decrease 0.3 percent for every 1 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) that all four of your tires falls below the recommended inflation pressure. The manufacturer’s recommended inflation specifications can be found in your owner’s manual and on a metal plate affixed to one of the doorposts. Properly inflated tires also last longer and makes for a safer handling vehicle.

Using the proper grade motor oil recommended by the can manufacturer is another important step to Hypermiling. Motor oil with too high a viscosity can lower your gas mileage by as much as 1 or 2 percent. If your owners manual recommends using 5W-30 motor oil, that’s what you need to use for best performance.

Good hypermile drivers minimize the amount of time their vehicle sits idling at red lights. The moment you spot a red light ahead or the brake lights of the car ahead of yours comes on, take your foot off the gas and coast up to the light. Don’t let your engine idle for more than 30 seconds. If you are in a gridlock situation or if you are sitting at a rail crossing, place your car in park and turn off the engine. When leaving a red light, accelerate slowly.

When driving on the highway, a hypermiler’s best friend is cruise control, so if your car is equipped with cruise control, use it. Cruise control not only allows you to maintain a steady speed on the highway, which will produce the best gas mileage, it allows you to control your acceleration rate as well.

Hypermiler’s keep accurate records of their gas mileage. Keeping such a record is easy if you keep a pocket notebook in your vehicle’s glove box. Here’s how to do it.

1. Begin by filling your vehicles gas tank completely. Write down the number of gallons that it took to fill the tank and the mileage indicated on the odometer at that time.

2. At the next fill up, fill your tank completely as you did the first time. Subtract the lesser amount from the larger amount to find the number of gallons used between fill ups. Then subtract the first odometer reading from the second to find the miles driven. Then divide the gallons consumed into the miles driven to find your mileage in miles per gallon. Record the gallons consumed, the miles traveled, and the MPG in your notebook.

3. Make these entries every time you gas up. Any sudden negative change in gas mileage indicates possible mechanical problems that need attending to.

An in-car GPS system is another hypermiler’s friend because a GPS will calculate the shortest distance between points for you; if caught in a gridlock, a GPS system will plot an alternate route for you around it; a GPS system will locate restaurants, hotels, motels, service stations, etc for you while in route so you won’t waste gas looking for them; a GPS system will even warn you when you’re driving over the speed limit on most major highways and warn you when it’s time to take a driving break.