In these days of skyrocketing fuel costs, we’re sure you’re doing everything possible to keep your gas bills to a minimum. But have you considered hypermiling?
Hypermilers are economy-conscious drivers who alter their driving habits to achieve gas mileage far beyond the EPA estimates for their cars. There are some well-known methods, like coasting down hills or slowly accelerating from a stop, but hypermilers go to radical ends to decrease their fuel consumption. True hypermilers can use over 100 different driving techniques to improve their miles per gallon. Here are some moderate hypermiling tactics, as well as more extreme ones.
TIRES
Basic: Inflate your tire pressure to the maximum psi recommended. This reduces rolling resistance, improving gas mileage. If you’re buying new tires, look for ones with lower rolling resistance (LRR). Always have your mechanic rotate and balance them so they wear evenly.
Hardcore: Overinflate your tires by a couple psi. This can be dangerous, especially on older tires.
MASS
Basic: Lose some weight! Empty your car of everything you don’t need, like that extra umbrella and the roof rack that you haven’t used in months.
Hardcore: Passengers? They can walk. Take out all seats except for the driver’s. Don’t forget to lose the spare tire and jack. That’s what AAA is for.
ACCELERATION
Basic: Forgo jerky starts. Instead, slowly accelerate from a stop with a steady, fluid movement. Use cruise control, a system that keeps your acceleration as steady as a surgeon’s hand, as much as possible.
Hardcore: Park downward to get a rolling start in neutral instead of needing to use the gas.
COOLING
Basic: Turn off your air conditioning and roll up the windows. Air conditioning uses engine power, and keeping the windows up minimizes wind resistance.
Hardcore: Isn’t the above hardcore enough? Wait until an 80-degree day if you don’t believe us.
COASTING AND BRAKING
Basic: Coast to a stop with as little braking as possible, and go slow around corners. Coast down hills by laying off the brakes and gas, and push in the clutch if you’re driving a manual.
Hardcore: Coast to complete stops. Keep (sometimes high) speed when going around corners so you can coast out of the turn.
*Driver Side is a free automotive portal designed to make owning a car easier.
