Hypermiling
Gas Conscious Driving Taken To The Extreme...

Hypermiling : Rave Against Rising Gas Prices...

Hypermiling goes far beyond the basics of fuel efficient driving concepts like tire pressure and emptying your trunk. This is "WAR" a radical obsession of squeezing every mile out of every drop of precious fuel.. Hypermiling is an endless pursuit--the quest for improved fuel economy, ratcheted up a couple of notches to near fanaticism.

Hypermiling - The New Green Sport.

Hypermiling your fuel economy.  The greenest extreme sport. There are a few things we all could learn from Hypermiling, such as calming down a bit and driving less aggressively.  People have been able to get up to 50 miles per gallon or more by using Hypermiling techniques.  The best thing about Hypermiling is that it is something anyone can learn quickly and instantly apply.  It's does take skill, thought, and a whole lot of practice and may not appeal to everyone.  We say chill out, slow down and don't give those oil companies, Arabs, and Osama the satisfaction!

Hypermiling Techniques

"Hypermiling" the fine art of wringing the greatest fuel economy possible from a vehicle through a selection of clever driving techniques.  Given the price of gas, we thought it would be a great time to experiment with Hypermiling techniques.  Hypermilers practice such unorthodox techniques as riding in the draft of simi's by tailgating(NOT RECOMMENDED), driving far below speed limits on the freeway, pumping up tire pressure far beyond car and tire maker recommendations(ALSO NOT ENCOURAGED) and carefully manipulating the gas pedal to avoid fuel-burning excess.  Using the brakes is also frowned upon, keep your speed in the turns and roll to a stop is the goal.  "Coast for the Most," gas mileage that is.

The downside of Hypermiling is some of the techniques can be extremely dangerous. Examples of dangerous Hypermiling techniques include cutting off the vehicle's engine or putting it in neutral to coast on a roadway, rolling through stop signs and driving at erratic and unsafe speeds.

Hypermiler Superstars

A top-rated hyper miler will shave about half off the gas bill of a non-hypermiler in the same vehicle.  They watch traffic patterns and coast up to red lights.  They concentrate and are not on the phone, eating, drinking, listening to music, or anything else but getting the gas mileage fix they crave.  Buckle up tight, because Hypermilers don't like to use the brakes.  They know the speed they retain in that turn is transferred to more miles down the road.

Fun Factor

"It's a running joke, but instead of a gas gauges, a lot of Hypermilers call them "game gauges" - a reference to the running score posted on video games because they are trying to beat the last score, their last miles per gallon record.

Stoplights

These are difficult for the Hypermiling fanatic
Stop signs can be an evil temptation for Hypermilers.  I was tempted myself and I would never have thought of running a stop sign before learning about Hypermiling.

Hypermiling is a whole suite of tools.  "If you leave some on the table, that's fine," says Wayne Gerdes Hypermiler Guru, who runs the Hypermiling site Clean MPG.  It is reported that Gerdes, the king of Hypermiling, averaged more than 90 miles per gallon driving a plain, old Honda.

The Basics 

There are six basic steps in Hypermiling

1. Track your gas mileage. Use a fuel consumption gage(they're fun). Make extra miles a game.
2. Don't drive aggressively - Slow to start.  Slow to stop.
3. Avoid sitting still at traffic lights, time the green.
4. Keep moving, avoid congested traffic and rush hour if possible.
5. Accelerate slowly from a stop, if you HAVE to stop.
6. Coast when you can, down hills and up to stop lights, stop signs and other traffic.

In Conclusion

A Hybrid car could reach 100 mpg using Hypermiler
Techniques.  Hard core "Milers" strive to achieve 50% or better than EPA mileage figures.  The goals of Hypermiling are positive, such as eliminating aggressive driving and saving energy and money.  As a Hypermiling rookie, I have found leaving the car in its recommended configuration is best.  Accelerating slowly, coasting up to stop signs and red lights and observing the speed limits(or lower)nets me 50 extra miles per tank in my evil SUV!   Mastering Hypermiling takes some dedication, but the basic principles are easy enough to learn.  Hey, You gotta' do something...