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Does a 100 mpg sound good to you? How about a mere 50 or 60 mpg? Huh, that’s nothing. These ratings may sound far fetched but they are actual mileage rates recorded on average days by not so average drivers. These drivers are called Hypermilers. What is a hypermiler, you ask? Well, a hypermiler is someone that is part of a loose-knit legion of commuters who’ve made racking up seemingly unattainable mpg an art. And for most of them, they have turned this art into somewhat of a sport along the way. It’s become a friendly competition between friends, or hypermilers. Most hypermilers can easily average over 100 mpg out of their ordinary sub-compact cars. Most prefer the Honda Insight as their car of choice but have made many great accomplishments with other sub-compact models and some have even achieved 35-40 mpg out of gas guzzling SUVs.
So how is 100 mpg possible? How do they do it? Well, hypermilers practice some very unorthodox techniques such as coasting for city blocks with the car’s engine turned off, driving way below the freeway’s posted speed limit, overinflating tire pressure to near dangerous levels and carefully feathering the gas pedal to avoid burning excess fuel.
Automakers are sitting up and taking notice to the hypermilers driving oddities, next year Honda will install an instrument in a new hybrid that will roll out next year that cues drivers for gas saving actions, such as when to ease off the accelerator to save gas.
Some techniques can be dangerous if caution is not taken. By turning the engine off to coast, you may lose braking power and by drafting to close tractor and trailers can cause an unsafe situation.
Just by slowing down to 45-55 mph can save you about 16 mpg on a sub compact vehicle. Other techniques involved coasting to stops and timing stop lights so that you hit all green lights and reducing or eliminating the need to stop at all.
There are websites that will provide you with detailed instructions for obtaining better gas mileage but for now, here is a list of things to implement on your quest for the elusive 100 mpg average:
Easy Starts - sudden take off **** precious fuel. Gently accelerating is best
Coast to Stops - manual transmissions are best for this
Pump up Tires - overinflating tires reduce rolling resistance but can be dangerous
Drive the Speed Limit or less - reducing you speed can save considerable fuel
Drive Off Center Lanes - lessen resistance by driving out of worn tracks in the pavement
Time Stop Lights - Pace driving to hit green lights
Hang Back From Cars Ahead - more space gives you more room to work speed changes.
Combine Errands - Cars burn more gas when warming up, park so you never have to back out of a space.
Don’t Use Air Conditioning - Engines work harder if they run the AC. Don’t roll the windows down either, that increases drag and reduces fuel economy.
Drafting Trucks - Following closely can cut wind resistance and increase fuel mileage but can be dangerous.
Hypermilers use many of these tactics to try to get extra fuel mileage. Some of these techniques are more practical than others and some are safer than others. If you decide to implement any of these techniques be aware that some techniques may be somewhat unsafe and you should implement them with caution. Always be safe no matter what.
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