Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Hypermiling


I don't know if any of you have heard about this, but there is a sub-culture of drivers called hypermilers who are going to lengths to get the best gas mileage out of there cars. I am thinking of trying to see how much I can get out of the old Jeep. She now has 211,000+ miles. I recently got my oil changed since it was a thousand miles or more over 3,000 miles since my last change. When I got my receipt I was kind of shocked when I realized how long it had been. I had gone 51 weeks since my last oil change and only driven 4,800 miles in my car since then. It helps when the hospital is only 1.5 miles from my house.


The Technical How-To by the "founder" of hypermiling, Wayne Gerdes.
I bet Hoss could have gotten 8 mpg with these techniques.
I am going to pump up my tires and change my driving habits and see what kind of difference I can get...I will get back to you on the results. Just imagine how much $$$ you could save if you could have a 10% increase in miles per gallon. That would be a lot to contribute to buying Edna back.


13 comments:

JDL said...

after looking at the graphs in section 1, I'm thinking Arby's.

Anyone with me? Eh?

RD said...

I think one way to save gas is putting your car into neutral on every down hill. That's a good idea.

And a roastbeef and cheese does sound delicious right now.

Kevin said...

I was doing this while I had my truck. I didn't go crazy with it, but I squeezed an extra 8-10 mpg out of it by keeping my RPMs under 2,000 (it was a V6), tailgate down, and no A/C. I've been thinking about getting on of these so I can keep an eye on my mpg's.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/car/8426/?cpg=cj

Aaron said...

someone with a MBA or business degree crunch the numbers and see how much we could all save and contribute toward our Fund if we all increased our MPG by 10%

that is pretty cool device, kevin. so you just plug it into a cord your car already has or is it complicated to install?

Red said...

Everyone please post the make and model of you automobile, approximate miles driven each year, and approximate mileage per gallon of gasoline consumed.

Red said...

Buick LeSabre
15000
22 mpg

Jones said...

1988 Jeep Wrangler
2000 Miles Annually
7 mpg

Aaron said...

2000 miles annually??? wow seth...do you sleep in the press box of the football stadium during the school week?

Aaron said...

93 jeep cherokee
6,000 approx
~22 mpg (i think) i am working on getting a better number

Jones said...

I live a mile and a half from the school. Plus, I ride my bike to work if it is nice out.

Kevin said...

Honda Accord
~12,000 miles
~30mpg

Aaron, I think it just hooks right in to your computer port under the dash and automagically works.

Red said...

Thanks, Kev, we're now up to $600 in annual gas savings.

We'd be at $700 if Seth drove a reasonable distance each year.

Andrew said...

Seth can have the attic for his room because of his selfishness.

'02 Chevy Impala
10,000 mpy
23 mpg