Hypermiling Techniques

Have you heard of the latest craze to get the best gas mileage from your car or truck, its called “Hypermiling”? To be a hypermiler involves the use of any tip or trick, (and sometimes even a complete change in driving style) to squeeze every last MPG out of your vehicle. And not surprisingly with the ever increasing gas prices, it’s catching on in a big way.

Hypermilers have certainly been the subject of discussion in car and driver forums across the internet, and they have had a fair amount of publicity in the media. So is this Hypermiling a new idea to get gas mileage improvements, or is it just a re-hash of all the old tricks for saving on gas we have all heard before.

Well it seems that a lot of these tips go way back to the 40s and 50s when gas was in short supply and being rationed due to the effects of a world war. Some of those tips and techniques that were tried back then are now standard ways to make gas mileage improvements and have become well established, and a lot of these tips are now just common sense.

For instance a heavy car that is loaded down with excess weight is going to use more gas than one that is running lighter. With the minimum amount of weight being carried around in the form of useless baggage the gas mileage improvements can be considerable. Even by removing things that you will not need on a daily basis such as a heavy bag of golf clubs from your trunk could save you a few cents a gallon.

If your car has cruise control then use it, as this is another way to improve your fuel economy. A 2005 study carried out by the Automotive Website http://Edmunds.com showed that using cruise control at highway speeds could give you on average a fuel economy saving of 7%.

If you are a fast driver or one that accelerates quickly and then has to break just as quickly then you are going to use a lot more gas than a driver who is a steady Eddie. Keep to the speed limit, accelerate and break smoothly and don’t rev your engine while stationary (at red lights etc) just letting it idle as it should will save you gas.

Keeping your car well maintained and in a good running condition will also give you good gas mileage improvements. Have your car serviced at the recommended intervals as an engine that is running in tip top condition will use far less fuel than one that is coughing and spluttering just because it is in need of a simple inexpensive tune up.

Other thing are just a matter of common sense, things like making sure that your tires are properly inflated will not only save you gas, but will also give you a safer ride, as under inflated tires are a safety hazard.

These are just some of the tips and tricks that you should be using to be a hypermiler and get the best gas mileage from your car, added together they will give you some definite fuel savings.



By: Mick Legg

About the Author:

Anna Stone asked:


Hypermiling, a system of driving techniques and sensible ways to improve gas mileage, has been made a subject of controversy. Stranger things have happened.

However, with gas prices reaching the extortion levels, people (out of necessity) have started to pay attention to how much fuel they are consuming.

And thus the word “hypermiling” has been born. The term “hypermiling” (originally coined by Wayne Gerdes) means, in simple terms, getting the best gas mileage out of the fuel you have.

Before the word “hypermiling” was born, “hypermiling” was just referred too as sensible fuel economy, or common-sense driving practice.

But today, getting the most for your money (by squeezing out the maximum amount of mileage per gallon of gasoline) has become a specialized field, with the name “hypermiling.”

A lot of “controversy” has been built up around the subject of hypermiling. Some claim it is dangerous or state that it causes accidents, etc. These statements are about as intelligent as statements that driving is dangerous or causes crashes.

Of course, if there were no cars on the road, there would be no car accidents. That is about the level of logic we are using when we say that hypermiling is dangerous or controversial.

Before the word “hypermiling” existed, we would have heard about “safe and unsafe driving practices.” These days, in the interest of controversy, we no longer hear about “unsafe driving practices,” but about hypermiling. I guess monkey learned a new trick.

Lets take a look at what hypermiling is, and what a few hypermiling techniques are:

First of all, a common hypermiling practice is to plan one’s trips a little more carefully, so as to avoid unnecessary driving. That’s common sense, I would say. But it’s not something we were too careful about when fuel was cheap.

Another important hypermiling technique is driving within the speed-limit - as driving at higher speeds wastes fuel. Avoiding excessive idling of one’s engine is also a key hypermiling tactic, as you are getting zero miles per gallon when you are standing still. What is interesting about this last point is that, for years now, we have had cars whose engines switch to “hibernate mode” after standing still for a few seconds, in order to avoid wasting fuel. “Hibernating” here means that the engine “switches off” and starts up again the moment you hit the gas peddle with your foot.

Making sure that your tires are inflated to the correct air pressure, according to the instructions of the manufacturer, is also a hypermiling technique. That might sound like a minor detail to some people. But if you’ve ever ridden a bicycle with under-inflated tires you will have a good idea how much extra energy it takes, as compared to riding with correctly-inflated tires.

Well, the same goes for a car. Under-inflated tires make your engine work harder and consume more fuel. Try riding a bicycle with badly inflated tires sometime, and you will understand what I am talking about. A car handles better with correct tire pressure, which also gives you a lot more control when you are driving (and is thus safer).

I could go on and on, and could detail many other points of hypermiling. But I think the above examples serve to show you that we are really just talking about common sense.

The only real truth in all this controversy is that there are safe drivers and there are unsafe drivers. But that’s not new. And this fact did not arrive with the subject of hypermiling. It will not go away with the subject of hypermiling either.

Some people are smart and some are less so. That’s nothing new and it’s not something we didn’t already know.

I guess it’s the ones who are “less so,” who feel the need to create a “controversy” around a subject like hypermiling. Maybe it makes them feel clever.

The fact is, hypermiling consists of safe and sensible ways to improve gas mileage. Just as one could drive unsafely in the interest of better gas mileage, one could also be a maniac gas-guzzler who speeds around turns, slams on his brakes, and pays high gas prices as a result.

Real hypermiling techniques involves safe and sensible driving habits.

Regardless, hypermiling simply consists of a set of techniques and driving practices which are used to get better gas mileage, using common sense and safe driving practices.

Richard Legg asked:


heard of the latest craze to get the best gas mileage from your car or truck, its called “Hypermiling”? To be a hypermiler involves the use of any tip or trick, (and sometimes even a complete change in driving style) to squeeze every last MPG out of your vehicle. And not surprisingly with the ever increasing gas prices, it’s catching on in a big way.

Hypermilers have certainly been the subject of discussion in car and driver forums across the internet, and they have had a fair amount of publicity in the media. So is this Hypermilling a new idea to get gas mileage improvements, or is it just a re-hash of all the old tricks for saving on gas we have all heard before.

Well it seems that a lot of these tips go way back to the 40s and 50s when gas was in short supply and being rationed due to the effects of a world war. Some of those tips and techniques that were tried back then are now standard ways to make gas mileage improvements and have become well established, and a lot of these tips are now just common sense.

For instance a heavy car that is loaded down with excess weight is going to use more gas than one that is running lighter. With the minimum amount of weight being carried around in the form of useless baggage the gas mileage improvements can be considerable. Even by removing things that you will not need on a daily basis such as a heavy bag of golf clubs from your trunk could save you a few cents a gallon.

If your car has cruise control then use it, as this is another way to improve your fuel economy. A 2005 study carried out by the Automotive Website Edmunds.com showed that using cruise control at highway speeds could give you on average a fuel economy saving of 7%.

If you are a fast driver or one that accelerates quickly and then has to break just as quickly then you are going to use a lot more gas than a driver who is a steady Eddie. Keep to the speed limit, accelerate and break smoothly and don’t rev your engine while stationary (at red lights etc) just letting it idle as it should will save you gas.

Keeping your car well maintained and in a good running condition will also give you good gas mileage improvements. Have your car serviced at the recommended intervals as an engine that is running in tip top condition will use far less fuel than one that is coughing and spluttering just because it is in need of a simple inexpensive tune up.

Other thing are just a matter of common sense, things like making sure that your tires are properly inflated will not only save you gas, but will also give you a safer ride, as under inflated tires are a safety hazard.

These are just some of the tips and tricks that you should be using to be a hypermiler and get the best gas mileage from your car, added together they will give you some definite fuel savings.