New Record!

I’ve been really busy lately; working outside, spending time up at our camp, etc. But through it all I’ve really been focusing on the hypermiling stuff. It really doesn’t take any extra time or materials especially since I can practice whenever I need to drive somewhere!

I filled up my tank this morning (only had used 1/2 a tank by today, but I felt I was on to something good). The numbers came in at 37.2! I was amazed. I have officially improved my fuel efficiency by 10MPG without doing anything to my car.

Along these lines, I’ve noticed something else. Everyone is complaining about oil prices, even when it is only a few cents different. I realized this as I drove through Dairy Queen the other day and noticed that I wouldn’t think much about spending $7 on ice cream treats, but I’d notice if my gas cost went up $1.50 per fill up. I’ve also noticed the impatience of drivers on the road. They race down our street going 50-60 in a 35. They tear off of a red light like drag racers. They slam on their brakes almost rear-ending people.

With the results I’ve seen in hypermiling, I don’t want to hear one more complaint about oil prices until people start actually trying to do something about it. I guess it’s far to easy to complain and blame someone else instead of being inconvenienced to drive more safely and responsibly. Just a side note - the hypermiling I’ve been playing with is simply adjusting my acceleration and braking habits. I haven’t ventured at all into the unsafe elements of drafting etc …

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Hypermiling Update

So after another month of driving, I finally had to fill up my tank. I could have sworn that I completely botched the first 1/2 of this last tank, and expected my mileage to go down. Well, I have good news and bad news.

The good news: I did .2 MPG better! I coasted in at 34.4 MPG this past tank.

The bad news: I did some research, and it looks like my car is rated for 29/36.

Looks like I have some more work to do before I really get some good results. I guess that improving my mileage from an average of 27/28 to over 34 is good, but I’m not really stretching my car. Once this current tank is gone (I’m trying a few more things), I’m going to do the whole car-makeover effort, including air filter, tire pressures, etc to see how optimally I can get things running.

In the meantime, I’m very encouraged by how interested people around me are in hypermiling. Many have not heard of it before but are starting to do their own research. Others have heard about it, but never tried it. It’s much more accepted than I thought it would be - perhaps due to rising gas costs? Whatever the reason, it’s using less fuel and making my daily commute much more interesting.

If you haven’t tried it yet - what are you waiting for?

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