When you’re serious about saving gas, there is an extreme set of fuel-saving methods you can turn to which are called hypermiling.
You can practice hypermiling techniques on any car, although some techniques need to be adjusted for the unique mechanical characteristics of a vehicle.
For example, the techniques you would use to hypermile a Toyota Prius would differ in some ways when compared to the methods used to hypermile a Chevrolet Suburban.
At first, you will need to experiment with the different techniques and see what works best for your particular vehicle.
That effort will pay off later as you stop for fuel less often and save considerable money.
What is Hypermiling?
For the sake of those who are not familiar with the term, let’s have a quick overview of what hypermiling means.
To put it simply, hypermiling pertains to operating a vehicle, may it be a land vehicle, a boat, or a plane, using techniques that maximize fuel efficiency. The term was voted as the “Best New Word of the Year” by the New Oxford American Dictionary in 2008. This happened after hypermiling gained popularity when gasoline prices went on the rise in the 2000s.
Truth is, regardless of fuel consumption, any vehicle can practice hypermiling techniques. However, using these techniques is an extreme form of energy-efficient driving. If you search online, you’d see that hypermiling techniques were actually considered illegal in some countries before. This is due to the fact that the practice is seen as dangerous.
Trivia: You can call the drivers who use techniques such as these “hypermilers”.
The Hypermiling Safety Foundation
As mentioned, hypermiling was not received positively because there were hypermilers that showed dangerous or illegal behavior while practicing it. Such examples include;
- cycling between accelerating and coasting in neutral
- tailgating larger vehicles on motorways to save fuel
- turning the engine off when its power is not needed during rush hours
Because of this, the Hypermiling Safety Foundation was established in August 2008. This foundation is meant to start a safety and education program that can help promote legal fuel-saving techniques.
Ultimate Way to Save on Gas
Before getting into some hypermiling techniques, you need to be aware that there are a lot of other ways for you to be able to save on gas that is less dangerous. I have listed some of them here. These tips really worked for me and I hope they can help you as well. Here they are:
Beware of fuel-saving gimmicks.
There are many fuel-saving gimmicks out there that promise an incredible or even a reasonable increase in fuel economy, but in fact, do nothing to increase a car’s efficiency. Some examples include fuel line magnets, air intake propellers, and a large array of fuel tank additives.
So, before you buy any products that promise to increase your car’s fuel efficiency, check out the veracity of those claims through a respected third-party organization.
Drive Smoothly.
One of the best ways to squeeze all of the mileage out of your vehicle as possible is to smooth out how you drive your car.
Jack-rabbit starts, which is when drivers lurch the vehicle forward and accelerate quickly after stopping, actually work against a car’s fuel efficiency. In fact, using the brakes less often and instead allowing the car to slow down by cruising increases fuel efficiency. So if you see that there is a red light ahead, you should take your foot off the accelerator and cruise toward the light.
Attack hills wisely.
You should coast down hills, touching the accelerator little and instead allowing gravity to do most if not all of the work.
When climbing hills, it’s tempting to press on the accelerator so you make your way up the incline quickly. Doing so will consume more fuel. At the most, you should maintain your car’s speed, but if you are looking to hypermile you should actually keep pressing the accelerator as much as you were before climbing the hill, ignoring the fact that your speed is dropping and instead of enjoying the increased fuel economy.
Monitor your car’s fuel economy performance.
While it’s helpful to measure your fuel economy every time you stop for fuel, it’s even more helpful to be able to constantly monitor your car’s fuel economy performance. Many newer cars have such an option as part of the infotainment system. Cars that do not offer the feature and were built in 1995 or later can be outfitted with a relatively inexpensive fuel economy computer, which plugs into the car’s OBD II port.
Smooth out the exterior of your vehicle.
A more extreme but still sane way to increase fuel economy is to use tape to smooth out the exterior of your vehicle. You can use a tape that leaves little to no residue, like painter’s tape, to cover up body gaps that make your car less aerodynamic. The most notorious of such gaps are in the space between the hood and front fenders. Beware that covering up the front of the car, especially the grille and air dam, could decrease the car’s fuel efficiency by starving the engine of air.
Plan to combine your trips.
Finally, you should plan to combine trips as much as possible. When running several errands, go to the destination that is the furthest away first, allowing the engine to heat up to its optimal operating temperature instead of running a cold engine to several places at first. Also, do as many nearby errands on foot, which will help you cut back on fuel costs as well as improve your personal health.