mileage. This post is brought to you courtesy of Mr. O who, being a financial guru, has only your bottom (not that one) line in mind. Here's how to become a hypermiler (first a few stats):
My 2002 Mazda Protege EPA MPG rating are as follows based on regular driving:
22 City
28 Highway
24 Combined
Okay not exactly a Toyota Prius is it? Now that gas costs upwards of $4/gallon, I've decided to adopt some hypermiler techniques. In the past (pre-hypermilering) I normally got 25 mpg combined. Just prior to starting I had the car serviced at the local oil & lube service center, with the following:
1. oil change (purchased the "high mileage" oil change package for car with high mileage (76K in my case)
2. new air filter (it needed it)
3. set tire air pressure to max (44psi in my case)
During the past week I applied the following seven driving techniques:
1. Slow starts and gradual acceleration
2. Let up on the gas earlier than normal and coasted (sometimes in neutral) to stops
3. Put extra space between me and car in front to minimize braking
4. Tried to time green lights when ever possible
5. Drove at or 5 mph below the posted speed limit instead of 5 mph over the speed limit
6. Coasted into parking lots and parked in "pull-through" spaces, so I didn't have to back the car out.
7. Used the A/C about half what I normally would
Here are the results I got after just one week of all city driving. I drove 140 miles on 3.84 gallons of 85 octane (lowest grade) for a shocking 36.4 mpg. A 46% improvement over my normal driving! The best mileage I have ever gotten previously is 30mpg (all highway driving) and that was with a tail wind.
Since this was my first attempt I think I can improve on this (while still maintaining safe driving practices) since I came in "hot" to many stops (a pilot's term for too fast into the landing approach).
*Additional Notes:
1. To get as accurate a fill-up before and after the test, I filled up at the same station, pump #8 inserted the pump all the way into the tank, and set the handle to the slowest setting and topped off by letting it auto kick-off.
2. Mrs. Organic drove my car twice during the one week trial (not that she would skew the results any)
3. Purchased the same 85 octane grade gasoline
4. I felt a little like Grandpa driving slower, but didn't get any flack (or hand signals) from other drivers.
5. It takes constant high level of attention to drive this way. I felt much safer as my full senses were engaged in my driving environment, like looking three signals ahead to adjust my driving accordingly. I also felt I did better when listening to music instead of my usual talk radio. I did noticeably worse when using the cell phone (no surprise there).
Try it and see if you get more.... mileage, I'd be interested in hearing your results. To see what works for others, visit Rocks in my Dryer
