Hypermiling (Gas Mileage Feats!)

[Diversion]

Post your Hypermiling feats of strength.. i.e. gas mileage records! I know most people could care less about their MPG.. but i'll be using my Z as a daily driver (Over the next few months until I decide on a new daily driver) 5 days a week going to and from work at over 50 miles.. I need to maximize my MPG the best I can!


Taken from Cleanmpg.com
"What is Hypermiling?

Hypermiler is a term coined by Wayne Gerdes to describe a driver who strives to exceed their vehicle's EPA fuel economy rating. In conventional vehicles they can often match the mileage of an average person driving an equivalent hybrid. Hypermilers driving hybrids tend to achieve tremendous mileage, with some even exceeding 100 MPG . That being said, anyone can learn a wide variety of these skills. This site is dedicated to educating the driver of these techniques, so that they can raise their vehicles fuel economy no matter what they drive.

While Hypermiling is about a variety of techniques to improve a vehicles fuel economy, Hypermiling should not be equated with dangerous driving. While some hypermilers favor certain advanced practices that entail some risk and are in some areas illegal, these are not required nor encouraged. There are many basic techniques that are safe and actually make you a better driver, it is up to you, as a driver, to find your own particular level of comfort and fuel economy.

Hypermilers find it just as important to be safe around other traffic as they do about getting the best mileage. In fact these drivers are many times more aware of their surroundings and their car’s capabilities than an average driver, and are far safer then the average speeder or person driving while engaging in other activities, like talking on their cell phone.
The 2008 EPA ratings have been lowered for many vehicles so beating these numbers is now much easier. This means that achieving 40% above the 2008 ratings is no harder than achieving 20% over the ratings prior to 2008. Most hypermilers of course, push for pulling out all the stops and the dedicated often achieve 50% or better than the posted EPA mileage figures.

The best article on Hypermiling can be found in the thread "Beating the EPA - the Why's and How to Hypermile" by Wayne Gerdes. This article describes many of the basic and advanced techniques. Please read it and try at least one or two techniques in your daily commute. You will be surprised at how effectively they can reduce your fuel consumption and save yourself some money, while helping out the environment, while making you a calmer, more effective driver in the process!"



Even if you've seen some ridiculous numbers while crusing down the highway..

I've personally hit 28.1 so far going 60 mph on the highway (whilst pissing other people off, of course).

I think we could hit 30+ mpg going 50-55 MPG .. but I don't recommend doing this on a road that has a min. speed of 60 (most in Florida seem to).

[mspeasl]

Last summer my bride and I averaged 28+ MPG during a 7000 mile vacation. We traveled from the Midwest to the Southwest on to the west coast and Pacific Northwest before returning home. Not to bad in a 350Z

BTW that was with speeds from 65 to 80MPH

[wstar]

Isn't hypermiling when you downshift into the hyper gear and suck 3 gallons of gas out of the tank per mile? What is this EPA you speak of?

[Diversion]

Originally Posted by wstar

Isn't hypermiling when you downshift into the hyper gear and suck 3 gallons of gas out of the tank per mile? What is this EPA you speak of?

Lol.. you're talking about the OTHER Hypermiling

[Forrest]

Switch out your tires for someting smaller that still keeps factory specs and Lighter.

Use lighter wheels/tires.

And or inflate your tires lil above normal but dont go any where near/close to the danger area of 40psi. I think its safe to put it at 36-37psi but you would have to watch it on the hot days.

[ChrisSlicks]

Just mount spare tires on every corner. You'll have absolutely no grip but the tiny contact patch will give you great economy.

[TheWeatherman]

These people are my favorite. It takes them about 30 minutes to go on a drive that would take other people 10. When they think a light is going to turn red, they shut off their engine and coast to the stop like 4 blocks ahead. What I laugh about is the stress they put on the componentry by turning on and off the car the whole time. What they saved in gas, they will make up by buying new parts (eg. starter motor). If you want a car that was designed to do that, you buy a hybrid. If you are hypermiling in a Z, you are required, as per the370z.com, to paint your car a bright shade of green with leaf patterns all over it. You are also required to grow dreads, and wear an apron without ever bathing.

[Diversion]

Scored 29.2 miles per gallon traveling at a sustained 55 mph the other night.. felt like I was crawling on the road and couldn't stand it anymore and sped back up to 80 mph lol.. But for funs sake, it was interesting!

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by TheWeatherman

If you are hypermiling in a Z, you are required, as per the370z.com, to paint your car a bright shade of green with leaf patterns all over it. You are also required to grow dreads, and wear an apron without ever bathing.

Beyond hypermiling in a Z, I don't get concepts for hybrid and/or diesel sports cars. Sports car owners tend to drive them fewer miles per year than the owners of other cars.

TrueDelta's Car Reliability Survey generates average odometer data. The 2003 350Zs in the survey currently average just over 50,000 miles because many of them are second cars. The average 2003 Honda Accord has an odometer reading in the low 80s. The average 2003 VW TDI: about 135k miles. Why put a high-efficiency powertrain in a car that probably won't be driven all that much?

That said, if you're clocking 18k+ miles a year in your Z, go ahead and hypermile it from time to time--as long as you drive it the way a sports car should be driven when the roads are suitable

Our fuel economy survey asks about driving style, so once 370Z owners start responding to it we'll get some sense of how much impact a heavy foot has.

Real-world fuel economy survey

[Diversion]

Well, at this time, I'm having to commute to work and back in my Z.. putting about 300+ miles on it a week. I'd have kept my 07 Scion tC as a daily if they didn't offer such a fantastic trade in value on it.

So now i'm looking for a Prius basically.. I really want a hybrid as a daily! Hearing with a few tricks during driving people can get 70 mpg out a Prius.. I don't know how much fibbing is going on there..

[mkaresh]

Here are the gas mileage numbers people have posted for the Prius:

Real-world Toyota Prius gas mileage

Non-members see only five results per powertrain. I logged in and filtered results for "ultra-light foot." Looks like about 52 MPG if you're easy on the gas, though radical hypermiling techniques might bump this to the 70 you mention.

Ran the same filter for the Z--only two results with an "ultra-light foot" for all model years, both for a 2003. One 100% highway tank good for 33.3, one suburban tank that yielded 24.5. So it seems that very few Z drivers are keeping their foot out of the throttle.

[racerxj17]

27.5 mpg, (first half tank). mostly freeway, drive about 75-80 (flat though).

[mspeasl]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

Here are the gas mileage numbers people have posted for the Prius:

Real-world Toyota Prius gas mileage

Non-members see only five results per powertrain. I logged in and filtered results for "ultra-light foot." Looks like about 52 MPG if you're easy on the gas, though radical hypermiling techniques might bump this to the 70 you mention.

Ran the same filter for the Z--only two results with an "ultra-light foot" for all model years, both for a 2003. One 100% highway tank good for 33.3, one suburban tank that yielded 24.5. So it seems that very few Z drivers are keeping their foot out of the throttle.

All of the above mileage is great if you live in a warm weather area........ As a past owner of an 09 Toyota Camery Hybrid I was very disappointed with the mileage. Toyota told me what this car would get in mileage. Wow I thought..... Last year when winter came to the Midwest the mileage dropped dramatically from what it had been........... I didn't know what happened so I went to my dealer for some answers!!! With a chuckle my service advisor informed me that they all do it when winter comes.... To say I was a little pissed is an understatement. So the GREEN cars are not as green as they are made out to be...............

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by mspeasl

All of the above mileage is great if you live in a warm weather area........ As a past owner of an 09 Toyota Camery Hybrid I was very disappointed with the mileage. Toyota told me what this car would get in mileage. Wow I thought..... Last year when winter came to the Midwest the mileage dropped dramatically from what it had been........... I didn't know what happened so I went to my dealer for some answers!!! With a chuckle my service advisor informed me that they all do it when winter comes.... To say I was a little pissed is an understatement. So the GREEN cars are not as green as they are made out to be...............

Good point. The survey includes a question on air temp / AC use. It's not currently possible to filter results by this variable, because it's not a major variable for most cars. For hybrids, though, the battery pack's capacity goes down with the temps.

[troach]

I Get 36 MPG by accelerating very slowly, doing 65 on average. I go slowly up hills, slowly accelerate coming out of the crest of the top, then popping it out of gear, and gliding down the hills. Near the bottom, I pop it back in and slowly apply gas. You will find that by coasting, giving yourself room, and not having sudden changes in speed, that you will get great mileage. Everyone passed me today doing about 70-80mph, but they probably also get 15 mpg (the big SUV's probably get 8-10). People don't realize what they waste in gas. It took me about 6 minutes longer to get to work by driving about 5-10 mph slower than everyone else.

If you want to save money, slow down and don't drive aggresively. If you were riding a bike and peddling, you know you work harder to go up hills, so slow down a little bit up hills, and glide down hills. Same principal. Just like with "constant" speeds.

Also, stay with higher octane gas. What you save in lower octane, you waste with less fuel efficiency, not to mention the car drives like crap.