Here's a new idea, or should I say, an old idea finaly gaining recognition. A month or so ago I overheard an interview on Dwyer & Michaels (a local radio talk show). Something about a guy who gets some 50-60 miles to the gallon in his cavalier by "hypermiling". I didn't think much of it at the time but, after my wife said something I decided to try it out. Basically, its improving your current driving style to get better gas mileage.
First thing I did was increase the air pressure in my SUV tires (and of course my wifes tires as well). At a glance they looked to be relatively full. Nope, 28 psi on a tire rated for 45 psi. And here I thought I took care of my vehicles. So filled them to about 44 psi all around.
Second, I checked my air filter and all fluids. Everything looked good. I figured I better wash it while I was at it, but thats just me. Really had nothing to do with fuel economy. If I was going to start driving like an 89 year old I might as well look clean doing it.
So I set out to the open road. Believe it or not I could immediately notice a difference in my coasting abilities with the increase in air pressure. I thought, this is going to be great! I have a Chevy Trailblazer which keeps track of my average mpg and the current mpg. This makes it much easier than keeping track of your mileage at the gas pump. So I reset my average consumption and watched it for a while.
The key to hypermiling is common sense; being able to see down the road and anticipate what's going to happen. If you see a light down the road turn yellow, let off the gas. If you see a car down the road brake, let off the gas. This isn't racket science here, simply common sense. Actually, I was surprised that hypermiling doesn't even make me look like an elderly defensive driver.
So what's the result? In addition to saving on my brake pads, the wear and tear on my engine from all the stop and go, I have seen (according to my digital read-out) about 2 mpg increase. For all you Trailblazer owners out there, I was getting in the neighborhood of 15.4 mpg before this. I now see about 17.3 mpg in city driving conditions.
I will be the first to tell you that in order to effectively hypermile the driver must be alert and aware at all times. As a Realtor I do a lot of driving and half the time I am on the phone while doing it. That makes me less aware of whats going on around me. As a result my hypermiling may not be as effective as it could be. Do a little research on your own to see what factors you could change with your driving. What could it possible hurt?
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