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A Race Among Fuel-Efficient Drivers

rd.com — How far can a gallon of gas go? How does 150 miles sound?

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  • notque, on 04/22/2008, -2/+6Interesting read, I generally can't stand reader's digest, but a broken clock...
  • nahsrocketeer75, on 04/22/2008, -0/+4From one of the drivers: "What can't be removed is Wayne himself. At six-foot-one and 210 pounds, he looks too big for the two-seater. ('I would love to lose 60 pounds," he says. "It would help my fuel economy.')"
    • marx2k, on 04/22/2008, -0/+19Walking to lose those 60 lbs would seriously help the fuel economy.
      • IllBeBack, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1Well, walking is not the best exercise for weight reduction. Calorie burn during walking, even with speed or power walking, is dismal compared with High Intensity Interval Training exercises.
        • OffPiste, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Not exactly true. No matter how slow or fast you walk/run, the calories necessary to move your body 5 miles by foot remains the same. What changes is the rate that you burn calories.
        • marx2k, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1If you need to lose 60lbs, you need to learn to walk before you run.
  • ProjectGSX, on 04/22/2008, -5/+3You know, if you get out of your car and push it down the road it doesnt use any gas at all.
  • TheCommentThief, on 04/22/2008, -12/+0From one of the drivers: "What can't be removed is Wayne himself. At six-foot-one and 210 pounds, he looks too big for the two-seater. ('I would love to lose 60 pounds," he says. "It would help my fuel economy.')"
  • washanddwy, on 04/22/2008, -1/+8I am 99.9% sure I read this article word for word over a year ago but it's dated April 2008. I'm still unsure why anyone would want to make driving suck more than it already does, but hey. To each his own.
    • jrowny, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1I am 100% sure, I read the same thing a long time ago. This must be a reprint.
    • mikedoth, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Depends on how much of your money you want to keep.
    • trogdoor, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1It's actually pretty fun, when it's late and there is nobody else on the road I often see if I can get from the top of the freeway offramp all of the way to my driveway with the car completely turned off. If nothing else it's interesting to see how much of a difference power steering makes, I'm not sure how many people realize that if they run out of fuel on the freeway they need to be ready to have more resistance on the steering wheel and possibly put all of their upper body into slamming down the brake pedal to avoid accidents.
  • ISmokesDaPot420, on 04/22/2008, -4/+2I'm a new driver (like three weeks, literally) and I'm one of them- and this is the first time I've ever read anything about "hyper-conscious" driving. It's nothing spectacular that you coast instead of maintaining the speed limit for as long as you can coming up to a red light or where you need to make a turn. Lots of times I take turns too fast too- letting the things in my back seat slide to the other side of the car- so that I won't have to slow down for no reason.
    • MotoFly, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Congratulations, you are exactly like everyone else. No one likes to break, that is normal, these guys just take it to the extreme.
  • proliance, on 04/22/2008, -1/+8Good for him. Just stay the hell out of my lane.
  • puba, on 04/22/2008, -1/+3Why do I feel like I've been behind this ***** in Madison before?
    • Kythas, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2I think I'm behind him every day to and from work.
    • Campog, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2I think I've seen him puttering around on the beltine here in Madison.
  • Wargalas, on 04/22/2008, -1/+11Hey, I got an idea, how about instead of seeing how fuel efficient we can make a car go on gas, how about we work on an electric car so we don't have to keep giving money to middle eastern countries who hate our guts?
    • griffeycom, on 04/22/2008, -1/+2Big oil would lose money, we can't let that happen now can we?
      • Evildudetx, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1They won't loose anything - you obviously have no idea that they are into much, much more than just producing gas.
    • Lehawk, on 04/22/2008, -1/+2Great idea! Then we can destroy more mountains and pollute even more by increasing coal consumption.
    • NachoBusiness, on 04/22/2008, -1/+6An electric car is just basically a coal or natural gas burning vehicle, since that's where electricity comes from for most of us. Get our grid on renewable energy, then there's a point to electric cars.
      • trogdoor, on 04/22/2008, -0/+6Power plants still tend to be a lot more efficient than than car engines.
        • NachoBusiness, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1You'd think that, but I've read otherwise, in terms the real ammount of CO2 emisions per mile traveled. I'd be open to persuasion though if you have a good link.
      • Wargalas, on 04/22/2008, -1/+5I don't know about you, but I'm already pricing solar panels for the roof of my house to offset the cost of electricity all together. Perhaps you shouldn't just assume that everything is coal or natural gas. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I get my power from a hydroelectric dam.
        • NachoBusiness, on 04/22/2008, -0/+3Dams have their own environmental impact... I'm just being realistic. Very few people get enough energy from wind/solar to power a car for all their driving. Where I live all power is from coal, by the way... it's hardly an assumption for me, it's the truth. I like to talk about what's realistic when it comes to energy, not what I wish it was like.
          • Wargalas, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2It's not too terribly much for you to throw several solar panels on the roof to offset just the cost of the electricity for powering the car. Even today, you can call up your local Public Uitilites and see what kind of government rebates you can get for installing such a system. Granted, it will be several thousand dollars, but once it's paid for, it's done and over with. Plus, it's putting money into your pocket, and not the pockets of others. :)
      • bbendele, on 04/22/2008, -1/+3Ever heard of solar or wind power?
        • NachoBusiness, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Do most people get power that way, though? Do you get enough electricity that way to power a car? It's a nice idea but apparently impractical right now... nobody really does it.
      • mt4055, on 04/24/2008, -0/+1Fully electric cars would make more sense in the Upper Left Corner of the US. About 87 percent of the electricity made in Washington state is produced by hydroelectric facilities. A good part of that power is even sent to California to waste on air conditioners.
    • bbendele, on 04/22/2008, -2/+2Yes. Pure electric powered cars are truly the future. At least thats what I believe. Look into the company EEStor. If they get their ultracapacitor technology to actually work, it would revolutionize electric car range and charge time.
      • FairDinkumMate, on 04/23/2008, -1/+3Dugg down for missing the point!
  • musntSurfatWork, on 04/22/2008, -2/+2you should see the distance I can lug that gallon sized gas tank hitched onto my bicycle. Say no to gas for 2008 and beyond! Ride a bike! pedal! walk! skate! use your body! I'll wheel you around if you're handicapped! wasted effort by the masses, tell that to a nail polishing cell phone lovin bratz girl in a Lexus.
    • Harabeck, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1But then we have to eat more calories to keep our fat layers and more food has to be grown which uses gas.
    • OffPiste, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Hope you like masturbation.
      • musntSurfatWork, on 04/23/2008, -0/+0Name me one digger that doesn't?
  • DubBucket, on 04/22/2008, -0/+4I've drive like that all the time, when my gauge says \..E.........F
  • snotrokit, on 04/22/2008, -2/+1big container ships go about 37 feet off of a gallon of fuel. wanna race?
    • thedrue, on 04/22/2008, -0/+5but comparing how much stuff(mass) they are moving with every gallon of gas, ill bet the container ships are far more efficient than anybody milking MPG's out of an insight.
      • Campog, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1I'll bet they aren't. Someone do the calculations!
    • MissMyZDtv, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Top Fuel Drag cars w/ 8000hp use 15 gallons in a 1/4 mile dig. Ummm, thats 1/60th of a mpg.
  • martindale, on 04/22/2008, -3/+1Old.
  • dualboy24, on 04/22/2008, -2/+3On an hour long trip I bet he would arrive about 3 minutes behind a standard aggressive driver, but probably get 10 times the fuel efficiency. I mean when you really think about it, pushing hard on the car to zoom past people on the highway doesn't really help in the long run of things, just ends up costing you lots of gas to push it that hard.
    • NachoBusiness, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2I really love the people who floor it to pass me so they can... slam on the breaks sit in front of me at a light instead of behind me. I go the speed limit or faster, but I don't accelerate for no good reason and try to time things so I don't break all that much. I get 38 mpg highway and 32-35 mpg city in an 11-year old Corolla... I doubt it takes me longer to get places than aggressive drivers.
      • bbendele, on 04/22/2008, -2/+1I get 38 mpg when I blow through all the red lights
    • boristubak, on 04/22/2008, -0/+4what wayne is doing is dumb and dangerous. taking a 25 mph corner at 50 mph with the engine off? that means no power stearing and no power breaks. going 20+ mph slower than everyone else? also dumb.
      • doogie68, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1You're absolutely correct, but at the same time, there are basic things he suggests that "normal" drivers can do that would make a huge huge difference. I've been mildly inspired by these guys. So I drive the speed limit (65 mph), in the right lane, and use the brakes as minimally as reasonable, simply coasting as needed. (No, I don't turn the engine off). I have a stick shift and shift into neutral and coast when conditions allow. I've been getting 38-41 mpg in an 18-year-old Honda Civic. No reason others can't do that.
  • Kythas, on 04/22/2008, -5/+2My SUV and me - doing our part for Global Warming!
  • glittler, on 04/22/2008, -3/+3People like this make me sick. Yeah i think those gas guzzling SUV's are foolish but this guy obviously has money. Why can't he drive like a normal human being
    • Cannon49, on 04/22/2008, -0/+3A normal over-consupmtive human being?

      Perhaps he wants to make a change in the world? Perhaps he wants to save a ***** of money?
      • glittler, on 04/22/2008, -1/+2ok there's a difference between wanting to save gas and pushing your car out of the driveway and sweating your ass off in your car when you're driving
  • breadfred, on 04/22/2008, -0/+6New cars cost a lot of energy to make as well. Get yourself a reliable 2nd hand car, therefore avoiding the fuel investment for making and shipping a new car. And, of course, drive conservatively and attentive. It will avoid accidents, makes you more relaxed arriving at your destination and you realy do not loose that much time. I just drove from the Netherlands back to Wales on a single 40 liter tank. Today. I stuck to the speed limit, and just drove easy and relaxed. That was about 600 km - 400 miles. I leave it to the boffins to calculate the MPG on that. Oh yes, my car is a very old but well maintained Peugeot 106 1.1 liter engine from 1993 (prepared to get buried now I mentioned that...)
    • Ecl1pse, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Respect to you sir. Myself also being a resident of the UK understand the need to achieve the greatest MPG possible. With our fuel costs working out to approximately $7.50 per US gallon, every little bit we can do to maximise the range on a tank makes a difference.
    • Bigfork, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2~35MPG
      -Boffin
  • mddleNameIsEarl, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2This reminds me of the Top Gear episode where they try to see if they can drive a diesel Audi from London to Glasgow AND BACK on one tank of gas. They were less extreme than this guy- but what they did was practical and yielded big gains. From the top of my head, their lessons were: Don't use the A.C., try to time everything so you don't need to brake, and don't use the headlights until you positively need to. Interestingly, they found that the draw from the radio didn't really affect mileage. Nice to know you can still have some amenities while driving miserly.
    • boristubak, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1of course the radio doesn't affect mileage. not interesting at all.
      • FairDinkumMate, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2Oh no - another moron that thinks the radio runs on electricity & therefore doesn't affect your mileage!
  • TexasShiv, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1Clearly doing it for the attention. If he cared, he would ride public transit/get a bike/not drive a SUV/not have three cars/not participate in a competition that wastes gas
    • identitymatrix, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2No, he's doing it for the challenge. Anyone can get a bike or pay outrageous money to be packed in to a train like cattle, but it takes real skills in momentum and conservation of energy to drive like he does.

      Also as for wasting gas, the race was 20 miles long and he got 150mpg, so he wasted, like what 0.13 gallons of gas? That's nothing, like not even a dollar. And he makes up for it by driving that way to work all the time.
  • IllBeBack, on 04/22/2008, -0/+7The only part that seems a little iffy is turning the engine off while in motion. Losing the power steering and brakes seems like it could lead to an accident if something out of the ordinary occurred.
    • CJMac, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Yeah, that was my first reaction as well... It really doesn't seem like a good idea to me
    • mt4055, on 04/24/2008, -0/+1But if you have an old truck like mine (1990 Toyota) it does not have power steering or power brakes to begin with. When I shut the motor off it just gets quite. What you don't want to do is remove the key. Then the steering wheel locks.
  • khyberkitsune, on 04/22/2008, -1/+250 MPG???

    http://students.sae.org/competitions/supermileage/ ... (PDF warning)

    Try THREE THOUSAND MILES PER GALLON. By *HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE* students. GM and Detroit are rank AMATEURS.
  • SirDomino, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1I get 34 MPG in my 2003 Toyota Camry and I don't even try. When I drive cross country for a vacation I consciously tried to drive conservatively and I got 39 MPG. This is a 4 cylinder btw.
  • kg23, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1Completely unsafe practice. Driving slower than traffic around him. Not using his brakes (and therefore brake lights) so as to notify other drivers when he is slowing down. Running out of gas on public streets. I wonder if he doesn't signal because it will reduce his mileage? Hypermiling is as bad as speeding.
    • doubleaught, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1I agree. People like him are so single-minded they can't see past their noses. His drastic speed difference from the rest of traffic not only causes a tremendous amount of braking and acceleration from other drivers, but is also flat-out dangerous.
  • Armageddon85, on 04/22/2008, -3/+1I get 13.4 mpg in my f150, is that any good?
  • lordzelo, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Aside from he fact that he is a road hazard, I give him props for being such a conservative driver.
  • gak001, on 04/22/2008, -0/+4Reader's Digest? Did Digg suddenly become populated by post-menopausal housewives?
  • gradivus, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1My volvo gets about 20/25 and my firebird gets 25/35 City/highway . Hell no Im not going without AC and hell no I cant just tootle along at 10mph under. Try doing that when the pizza is getting cold. I hate my job.
  • dpuu, on 04/22/2008, -1/+0All this stuff about avoiding braking: with regenerative breaking systems, will it still be beneficial to drive a loop around the parking lot to avoid braking -- or will these "hyper-conscious" drivers need to learn some new tricks?
  • alz0rz, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1i stand by my rx8's 15mpg :(
  • aetouch4, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0haha i love it, i do the same things. in a red light half a mile away, i put my car into neutral and let it coast to a stop. Obviously you shouldn't hold up traffic 4 in the afternoon, because then they'll end up slamming the breaks because of you, which in end wastes more full.
  • jblack15, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2180mpg?! It makes the 24 mpg I get on my 4Runner disgraceful... (supposed to get ~17)
  • MissMyZDtv, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1I had a 95' ford aspire and got 42 - 53mpg. I now have a 99' neon (3 speed auto! yes THREE) and get @31 around town. I want to convert it to manual and let the war begin... P.S. My wife has a 05' ford escape v6 4wd. She gets 17mpg. I used it once for a trip and got 26.5...
  • gotrootdude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+0 I eco-modded and hypermile my 1989 Toyota Celica I bought for $500 at the beginning of last year. The EPA mpg is supposed to be 32mpg freeway. I get 54mpg in the city!
    I recently drove my family cross county to visit relatives and averaged 52mpg loaded with luggage and three kids. We saved around the price of the car in gas. http://ecomodder.com/
  • GreatDrok, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1I commute to work (22Km) on a 100cc scooter. Traffic is bad and the roads are worse but I am still doing about 2Ltrs/100Km which works out at 0.52 US gals/62 miles which is roughly 120 miles per US gallon. I get to work in 40 mins, car can take over an hour as can the bus and parking is free where I live (Auckland, New Zealand) so it is a no-brainer. FYI, the fuel price in NZ is currently US$5.54 per US gallon (NZ$1.84 per litre).

    While I am impressed that someone can get such huge mileage out of a car the tricks he pulls really aren't safe and the carnage on the roads would be epic if everyone tried to do them. Car pool or scooter your way to work and you will do much more good.
    • gotrootdude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+0 When the kids leave home, I plan to follow your advice.
  • cgrado, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1I love how people say speeding won't get you there faster... depends on how much you speed. I made a 45 minute trip in 20 once. So don't tell me it doesn't help.
  • RebornInFlames, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Wow I bet these racers get laid like crazy
  • balibones, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1"He makes a full loop on the lot's exit road to slow down so he won't have to brake for traffic." I'd hate to get behind this guy on the highway.
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