usatoday.com — Hypermilers practice such unorthodox techniques as coasting for blocks with their car's engine turned off, driving far below speed limits on the freeway, pumping up tire pressure far beyond car and tire makers' recommendations and carefully manipulating the gas pedal to avoid fuel-burning excess.
Jun 24, 2008 View in Crawl 4
laughandsingJun 25, 2008
When everyone driving around you goes 85. It can be pretty dangerous. And here in MD you can get a ticket for not keeping up with traffic, even if you are going the speed limit.
eimlauqonsJun 25, 2008
Forget the hypermiling, I can get 5 to 6 mpg without changing my driving habits at all. If I knew no one else could get rich off the idea, I would say so. And I could have every car in the country set up in a day, for those listening to the news, and it would not cost anyone anything to set up.
kevin108Jun 25, 2008
As the saying goes, "Nothing to excess. Everything in moderation."I do drive the speed limit but I stay in the right lane. I do coast to stops but I never cut off my car. I do use my air conditioner but I cycle it to vent when I get cold. My tires are inflated past Toyota's recommendation but only to Michelin's maximum sidewall pressure. I have taken what I can out of my trunk, but I still have a 2,000 lb jack, a spare tire and a fire extinguisher.Since I have been hypermiling, I have become a much more responsible driver and I am far less stressed when behind the wheel. Also I am repairing a somewhat dubious driving record. In the process, I am getting up to 50 mpg out of a car rated for just 26 city/35 hwy. I average a little over 33 mpg with much of my driving being only short trips to work. Responsible hypermilers do not endanger any others on the road. Many like myself find a happy medium.
kevin108Jun 25, 2008
I would say he blocks none. That is what the left lane is for.
contajeerusJun 25, 2008
The AMISH
bassjunkieJun 27, 2008
I understand enough about friction and drag to understand that there is a noticeable "sweet spot" when travelling at highway speeds. Once exceed a certain speed to amount of energy you need to put in to increase speeds starts to increase much quicker then your speed as the wind resistance is greater, hence these people use the slipstream of a truck to reduce their drag!