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The Hypermiling, a.k.a. Douchebag Driver, Club


sidneylo

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Who here is playing the most epic RPG of all-time while driving in their motor vehicle?

Right now I'm driving an Acura Vigor (errr ’92-’94) and working on getting ~300mi a tank. I found out the actually spec on the car is like 17.3 gallons so my fuel gauge is broken as hell…but given that I use 13 gallons per tank… it's like 23 mpg. Almost 10 mpg better than what my parents get on it.

Hypermiling is the new Dior.

Oh yeah, it's in superculture ’cause it's the cool thing to do now. DRIVE AROUND ME, I’M HYPERMILING.

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No, you drive hella fucking slow and coast to all oncoming red lights…saves about 30-40% of your fuel if done consistently and properly…

There's other shit like drafting semi's and a technique called pulse and glide…which basically states that instead of driving a steady 35mph, go slowly up to 45mph, and coast down to around 25mph and repeat. While the average stays the same, you save over 15% vs. just going constantly at 35mph.

I haven't done the P&G as much but that's because I'm not trying to piss people off too much.

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i dont see the difference between hypermiling and a really slow old person driving.

hypermil all you want as long as you're not on the fast lane.

anyway when i lived in LA, i used to recognize/ memorize my timing and the oncoming streetlights. there are times when i get to hit green lights for 3 miles without stopping. usually i can tell that i'm gonna miss the light 3 blocks ahead of me if i maintain the same speed. i start cruising (slow down) and by the time i get to the light it's already green. ;)

saved some money on gas not hitting the brakes.

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I tried hypermiling but then I got really sick of not being able to pass people who were just going like 80 on the backroads home, and I'm pretty sure when I mash the accelerator to the floor and blow past someone doing 150 i'm not doing my milage any favours.

That CNN article said anything over 60 your gas consumption per mile greatly increases... I can't do the math but I'm pretty sure you're causing the oil shortage by yourself.

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Don't people do crazy ass shit like turn their cars off while coasting too? CNN had some article on it and that was mentioned in there aside from the other stuff.

well turning it on and off kills the gas too. i've seen ppl who shift to nuetral at the light

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well I think the article said, or I might have read it elsewhere, that that is a myth. That used to be the case with carberautor (sp?) vehicles. Not the case with newer injected vehicles.

some piece i read said it's better to turn off rather than idling for a few minutes.

you lose gas, but not as much as idling.

that's why i always park my car and run into mcdonalds rather than taking the drive-thru. plus, i get to walk, lose some carb before i add more carb from the fries.

i dunno if putting the gear to neutral does much, but i think for sure it reduces vibration (at least it worked for my old car)

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http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/hypermiling-honda-insight-hybrid-car-jack-martin.php

List of Hypermiling Tricks

Hypermiling requires some dedication, but the basic principles are easy to learn:

* Pumping up your tires to the maximum rating on their sidewalls, which may be higher than levels recommended in car manuals. This reduces rolling resistance.

* Use engine oil of a low viscosity.

* A useful, but controversial, practice is drafting behind other vehicles on the highway to reduce aerodynamic drag. If the guy in front of you slams on brakes, you will need to see a surgeon to have that tailpipe removed from your head.

* Keep speeds down

* Accelerate gently

* Avoid excessive idling

* Remove cargo racks to also cut down on aerodynamic drag.

* Avoid unnecessary braking; coast to slow down.

King of Hypermilers

The unofficial "King of the Hypermilers" according to Jack Martin is Wayne Gerdes from Chicago. He drove "2,254 miles on a single 13.7-gallon tank of gas during the Honda Insight Marathon in Oklahoma last year." That's an average of 164.53 miles per gallon over the whole distance.

"Gerdes estimates that hypermiling has saved him $15,000 in fuel since he began the technique after the attacks of September 11, events that convinced him that U.S. national security was being undermined by its dependence on oil from the Middle East, and motivated him to reduce his own fuel consumption."

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The cycling culture isn't ubiquitous in L.A. but it's got a good amount of dedicated ppl and institutions.

Also as for hypermilling I naturally started doing this back in High School to go on road trips so that I wouldn't get caught by my penny-pinching parents. This was back when gas was still just a little over a dollar a gallon.

I actually hated driving and this hypermilling made the whole experience more engaging to me since I was a natural cheapskate... I hate paying to travel. Eventually when I moved to L.A. for a short time I just eventually walked everywhere.

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Hypermilling is a form of art. I started back in high school for the same reason as masuerte. I'm usualy able to squeeze 21mpg out of my STi and I, at least, see it as decent since I'm driving a sports car.

But sometimes it never worked out, especially when I just filled up the tank and feel like I can do anything and go everywhere or when you're trying to beat the navigation system by just 15 minutes.

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  • 4 months later...

sidneylo I wish I had found this thread earlier. I told my friend about hypermiling about a month ago and we haven't stopped since then. He's a competitive dude who sees hypermiling as a game.

after doing this for about a month, it's really discouraging to see how bad people treat you on the highway just for doing 55-60mph. after the first week or so I started to ignore it, and hypermiling is like second nature now. my friend and I both commute to and from the same school, so sometimes we will both drop it down to 55mph and block off a 2-lane highway for miles... shit is hilarious, but juvenile and dangerous :cool:

also coasting in neutral up to lights is an amazing feeling. guaranteed to seriously piss off whoever is behind you, but if they were smart enough to realize that they were wasting gas at red lights, they'd probably do the same thing.

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also coasting in neutral up to lights is an amazing feeling. guaranteed to seriously piss off whoever is behind you, but if they were smart enough to realize that they were wasting gas at red lights, they'd probably do the same thing.

I still cannot resist rolling up to a red light that turns green, then I have my windows down and I'm like, YEAH YOU COULDN'T WAIT COULD YOU, BITCH ASS!

And then they go past me because I'm accelerating like a tortoise…

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so sometimes we will both drop it down to 55mph and block off a 2-lane highway for miles... shit is hilarious, but juvenile and dangerous :cool:

There was a stunt where six students made a short film of them blocking an entire segment of a highway in Los Angeles during morning rush hour traffic. Pretty epic.

They have it available to watch as a free film on Virgin America flights but I can't seem to find the Youtube link.

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I still cannot resist rolling up to a red light that turns green, then I have my windows down and I'm like, YEAH YOU COULDN'T WAIT COULD YOU, BITCH ASS!

And then they go past me because I'm accelerating like a tortoise…

havent rolled down the windows

but i think that to myself every time

always a slow on the streets

fast on the freeway concept

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