Hypermling Techniques / How to Hypermile

Hypermiling is the art of driving economically and exceeding manufacturers stated efficiency of their vehicles by modifying their driving habits and techniques. The term Hypermiling term was originally coined by Wayne Gerdes who is considered by many in the Hypermiling Community as the "father of Hypermiling"

Hypermiling is a great way to save on fuel costs and drive safely. These techniques could help reduce your fuel usage and costs by up to 50%. I personally have seen a 40% increase in my MPG from using the techniques and tips below. See my Hypermiling Blog to see my experiences with Hypermiling.

Quick Jump

• Hypermiling Safely
• Hypermiling Basics
• Common Hypermiling Terms
• Hypermiling Top Tips
• How to Hypermile
  
  • Concentrate / Avoid distractions
  • Drive Less
    • Slugging
  • Get your fuel for the best Price
  • Your Route Matters
  • Turn it Off!
  • Parking
  • Your Oil Matters
  • Winter Hypermiling Tips
• Advanced Techniques
  • Coast and Burn
    
  • Drafting
  • Forced Auto Stop (FAS)
  • Drafted Forced Auto Stop
• Hypermiling Forum

Hypermiling Safely

Before we start with Hypermiling Techniques I would like to address the safety issue that is getting "Hypermilers" a lot of bad press. Hypermiling as with any other form of driving technique can be dangerous if used in the wrong road and traffic conditions. Please always be aware of other road users and do not endanger yourself or other people for the sake of a few miles per gallon

We do not condone the following techniques in ANY way.

• Over inflating tyres
• Tailgating / Drafting
• Forced Auto Stop (FAS) or Drafted FAS

We do encourage safe and considerate driving.

Please read out about us page for legal details.

Hypermiling Basics

Hypermiling is a great way to help you improve your fuel consumption but there are also some other ways to help maximise your Hypermiling Techniques before even considering your driving style. Our top tops are

• Keep your car well maintained and serviced regularly. Some people opt for a thinner oil when trying to optimise their MPG. Thinner oil means less energy is required to turn the engine. Please note that using the wrong oil could cause mechanical issues that will out way the MPG gain you will achieve.
• Remove excess weight. There’s no point is carrying round your golf clubs for the hell of it. This could also be tool kits and stereo equipment.
• Ensure your tyres are filled to the correct pressure. We do not condone over inflating your tyres, this is utter stupidly and is dangerous. Low tyre pressure causes more drag and thus less MPG.
• Keep the windows up. An open windows cause drag
• Keep the air on off. Air Conditioning can increase your fuel consumption by up to 10 percent in some cases.
• Take any unused Roof or bike racks off, they too increase drag
• Don’t drive in big shoes, they take away the sensitivity you need with the throttle. The best way to Hypermile is to feel how the car is responding to your right foot. Two inches of sole doesn’t help.

• FE - Fuel Economy
• DWB - Driving without brakes
• FAS - Forced auto stop, basically coasting with the engine off - Bad and dangerous
• P&G - Pulse and Glide
• ICE - Internal Combustion Engine
• D-FAS - Draft-Assisted FAS. Coasting with engine off while drafting (again bad)

Here are our top 5 Hypermiling driving tips

1. Drive defensively. Anticipate the road ahead. By driving "reactively" You effectively hand control over your fuel consumption (and safety) to other drivers. Look well ahead so you're aware of what you're driving into and can anticipate changes before they occur. And in order to be able to see well ahead, you need to leave adequate following distance to the vehicle(s) in front of you.

2. Drive without brakes. Every time you brake you effectively turn fuel into heat & brake dust. This type of deceleration maximises use of our cars stored momentum.

3. Slow down! The faster you go the more drag and resistance is placed upon your trusty steed. A reduction of 20mph can increase your MPG by unto 45 percent.

4. Coasting. Shutting the engine down when stopped or while coasting up to stops/turns is one of the main reasons for hybrid vehicles' excellent city fuel consumption. We would not ever suggest coasting with the engine off but simply remove your foot from the accelerator when approaching a junction or red light. A modern engine uses no fuel at all when costing in gear.

5. Drive like you would ride a bike When you're using pedal power you try and conserve energy - your energy. You do this without even realising. As you would on a bike, coast down hills and also if you are coming up to a hill, drop a gear. You might wipe some speed off but you will be applying less throttle and thus be using less fuel

Drive Less

Even without Hypermiling there is a great way of using less fuel, you guessed it... drive less! This could include:

• Using Public Transport
• Car / lift sharing (also see slugging below)
• Walking, biking or maybe running (hard work I know!)
• Move closer to your work

Slugging

"Slugging", "Instant Carpooling" or "Casual Carpooling" is a term from the USA, it involves the creation of free, unofficial ad-hoc carpool networks, often complete with published routes and pick-up and drop-off locations. During rush hour, sluggers either drive to park and ride-like facilities, free parking lots for carpoolers, or take public transport to bus stops and metro stations with lines of sluggers. Drivers pull up to the queue for the route they will follow and either display a sign or call out the designated drop-off point they are willing to drive to and how many passengers they can take. Enough riders step forward to fill the car and the driver departs. There are a number of unofficial rules to the arrangement. A major advantage of slugging is that the car, carring or passengers will be permitted to drive on high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes only available to drivers with three other passengers.

Websites such as Slug-Lines offer information on Slug routes and pick up points.

Using Hypermiling Techniques will help you maximise the return from your tank but ensuring you get the best price for what you put in it should also be paramount. Check out PetrolPrices.com for the best prices in your area. This saves running about town looking for the best deal.

The shortest and quickest way might not always be the best when you are trying to Hypermile. Hypermiling is all about driving smoothly and when you are stuck in traffic or having to start stop about town you are NOT driving smoothly. Taking a less busy smoother route, it might be slightly longer but you wont have the start / stopping effecting your MPG

If like me you are faced with a common problem of railway crossings and dithering folk that hold up a queue of traffic at a junction you should switch off your engine as soon as possible. When you are idling you are doing ZERO MPG, that’s pretty bad. While idling you also run the risk of overheating. Idling for any more than 10 seconds is a waste.

Parking

When parking don’t opt for the closest space to the front of the shops, not only will you have to waste fuel looking for the elusive "prime" spot. But very often you will have a car parked in front of you meaning you will need a lengthy maneuver just to get out. Try parking away from the crowds in a forward facing spot. That was you can just start up and drive off. Also try and pick a spot on a slight hill so you can utilise the gravity of the car rolling down. If possible try and park in a shady spot, in the summer months it make not using the airconditioning a lot easier!

Also consider your parking in the winter months. Face your car into the morning sun to help defrost your windscreen or even better get a plastic sheet to put over it to help stop any ice forming. I often see people leaving their cars running for lomg periods of time just to defrost their windows. It also haves on de-icer.

Your Oil Matters

Keeping on top of your vehicle servicing is a must for any motorist to ensure it performs at its optimum efficiently.

Using engine oil of a low viscosity (but still within your manufactures recommended oil requirements) can not only improve your MPG but also increase the longevity of your engine. Thinner oil reduces friction of the engine components. Many Hypermilers opt for a high grade fully synthetic oil to help maximise economy.

Winter Hypermiling Tips

During the cold months there are a number of reasons why our cars use more fuel. These can have a major effect on your cars MPG and cause more wear and tear on the engine.  Some claim that the cold can reduce your MPG by over half. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Snow, ice, rain, grit and other muck on the roads make a car work harder to keep moving.
• The cold reduces the air pressure in tyres, leading to more wasted fuel.
• Cold air is denser than warm air, which is why cold draughts spill down from a draughty window. That puts more aerodynamic drag on a vehicle, which means it has to push harder to get through the air, especially at high speed, and eats up fuel.
• Engine and transmission oil is thicker in low temperatures, so it needs more fuel to get the car moving. A cold engine burns more fuel and less efficiently.

To help minimize the cold weather's effect on your precious fuel we suggest:

• Reduce idling: Use your Garage (if you have one) or cover your windscreen up over night to ensure an ice free morning.
• Park into the sun: If you don’t have a garage or windscreen cover - Let the sun de-ice your windscreen instead of idling until your heaters slowly thaw it.
• Take off the snow: It may look pretty but snow not only weighs a far bit but also increases drag.
• Set your alarm clock ten minutes earlier! Give yourself extra time so if clearing the car takes longer than anticipated, you don't feel compelled to "make up time" on the road to avoid being late.

Drafting is used to reduce wind resistance and is seen most commonly in bicycle racing, car racing, and speed skating. It simply means following the vehicle in front and sit in their slip stream. Following other vehicles to the extent that some Hypermilers do is very dangerous and has caused a lot of bad press towards the Hypermiling Community. 

If you are going to adopt this technique we would recommend for your own and other safety that you only follow the vehicle in front with guidance from the highway code (the two second rule). This may not be as efficient as sitting on the vehicle in fronts bumper but Its still a very good way of helping increase your MPG.

People have suggested that an increase of up to 40 percent is possible and until I saw the Mythbusters episode featuring drafting I was very sceptical about these claims. In true Mythbusters sytle, they have confirmed that drafting does work. Check our the Hypermiling Videos page to see the Mythbusters Drafting Episode.

Forced Auto Stop (FAS)

This technique simply involves turning the engine off while the car is moving and rolling for as long as possible only using the cars momentum. This is a dangerous technique as it effects braking and power steering. If you are going to use this technique (not that we would recommend it) we would suggest you dip the clutch, turn off the engine then turn the ignition back on. This means the car can be quickly started by removing your foot from the clutch.

This FAS technique also ensures that your true mileage is recorded. Many cars will still show the current driving speed with the ignition on and will not effect your estimated MPG if you are working it out with mileage vs Litres used.

Drafted Forced Auto Stop (D-FAS)

This is the same as FAS but involves drafting the vehicle in front to minimise wind / air resistance. This is even crazier than FAS, please do not attempt it.

Also check out our busy Hypermiling Forum for more advise and tips from other Hypermilers.

Remember that a change in speed / driving style can effect other road users that are traveling in close proximity to you. Always drive to the road conditions and consider other drivers safety above your quest for better MPG. If you have any Hypermiling tips or ideas please feel free to contact us.