Can anyone school me on Hypermiling?

thanks. nothing like that here. that could be trouble when traveling interstate

 

Regulations aren't exactly the same between states. In some states you can pas a car making a left turn off a two lane road on the right shoulder. In others, you can't.

Four lane would be two lanes going each way here.

 

we call it a 4 lane highway, 4 going each way = 8

 

Have you ever been to rural West Virginia?

 

So what do you call a road with just one shared lane going both ways?

 

i call it a 2 lane. but sometimes, people interpret that as 2 each way

 

2 wheel tracks counts as 2 lanes only for bicycles and motorcycles. When cars meet head-on, one must take a pullout before either can proceed.

 

Best antidote for this... tail another vehicle with adaptive cruise control. They can go nuts and go around you if they want, but cutting you off is futile because hey look there's another car right in front of you going the same speed. Most people down here in South Florida stay out of the right lane anyhow...

 

I've done most of my driving in California and Colorado. I can say with some confidence:

• In those states, it is illegal to NOT pull over and allow a line of vehicles to pass. How many ranges from five to seven.
• It's simply common courtesy at the least. As was noted, it's not my job to make others obey my sense of what is legal etc.
• In those states at least, if there's more than one lane in your direction the rule is "keep right except to pass." Not often enforced but I've seen it happen.

A few things to consider:

• Holding up traffic is a great way to encourage road rage. I really do not want to go there.
• How confident am I that my speedometer (or even my GPS speedometer) is particularly accurate? Knowing too much about such things, I guarantee there are places where even GPS is inaccurate!
• Remember that the yellow speed signs are only suggestions, truly. I once had a rental Mazda Miata for a trip over CA Hwy 128 from Cloverdale to the coast (Albion), including tight hairpin turns. I was astounded: drove the whole thing at the 55mph speed limit with aplomb! Tiny sports car w/ low center of gravity easily took all the turns at full speed. After that, I stopped shaking my fist at the "crazy speeding" sports car drivers on that road. :-D
• In spite of the posted limits, in some jurisdictions, the actual speed limit is what ~80% of traffic is traveling. People can actually request a survey to get the posted limit changed.
• Also be aware, police can give a ticket if you're not traveling a "safe and prudent" speed....
  • Sometimes, that may be faster than posted limit, because being the slow guy in a fast pack can cause accidents.
  • Sometimes, that may be going faster than zero. A friend was once given a speeding ticket simply for moving his car forward... in a line of cars waiting for a drawbridge to finish its thing! He was upset, but the cop simply told him "you should not have moved. That's not safe and prudent. Sorry, buddy."

 

I grew up in the northeast... we all knew Boston had the most awful drivers anywhere (or used to ).

Hmmm... not sure I want to restart THAT conversation, so forget I said anything LOL.

 

Something empirically observed on the highways in South Florida...
With the cruise control on a steady speed (let's say 70mph)
Driving on a completely flat road gives WORSE mileage than driving on a road with relatively small ups and downs (e.g. highway overpasses)
Not sure about the physics of it all, I'm sure somebody smarter than I can explain it.

 

I think you misunderstood. @fuzzy1 is asking about a road that is literally one lane that is used by cars going both directions. Around here they only exist on old bridges.

 

The up and down road causes the cruise control to pulse and coast. Goes up the incline, and it opens the throttle to maintain speed. It can't see ahead, so maintains that throttle position after cresting the incline until it notes the speed increasing. It cuts throttle and coasts until speed drops to set point. Repeat.

 

... or even just three, as in at least one low-population state in my region:
Section 49-639 – Idaho State Legislature

Most of us have already figured out how far off our speedometers are. And it doesn't suddenly jump around like when a GPS does so for poor coverage.

Those yellow cautionary signs don't say "SPEED LIMIT". The white regulatory signs do. The orange construction zone signs are covered separately.

Is the later really true, or just urban legend? And in what states?

When this claim came up previously, I found contrary evidence for much of the west coast. IIRC, OR and NV had very explicit law that a vehicle traveling at the posted speed limit is not slow. CA didn't have that as explicit law, but had a clear CHP statement to that effect. AK had a similar DOT statement.

My state of WA is ambiguous. While it does prohibit driving "at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic", it also says "except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law." Those last four words would seem cover people obeying posted speed limits. And now I see that California has the same wording, which explains the CHP statement mentioned previously.

I definitely have heard of people getting speeding tickets for violating "safe and prudent" even when going less than the speed limit. Most recently, those caught in a mass pileup in icy conditions near Spokane. One young driver was quite upset that the ticketing officer refused to give him an actual speed number that would have been legal, not understanding that it was his own responsibility to find a speed, based on his tires and skills and prevailing road conditions, that would have allowed him to not slide into the pileup.

Note also that drivers going fast just to keep up with the Jones, are too commonly unable to avoid mass chain reaction pileups, thus adding even more injury and destruction to prior collisions.

And let's stop using the word "accident" for these crashes. That word is really a a blame-avoiding euphemism. The vast majority are a direct result of driver error or misconduct. Many safety agencies quit calling them "accidents" long ago, now labeling them collisions or crashes.

 

We still have more of them left. Forest Service roads account for the great majority, but some rural and farm roads fit the bill too.

Plus those old bridges lacking budget for modern infrastructure upgrades.

 

Coming to Florida this year, the 70mph roads post 40 minimum

 

You got your pulse and coast speed points then.

 

1. Drive with car in eco mode
2. Keep acceleration so it stays within eco range
3. Avoid using heater or A/C
   1. You can use heated seats or steering wheel instead of cabin heater, especially if solo driving and the temperature difference isn't significant. Cabin heat should be reserved for very significant temperature differences or for the comfort of your passengers. Be considerate.
   2. Windows down to cool off (or warm up) when below 45 mph. Above 45 use A/C if you must.
   3. Consider getting ceramic tinting if you live where it is hot, as this cuts the heat from the sun substantially
   4. If you live in a hot climate, get a white paint exterior, and the lightest seat colors possible. Also use window shades. Most people dramatically underestimate how much light colors + window shades reduces in-car temperatures. Can be as much as 40-50F difference vs an all black vehicle without shades during the summer
   5. If you live in an artic / very cold climate (much of Canada) - you want a dark exterior and dark seats. Also if you get tint, make sure it is the kind that blocks as little heat as possible. Either don't use sun screens, or get ones which absorb heat and help heat up your car. This will help a lot for whenever your car is outside. Should see decent improvements for in-car temperatures vs outside temps. Will reduce need to run heater, as well as a more comfortable experience.
4. Pay attention to what is happening around you
   1. Look out for traffic signals up ahead. If light turned yellow, generally you want to time your gas pedal usage such that you can largely coast to a stop. In many cases this means letting go of the gas pedal immediately.
   2. Plan your braking ahead of time. Practice anticipating when you need to stop and slow down ahead of time, but still be safe and considerate of traffic around you
      • If not a hybrid, try to go light on the brakes to minimize brake wear. Apply a smooth even amount. With practice you should get a sense of how much brake is needed for a certain stopping distance. Avoid brake pumping. Smooth, even, and exact is ideal.
      • If a hybrid, much the same concept. You want to maximize regen braking and use as little of the physical brake pads as possible. If your car has a regen braking gauge, then if you aren't sure of braking needed - it's a good practice to brake as hard as needed to get maximum regen, but no physical brake pad usage. This avoids situations where you didn't brake enough and then have to brake harder and use the physical brake pads and thus waste energy. Your goal is to safely maximize regenerative braking
   3. Watch traffic patterns. Often the right lane has people making right turns and this causes traffic to pulse a lot. You want to avoid traffic patterns where people are braking and then accelerating back up to speed again. Depending on local conditions it may make more sense to be in the middle or left lane. Your goal is to minimize energy waste and thus avoid as much braking / acceleration patterns as possible. Pass people who are inconsistent drivers and can't keep a consistent speed and cause pulsing patterns.
      • Try to look several cars ahead of you. If the car 3-4 cars ahead of you is braking, there will be a domino effect which will get to you and cause you to brake. What you can do is immediately get off the gas and potentially even pre-apply the brake if it looks like they are braking hard enough to warrant that. Again, your goal is either maximize regen braking if in a hybrid or to have smooth, gentle, consistent braking if in a non-hybrid. By looking ahead, you can anticipate the traffic condition several seconds in advance. Possibly you can even do a quick, safe lane change to avoid braking. This is obviously preferable to braking and re-accelerating.
5. Drive safely. Some guides advise various driving behaviors that are dangerous to yourself or others around you. Like pulsating acceleration and long coasting times which puts you below the speed limit. Inconsistent drivers are unpredictable and create dangerous driving conditions by forcing other drivers to react to them. Studies have shown that drivers who drive below the speed limit are more dangerous and cause more accidents than those who go the speed limit or even those who go faster than the speed limit. Conditions which force other drivers to react are one of the most significant causes for accidents. So while you should try to follow these steps, do so in a safe manner which is predictable for other drivers, and does not cause other regular drivers to have to react and try to get around you.

Stay safe out there and good luck maximizing your mileage!

 

Real hypermiling requires a manual transmission. The word hypermiling came from a couple doing MPG records with VW TDI (manual turbo diesel) vehicles.

These are the real factors that allowed them to squeeze over 80 MPG out a Golf Diesel:

- very slow acceleration
- shifting into the next gear at very low RPM, making use of the torque from the diesel engine (much earlier than any automatic)
- drafting and coasting behind (larger) vehicles
- going out of gear and coasting every chance there is (down hill, seeing a red light from a far, etc) with the engine at idle RPM

They used to offer hypermiling courses and training where folks can learn how to hypermile.

Volkswagen Golf TDI Sets MPG Record Across 48 Contiguous States

It's sad that the EPA managed to destroy the reputation of diesel passenger vehicles in the US. The 60 MPG you are seeing in your Prius is nothing special. We had been there over 30 years ago, with diesel.

I owned a Jetta Sportwagen diesel myself. Sold it back to VW after the diesel scandal was settled in court, for a profit of 8 grand. Should have kept it. Perfect daily beater.

 

Uncle Wayne [Gerdes] hypermiled all kinds of vehicles, including automatics, hybrids, and motorcycles. That is why I linked to his initial tutorials, datelined 2006, back at post #6.

It wasn't the EPA that destroyed that reputation. It was lyin' cheatin' pollutin' VW.