Can anyone school me on Hypermiling?

What do you think, sitting, with the engine cycling on and off, burning gas, but not getting anywhere?

Some tips, both for improving mpg, and reducing your driving needs (both of which save gas):
1. Never just sit with the engine running. That basically zero miles per gallon.
2. Obey speed limits. The faster you go, the lousier your mpg. Too, if you're speeding, next stage is lane jumping, tailgating, and so on.
3. Maintain a good following distance. This allows you a buffer when slow downs occur, you can often avoid braking, which squanders momentum.
4. Consolidate trips. Avoid short trips. Consider alternatives, say walking, for nearby errands. Sometimes if you got several destinations, but they're all close to each other, consider just parking somewhere central, walking from one place to another.
5. Park under cover. In winter this'll avoid fogged/frosted windshields, avoid a lot of #1.
6. Consider installing a block heater, and using it regularly.
7. Be diligent about maintenance, engine, brakes, battery and so on.
8. When the car's partially warmed in particular, try turning the H/V system right off at red lights, and/or turning the cabin temp down. Reducing cabin heat demands will often tip the car's computers to turn the engine off, sooner.
9. Use AC sparingly, set the temp as high as comfortable, and just don't use it for short trips or in moderate weather.
10. When parking in near-full parking lots, go to the back corner where spaces are more available, versus circling round and round closer to store/venue.

 

Accelerate like there's an egg under the pedal.
Brake like there's an egg under the pedal (you shouldn't feel seatbelt pressure on your chest).
EV under 50ish mph, HV over (PHEV's).

 

accelerate briskly to something above speed limit, then hold neutral to something below limit, rinse and repeat

 

Let your foot off the gas pedal plenty of time before actually needing to brake.

 

I learned here, though platform and host changes since may have left some broken links.

CleanMPG.com: Beating the EPA - The Why’s and How to Hypermile

 

That works with most cars, because it reduces pumping losses. However, with a Prius, the Atkinson cycle engine reduces them already, and the hybrid system will actively be working to counteract you doing that by providing battery power when you accelerate.

With a Prius the things that still work are;
1. Driving slower
2. Drafting (dangerous and annoying of course)
3. Not idling for significant amounts of time (note that the engine shuts down during short "idles" so no worries there)
4. Not letting the car warm up for 15 minutes before driving
5. Braking gently so as to use regen as much as possible

 

If the car behind you is honking their horn, you're hypermiling correctly...

 

^ that.

You should be aware that it is a relatively antisocial driving pattern, best employed on test tracks or waaaaay out in bfe where there's no traffic.

 

If your situational aware, and should be for safety, hypermiling can be done.

 

Stealth hypermiling.

 

Not saying it can't be done- heck, I knew a guy who could double-clutch shift an old truck while making a left turn in Boston traffic while he was rolling a cigarette with his left hand.

And I agree, situational awareness is the key. But it's also one of those things where you might be the last to find out you didn't have enough.

Recognize the risk, be careful & maybe save a few bucks.

 

Absolutely. But like the post above said, it's still antisocial.

 

There's no satisfying some people on the road; if you're in front of them they go nuts. It's their nature. Once they get by you, the cycle begins afresh, with whoever's next in front of them. I'm not sure what happens when they're on an empty road.

 

Radar cruise completely fixed that for me. Makes highway driving way more relaxing and also saves fuel vs. the foot.

Probably doesn't save as much as active, concentrated hypermiling but for me the point was to hop in and go, not think about that stuff and rely on the car's whizzbangness to show me savings anyway.

It's been working great.

Although our Prius doesn't have radar cruise, regular cruise helps a lot. The radar system on our other car is fantastic.

 

Yeah guess you could have a radar cruise convoy.

 

when on an empty road, they drive the speed limit. they only accelerate when they spot a vehicle ahead. something satisfying about catching up to and, and trying to come as close as possible without touching

 

then driving the speed limit must be antisocial, because it engenders the same behavior

 

If my driving still allows you to drive as you wish and keep up with the rest of traffic, how is it antisocial?

 

If everyone else is driving 30mph above it - yes, it is. (And fairly hazardous to boot.) That's rarely true around here, though.