Learning how to drive green
Meet Wayne Gerdes:
Wayne is the most fuel-efficient driver in the world. Seriously. There's a competition and a trophy and everything.
Wayne drives a 2004 Honda Accord which, according to the US Department of Energy, gets 23 MPG city.
Wayne gets 59 MPG.
When he's driving an actual fuel-efficient car, like a 48 MPG Prius, he can top out at just over 120 MPG.
What's his secret? Wayne is a leader in a new craze called hypermiling: the art of pushing your vehicle's fuel efficiency to the limit. He has personally pioneered many of the techniques becoming widely adopted by the sport.
Some of the accepted practices of hypermiling are a little over-the-top for the average driver. For example, to preserve their inertia, they would take a 25mph corner at 50. On a 70mph freeway, Wayne likes to hug the right shoulder and stick to a conservative 50mph. They fill their tires to the point of bursting. And hypermilers frequently turn their engines off whenever they find an opportunity to glide, potentially sacrificing his car's safety features.
Still, as somebody who often has a heavy foot on the accelerator, I think there is a tremendous amount to be learned from the hypermilers. They are living proof that some of the responsibility for MPG lies in the driver, and not the car.
Want to increase your MPG? Here are the core techniques you'll need:
1. Keep your car well maintained. Tires and oil are the big ones. You'll lose 1.4% of your fuel efficiency for each PSI your tires are under recommended values. Not having enough, or the right kind of motor oil in your car could lose you 1-2%. Contrary to common wisdom, a higher octane gas will not significantly help your fuel economy.
And make sure you get your regular maintenance check-ups. A clogged air filter could cost you 10% efficiency, and a faulty oxygen sensor 40%.
2. Put your car on a diet. In our car, the trunk is always full with random things. The more weight you haul around, the less your fuel efficiency. Remove whatever excess weight you can from the vehicle: snow chains, boxes, etc. Every 100 pounds you can take out will improve your fuel economy another 1-2%.
3. Make your car aero-dynamic. The easier air flows over your car, the better mpg you'll get. Removing your luggage roof rack will buy you 5% fuel economy. Keeping your car sleek with regular washings and waxings will improve its efficiency another 7%.
4. Stop driving like a maniac. This is the one I need to work on, and the biggest way to increase your fuel economy. Everytime your foot hits that gas pedal, you are burning fuel. Be light and delicate with it and you could see up to 30% gains in fuel efficiency. Also, your car doesn't like going super fast. For every 5 mph over 60, you'll see a 7% decrease in fuel efficiency. Try not to max out above 60.
The brakes also require more ginger treatment. You lose energy every time you hit the brakes. Experiment, and see when you can avoid doing so. Your car should flow in a very zen-like way, rather than lurch forward and grind to screeching halts.
5. Pre-juice before a hill. If you see a hill coming, give your car some gas while you're on the flat part, and coast up as much of the hill as you can. It's more efficient for your vehicle to use that inertia to get up the hill than to burn fuel to do so.
6. Use your cruise control. Unless you're in a hilly area, cruise control will help save you an average of 7% in fuel economy. Flat highway? Turn it on to 55-60mph and see the benefits.
7. Use the highest gear possible. If you have an automatic car, this tip is useless, but manual vehicles can see major gains from shifting into the highest gear possible. Just like when you're in a bike, the higher the gear to support your speed means less overall work.
8. Idling. Idling uses a shocking amount of gas. If you are going to be sitting anywhere for over 60 seconds, turn the engine off. Unlike the hypermilers, however, please don't do this in the middle of stop-and-go traffic.
9. Drafting. Be careful putting this one into practice. It's tempting to nose up behind the car in front of you like a NASCAR driver and maximize your fuel efficiency returns, but tailgating is just a good way to get yourself killed. Follow the two second rule, and find a semi-truck to drive behind to see gains of up to 25% in fuel economy.
10. Turn it into a game. The built-in trip computer in your car is pretty accurate at calculating your fuel efficiency. Turn it on, drive around, and see how high you can get your number. Compete with your SO, try to break records, etc. The more fun you have, the more you'll be motivated to do it.
Add up all of the above changes, and you could be seeing up to 47% gains in fuel efficiency, just for changing your driving patterns. In my 18mpg SUV, that would see me up to 26mpg. Maybe I won't be a hypermiler, but that's still pretty super mileage.
More resources:
You know, MJ (it's MJ right?) this is what keeps me coming back to your blog!! I'm always really impressed by the really interesting and different topics you come up with from your energy audits to hypermiling which I'd never heard of before. Thanks for the great info.
Posted by: arduous | January 29, 2008 at 12:47 PM
I just stumbled upon your website and I love it, keep up the work. More specifically in regards to this post, I heard that with newer cars (i dont know if that's ones made in 2000s or what), it's better on fuel usage if the car is kept idling when making short stops....any insight into this?
Posted by: ashley | February 06, 2008 at 05:19 PM
I just stumbled upon your website and I love it, keep up the work. More specifically in regards to this post, I heard that with newer cars (i dont know if that's ones made in 2000s or what), it's better on fuel usage if the car is kept idling when making short stops....any insight into this?
Posted by: ashley | February 06, 2008 at 05:19 PM
Amazing! Cool post. I've never heard of hypermiling. I have a 2005 Prius - I should check into this. Then again, driving as a sport may be best left to "pros"...
Posted by: matt | March 03, 2008 at 05:00 PM