http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/27/miata-impractical-bah/
Posted on 05/02/2008 5:13:54 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
PHILADEPHIA: As gasoline prices hit records on almost a daily basis, an increasing number of motorists in US are following a radical driving technique designed to eke out every last mile from a tank of fuel. Known as 'hypermiling,' the methods can double gas mileage, even in gas-guzzling vehicles.
Promoted on a growing number of websites, hypermiling includes pumping up tires to the maximum rating on their sidewalls, which may be higher than levels recommended in car manuals; using engine oil of a low viscosity, and the controversial practice of drafting behind other vehicles on the highway to reduce aerodynamic drag — a practice begun a few years ago by truck drivers.
The price of gasoline has rapidly emerged as the public's biggest economic concern. Gas prices are a "serious problem," ahead of jobs, and healthcare, according to a poll released by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The "advanced" techniques of hypermiling are in addition to well-known approaches including keeping speed down, accelerating gently, avoiding excessive idling and removing cargo racks to also cut down on aerodynamic drag.
Adherence to hypermiling and other disciplines are designed to boost mileage well in excess of the US Environmental Protection Administration's ratings, which apply to each car model.
Wayne Gerdes, a former nuclear plant operator from Wadsworth, Illinois, and the originator of hypermiling, said he gets 40-70-mpg (almost 20km a litre) out of his Ford Ranger pickup truck, about doubling its official fuel consumption.
Gerdes (47), 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 US national security was being undermined by its dependence on oil from the Middle East, and motivated him to reduce his own fuel consumption.
"If every vehicle in the US got 25km per litre, we would not import any oil," he said. Deron Lovaas, vehicles campaign director at environmental group the Natural Resources Defense Council, said most hypermiling techniques are "sensible recommendations" that could drive down demand and even prices if widely adopted.
"We should be looking under every rock for potential energy savings," he said.
He said he could not recommend drafting behind fast-moving trucks because it could potentially lead to highway accidents. Hypermiling can even make fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrid cars more efficient. Chuck Thomas (50), a computer programmer from Lewisville, Texas, said he has been getting 30km a litre from his Honda Insight, a hybrid whose EPA rating is 25km a litre, in the two years since he has been hypermiling.
Among Thomas' techniques is "pulse and glide" in which he accelerates and then coasts with the engine off until around 24 kph when he kicks the engine back on and accelerates again. "It's the automotive equivalent of skateboarding," he said.
That makes a lot of sense!
Good post. Quite true.
No kidding. I pray for the coming of the 50 MPG non-hybrid econobox for when I have to replace my car. I just drive to work and back and run errands. I don't need a big car.
Actually they said a net tailgate on a pickup worked. Higher tire pressure works but your tires will wear the center out wear out quickly. I had a 58 Chevy pickup I got up to 24 miles per gallon in the 70’s. I made a bunch of changes for a Power and Energy class in College. This can lead to accidents because you can spend more time watching the gages than the road. At least with a cell phone you can watch the road.
I thought the truck haulers picked up the idea from NASCAR......
This is very dangerous. Over-inflating the tires will cause you to loose traction. Any hard braking will cause a skid. So add that to tailgating and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
But, you don’t see the bigger picture here.
MORE accidents on the road...
...caused by people trying to conserve gas...
...forced by higher gas prices...
...caused by big oil...
...conclusion...
..BUSH’S FAULT! Women and minorities hardest hit!!!!
We used to do that with a club hotrod, a 1952 DeSoto, when I was in high school. The beast would backfire and flames would shoot out of the tailpipe.
That couldn't have been very beneficial to either the engine or the exhaust system.
I just bought a pickup to replace my Miata. The Miata just doesn’t haul very many bales of hay...
“I used to “draft” big trucks”
It also decreases THEIR gas mileage.
I call BS on the whole article. You can improve your mileage, but those figures are wishful thinking.
jw
Yes, that’s why they don’t like it. You are really “stealing” their fuel.......you don’t get something for nothing......
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/27/miata-impractical-bah/
well, i drive a gas sucking SUV....you go ahead and save gas, and in return, i will burn every drop you save...
How can be real? Wouldn't this kill your engine after a short amount of time?
Instead of km/liter I prefer to measure my gas mileage in good English measurements of furlongs per fortnight.
I ain't from Missouri, but when I see someone called a journalist or scientist document those claims, I will believe it.
I have 320 hp w/ 380ft/lbs of torque and get unbelievably great gas milage inflating the tires to 41 psi, using a synthetic blend of motor oil which is changed religiously, and stepping on the gas pedal as if there were a raw egg underneath it.
Drafting is stupid for trucks have to stop, too.
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