Hypermiling
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 08-20-2006
Posts: 21,640
From: Hillsdale, Michigan
Hypermiling
Anyone else doing it? With the extremely high gas prices and long commutes both Chris and I have, we have started to use some of the hypermiling techinques. Both of us have seen an increase in MPG's and an increase in angry drivers wanting to pass us 
Senior Member
Joined: 10-19-2005
Posts: 20,687
From: Miami
Nope, you're not the only one....
Wow this is a hot enough thread that even I, after MANY months of inactivity have to toss my .02 in. 1st things 1st:
07 Premiere Edition 2.4 Auto (the nicest looking car I've ever owned)
Stock except for Progress sway bar
Socal car with about 7200 miles.
36 PSI following recommended door sticker
I'm currently getting 23 MPG on DIC, CALI winter regular gas with mostly city and some FWY miles which in the LA area (as in most urban areas thruout the US) is as bad as driving streets. I'm not driving much since work is still slow following the slowdown from the Writer's strike, but it's still the usual mix as described above. I too find the DIC close enough to my hand calcs that I always look at it. I reset trip A and let trip B run to about 1000 before I reset that. The idea being the DIC is tracking the MPG in 1k increments...whatev! Inadvertently I found recently that I'm using a technique called "Hypermiling" (google it) where anytime I can and I think it's safe, I coast, keep the RPM below 2k, and turn the engine off at long lights or any drive thru. I even turn the motor off when parking BEFORE I raise the window or close/open the Sunroof...power w/o engine assist, a great HHR feature. I never warm up the car, a socal luxury you might think. This has become a habit of mine since out here Reg is almost at $3.50 a gallon at the cheap stations...not cut rate crap but the best deal local Chevron/Shell...and I'm pretty sure we will be the first to see $4 this year AND $5 next year!! So I am motivated to be this Hypermiler by default I guess. It really seems a shame that the struggling US big 3 cannot seem to come to grips with producing cars that have appeal and efficiency. They have in there combined Histories produced vehicles that were popular and efficient so they CAN do it, but somehow they just are not doing it now. And I don't mean Hybrids, which BTW are not currently selling well anyway...since they look like KEERAP. As far as the OP, he may have been confused by a lot of the claims here and in official lit...though GM et al can only claim fairly realistic MPGs on the window sticker these days esp. since the new regs went into effect. I've read some of the mileage claims here and scratched my head...talk about Hypermiling, I just assumed they coasted everywhere. In closing I would refer the OP and others to my recent pipe dream of finally owning a Miata, preferably a Mazdaspeed. Now this little creampuff is probably one of the lightest 2 seaters on the road. It is turbo, and a 6 speed and after all is said and done might be lucky to get 21 MPG around town...you'd be lucky to see 23 even with Hypermiling and a lot of short shifting, something I did with my SVT Focus a lot (trade in for my HHR, i miss it hence the itch for a MSM). I would advise the OP to be vigilent on checking the less than obvious factors, for instance if I'm not mistaken he said his tire pressure was 32...4 PSI below the door sticker spec of 36. That's some extra friction he's dragging. Don't scoff at this too much, I ride a Hi end road bike for exercise and my tires are usually at 115 psi and I CAN tell if they're at 110, you can definitely feel the drag so it should be a consideration. The other factors have been discussed here re. Octane, but that should be investigated over a period of time to. I'd switch for awhile to see...though I've not noticed a big difference out here running reg only...maybe only 1 mpg. I'm a believer in running SYN oil, where my notes showed me a solid 2 mpg out on the open road...again friction issues addressed. At the end of this tale there is probably NOT a pot of gold for the OP and indeed he may have to take a loss on this vehicle and do a bit more serious homework to find a vehicle that satisfies his expectations. As I've said above this is unfortunately not easy even in this climate of rising energy prices and slow responding auto makers. I wish him luck and condolences...owning and operating a vehicle in modern America OR the world for that matter is not as much "fun" as it used to be, except that when I walk up to my CFM Premiere Edition HHR I say to myself "damn that is one sweet looking ride!!"
07 Premiere Edition 2.4 Auto (the nicest looking car I've ever owned)
Stock except for Progress sway bar
Socal car with about 7200 miles.
36 PSI following recommended door sticker
I'm currently getting 23 MPG on DIC, CALI winter regular gas with mostly city and some FWY miles which in the LA area (as in most urban areas thruout the US) is as bad as driving streets. I'm not driving much since work is still slow following the slowdown from the Writer's strike, but it's still the usual mix as described above. I too find the DIC close enough to my hand calcs that I always look at it. I reset trip A and let trip B run to about 1000 before I reset that. The idea being the DIC is tracking the MPG in 1k increments...whatev! Inadvertently I found recently that I'm using a technique called "Hypermiling" (google it) where anytime I can and I think it's safe, I coast, keep the RPM below 2k, and turn the engine off at long lights or any drive thru. I even turn the motor off when parking BEFORE I raise the window or close/open the Sunroof...power w/o engine assist, a great HHR feature. I never warm up the car, a socal luxury you might think. This has become a habit of mine since out here Reg is almost at $3.50 a gallon at the cheap stations...not cut rate crap but the best deal local Chevron/Shell...and I'm pretty sure we will be the first to see $4 this year AND $5 next year!! So I am motivated to be this Hypermiler by default I guess. It really seems a shame that the struggling US big 3 cannot seem to come to grips with producing cars that have appeal and efficiency. They have in there combined Histories produced vehicles that were popular and efficient so they CAN do it, but somehow they just are not doing it now. And I don't mean Hybrids, which BTW are not currently selling well anyway...since they look like KEERAP. As far as the OP, he may have been confused by a lot of the claims here and in official lit...though GM et al can only claim fairly realistic MPGs on the window sticker these days esp. since the new regs went into effect. I've read some of the mileage claims here and scratched my head...talk about Hypermiling, I just assumed they coasted everywhere. In closing I would refer the OP and others to my recent pipe dream of finally owning a Miata, preferably a Mazdaspeed. Now this little creampuff is probably one of the lightest 2 seaters on the road. It is turbo, and a 6 speed and after all is said and done might be lucky to get 21 MPG around town...you'd be lucky to see 23 even with Hypermiling and a lot of short shifting, something I did with my SVT Focus a lot (trade in for my HHR, i miss it hence the itch for a MSM). I would advise the OP to be vigilent on checking the less than obvious factors, for instance if I'm not mistaken he said his tire pressure was 32...4 PSI below the door sticker spec of 36. That's some extra friction he's dragging. Don't scoff at this too much, I ride a Hi end road bike for exercise and my tires are usually at 115 psi and I CAN tell if they're at 110, you can definitely feel the drag so it should be a consideration. The other factors have been discussed here re. Octane, but that should be investigated over a period of time to. I'd switch for awhile to see...though I've not noticed a big difference out here running reg only...maybe only 1 mpg. I'm a believer in running SYN oil, where my notes showed me a solid 2 mpg out on the open road...again friction issues addressed. At the end of this tale there is probably NOT a pot of gold for the OP and indeed he may have to take a loss on this vehicle and do a bit more serious homework to find a vehicle that satisfies his expectations. As I've said above this is unfortunately not easy even in this climate of rising energy prices and slow responding auto makers. I wish him luck and condolences...owning and operating a vehicle in modern America OR the world for that matter is not as much "fun" as it used to be, except that when I walk up to my CFM Premiere Edition HHR I say to myself "damn that is one sweet looking ride!!"
Senior Member
Joined: 06-21-2006
Posts: 939
From: Calgary
I don't attempt the typical "pulse and glide" technique commonly associated with hyper-miling but I do almost always shift into neutral when descending hills around the city or when a distant traffic light turns from green to red. I also shut off my vehicle at traffic lights that I routinely stop at which I know will remain red for more than one minute. I try to do whatever I can to reduce my fuel consumption especially when most of my driving is done in city traffic where it's difficult to get going anywhere fast.
Senior Member
Joined: 03-31-2008
Posts: 772
From: CLEVELAND
I've been hypermilling since I got my SS 2600 miles ago. I usually can get 30-30.5 in the city, and 35+ on teh highway. That is 20% better on the highway, 35+% better in the city than the sticker. It's not too tough, people can just pass if there in a hurry to WAIT for a red light. The slow lane is my lane. SS stands for Super Slow.
Senior Member
Joined: 12-28-2005
Posts: 2,531
From: Worcester County, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 04-30-2006
Posts: 9,149
From: Maryland Heights, MO
Does anyone else find it REALLY hard to drive the speed limit? It's hard enough for me to keep within 5 over!
I have been driving more conservatively and have notice a decent jump in mpg's.
I have been driving more conservatively and have notice a decent jump in mpg's.