Fuel Economy

[jstol3]

I don't own a hybrid. I own a 1998 Mercury Mystique 4cyl, 5speed manual trans that I converted to burn E85 in 11/06. The car is rated at 26 mpg on gasoline. With E85 I am achieving 31 - 36mpg. I guess this might make me a hypermiler. I really don't know.
Ever since the Arab oil embargo of 1974 I have wanted to sock it to the oil companies. Today I'm achieving that. I don't burn straight gasoline - E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gas - and I am getting higher mileage with an "inferior" fuel. I recently read about Wayne Gerdes and his hypermiling. I use a lot of his techniques but I don't draft and I don't shut my engine off as I believe that both practices are dangerous.I do coast a lot, overinflate my tires and I use synthetic oil in my teansaxle and crankcase. I have racing type wheel covers. I drive mostly 55 on the highway and I use my cruise control on the open road. I also installed a Scan Gauge so I can see the results of my actions second by second. I have learned to slow down driving into the wind and going uphill. I try to anticipate stop lights (very difficult) and I try to seek out the cheapest outlets for E85. Rain is an enemy of hypermiling and you need to ride the far right side of your lane to avoid the ruts in the center which fill with water during a rain - rain acts like glue on your tires - it slows you down and erodes fuel mileage. I also believe that a glossy wax finish on your car and windows reduces drag and lets your car slide through the air.

[mpg]

I drive a 2000 Honda Insight because it has very low emissions.  My problem was my wife and kids drive SUVs.  I solved this dilemia by putting MPGCAPS in both suvs.  The result was to lower their emissions by 75%. Her's my question, would you use a product it it was proven to lower emission by 75%.  Most people would if it was cost effective. Well MPGCAPS also deliver 10% fuel ecomony which pays for the caps and MAKES me money. If you would like to know more about the go green at no cost proposal email me.  MGG

[Cotati]

jstol,

I agree with the safe driving philosophy, putting others at risk just to shave a few mpg off is just as bad as agressive drivers.  Like you I try to stay at or below the speed limit and never accelerate into the wind or uphill except when I would be impeding traffic.  I use the downhills to get on a little extra speed and then allow it to decay on the next uphill.  Again, I am also mindful and considerate of other drivers, I only practice the best technique when I have the space to do so.  I have also found the pulse and glide technique to be very effective, accelerate to a few mph over your target speed then hold just enough throttle to allow the speed to decay to a little below your target speed, accelerate and repeat.  The instrumentation in the HCH allows me to see instantly how effective these techniques are.  I admire you guys who practice hypermiling techniques but only get your feedback when you do the math at fill-up time.  I often think that if every car had instant and cumulative mpg displayed we would have a lot more hypermilers on the road.  Congratulations on the fuel conversion the less petroleum we use the better. 

Regards,

Cotati

[motornetexpress]

We have been using Ethos for Earth Fuel Reformulator in the oil and gas of our vehicles (Saab & Jeep) for about a year now and continue to be impressed with the improved performance and maintenance cycles.  Since a lot of the hypermiling technique involves coasting, I heard a phone conversation recently in which the Indy race driver Al Unser Jr. experimented with his Ford Excursion and found that after treating his vehicle with this product, the time that it took for the vehicle to coast at no throttle from 30 down to 10 mph increased from 47 seconds to 55 seconds.  This HAS to be a good thing, and I would be very interested in having a good, meticulous record-keeping hypermiler put this product to the test.   Thanks.

[hateful]

 I have an 02 Cavalier that I've been getting about 28mpg before hearing about this Hypermiling. I wish I could get E85 here, but is not available. I've heard on the local news that people burning E85 where it is available were actually getting less mpg than with gas. This would suggest the hypermiling is working more than you may realize.
Just started trying some of these suggestions ( without following too closely). I had already started only buyiing 4 gallons of gas at the time, to reduce weight, which gets me about 112 miles before needing more.So far I've gone 40 mile since the newest 4 gallons. I did practice hypermiling on the last gallon prior. It looks like I can get a few more miles from looking at the gas gauge so far.As far as the other drivers, only a couple seemed troubled that we wouldn't get to the red light quick enough. I do check behind me and will speed up to the speed limit if there is anyone behind me.I found it easier to let cars enter the highway. There is usually another slow moving car to follow ( elderly, heavily loaded trucks etc.), so I'm not really adding to the traffic problem; in fact it may be safer for two slow moving cars to move together( being easier to see).It's actually kind of fun and I continue to see ways I could have saved a little more fuel. I can go the last half mile with the engine off to get home; it's down hill on a dead end road with a speed limit of 35mph, but I go about 20 due to small children playing in driveways. I can still steer and brake fine.

[cperson]

I have a question regarding fuel millage with a car top bike rack. The car is a 1999 Honda Accord 4door with the 2.3L 4-cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission.  Recently we drove about 1000 miles, primarily at 70 mph on interstate highways, with 2 bikes mounted onto my Yakima rack.  The bikes stand upright on this rack. My wife and I are normal weight and had maybe 300 lbs of camping gear total.  This was the first time we drove this car any distance with bikes on top of it.  Normally I would expect at least 30 mpg under the same conditions minus the bikes.  We averaged only 25 mpg, which is lower than my wife normally get driving around town.  We have gotten 33 mpg with 2 people and no luggage on the highway previously.

This rack was used on other cars before, with even 4 bikes, but I don't recall such a drastic drop in fuel milage. Has anyone had similar results with a car top mounted rack?  I'm thinking a trunk mounted rack would not create as much drag.

BTW, the car is running fine - tuned up recently in fact.