Here on EcoModder we have talked about the EcoDrivingUSA program and some of Pro Formance’s results with Ford before, but I finally got a chance to go through Pro Formance’s ecodriving program. There was a lot of preaching to the choir, but I was interested to see how they approached teaching ecodriving to the average person, and not just the average person who is already interested in improving fuel economy.

The Car

Because I was second in line for the round of test drives I was in, I had to settle for the Audi A3 TDI station wagon. I don’t want to sound like I’m down on the car, since it was a very nice ride, but for several reasons I really wanted to drive the Mini Cooper (I’d never driven one, it had a stick shift, etc). Because of my disappointment I made it my goal to surpass the Mini Cooper in fuel economy in the test.

The A3 TDI is a very luxurious car, but it’s definitely not the biggest fuel sipper around. The diesel engine helps a lot, but the automatic transmission and general size of the car makes it a difficult choice for high mileage (though that doesn’t mean you can improve it).

The Drive

We went out for a drive through some very congested LA streets, which were not good at all for fuel economy. Though the test drive was only a couple of miles in each direction, my instructor had time to go through many of the standard techniques like smooth acceleration, the importance of anticipating future events, and also the importance of keeping your car well maintained.

In keeping with these tips, and not wanting to annoy my instructor, I toned down my own ecodriving and tried to do my best simply by anticipating stops and avoiding mashing the gas pedal at any cost. Doing this I managed to eke out 39 mpg from the station wagon, slightly edging out the Mini Cooper, which only pulled in 38.4 mpg.

Surely, I could have done better using neutral and having a fuel economy gauge, but I wanted to see what mileage would be like for a more typical driver in a car like the A3 TDI just using the Pro Formance tips, and I was very happy to see that near 40 mpg numbers could be returned, even in heavy traffic.

Post-Ride

After the ride I got a chance to talk shop with some of the Pro Formance guys and learned that many of them practice more involved ecodriving techniques and are interesting in some of the ecomods that are fairly common. I was really impressed with their work and their mission, and hope that they can expand their operation to get in touch with more drivers.

Also, I learned that from their study on ecodriving with Ford, they realized a few things about the way different groups of people drive. For example, men and younger people tended to show a greater improvement with ecodriving, primarily because they were more aggressive in their driving techniques before taking the Pro Formance class. At the same time, everyone in the study still managed to improve their mileage, even the old ladies!

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Well, calling it ecodriving is pushing the limit a little bit, but I did get to take the fortwo out for a serious spin around the block. I test drove the U.S. version of the car, and not any of the cooler, European options, so that certainly needs to be taken into account. On that note, I was very happy with my drive, aside from a few caveats.

Despite the fortwo’s reputation as a cheap ride, it felt very solid and well constructed. The seats were comfortable and the cabin well designed, with the open top a welcome way to avoid the claustrophobia you might feel in a vehicle with such little overall interior volume. The gauge cluster was well laid out, and the analog clock on the dash added a nice touch, though it might make reading the clock more time intensive than safe when on the road.

As far as the actual drive is concerned, the car felt very solid and had plenty of pep. Compared to the i MiEV electric car, it wasn’t as fast, but it till avoided the age old “too slow to get out of it’s own way” stereotype that still plagues the subcompact section of cars. I was actually following the i MiEV during my test drive and found myself easily able to keep up with its lead-footed driver in most circumstances.

However, that brings me to my two main criticisms of the car. The first is that the transmission available in the United States is very unsatisfying. The shifting is much rougher than it needs to be, and makes the overall experience of the car seem rather unrefined, especially for a product from Mercedes. I am under the impression that this isn’t the case with many of the European models, but that doesn’t erase the fact that U.S. options still have major flaws.

The second complaint from me is that Smart really needs to add some sort of fuel economy gauge to the car. Sure, this may be a little expensive, but I think most drivers would welcome the information, especially since many of them are certainly buying the vehicle for its impressive fuel economy. I hope smart will jump on the bandwagon with this in the next few years.

That said, I can’t tell you what fuel economy I delivered with the car, but if you live in the city and are looking for something small and fuel efficient, the fortwo is a worthy choice.

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A8-8xUZ-0c

Sure, the video is a little obscure, but you get a sense of the new layout and the “efficiency leaves” that Ford is incorporating into their new Smart Gauge. Like we talked about yesterday with Audi, automakers are trying to encorporate fuel saving technologies into their cars. In Audi’s case, they’re trying to help you predict some of the externalities that affect fuel economy (upcoming traffic lights), but in this case, Ford is just trying to help you help yourself.

Sure, there are other fuel economy gauges out there, but even the best don’t have total integration into your car’s instrument cluster. Also, most of these gauges, save the Kiwi, can’t really tell you how to drive. The gauge will be showing up in 2010 Ford hybrids, and will include two modes, “Journey” and “Empower.” Journey mode will seem just like a normal gauge cluster for everyday driving, but for ecodrivers or information junkies, Empower mode will tell you about your vehicle’s performance and how you can improve the fuel economy.

The quirkiest feature, however, is definitely the “efficiency leaf” display. Here’s a quote from the Wall Street Journal:

In one of the two LCD screens on either side of the speedometer, bright green leaves will indicate how fuel-efficient the driver is. “You don’t have to count the leaves,” Ms. Gioia said. “But if you’re in a forest of leaves, you’ll know you’re doing well.”

Who can say now how well this will go over, but it seems to be a simple, yet interesting measure of your fuel economy, which I think more people will want to look at than a big red button flashing “LEAD” when you mash the gas pedal.

What do you think? Are the leaves a good touch or just silly?

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Anyone who’s every done a little ecodriving will know that the worst thing in the world is a stop light. Unlike a stop sign, they’re not predictable, and sometimes leaving you waiting indefinitely or slamming on the brakes to avoid running through. That’s why a lot of ecodrivers will invest a lot of energy into knowing their routes and trying to anticipate lights. However, Audi would like to change this with their new HUD.

How is this possible? Well, Audi has ingeniously developed an in car system that communicates with upcoming red lights to see how long it will be until the light turns green and what speed you need to drive at to make sure you don’t get there beforehand. This will prevent you from wasting gas and hopefully from getting annoyed with the tireless stop and go. Check out these images for a pictorial description:

Of course, you’ll have to realize that some drivers may not know what the hell is going on and get pissed off, but I’m hoping that most people are a little more patient than that and will be happy to see that they aren’t stopping for the light either. On that point, the Dailymail article makes an interesting point:

Kate Dixon of Audi UK said that if a minimum of ten per cent of cars in any given town were fitted with the technology, all road users would notice an improvement in traffic levels.

This is definitely an interesting point. While I wonder how many traffic lights are equipped with the necessarily technology across world markets, this is definitely an interesting technology that could do a lot to smooth out traffic and reduce fuel consumption.

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The UK recently hosted 39 cars in the 2008 fleet World MPG Marathon. The challenge took them over many different types of roads over the course of its 400 miles in order to see which cars got the best fuel economy. All of these cars were fleet vehicles, so even though some modifications could increase their fuel economy, you can still get an idea what ecodriving can do for improving fuel economy.

The winning car officially turned in 84.66 MPG, but those are Imperial gallons and since most of our readers are in the US, 70.49 MPG is the better number for most EcoModder readers to compare. Sadly, however, there is really no comparison for us since the Toyota Yaris Diesel isn’t even available in the United States.

Another Toyota, the 1.0L Aygo rounded up the leaderboard as far as gasoline vehicles were concerned, pulling in a respectable 68.6 MPG (82.39 MPG Imperial).

Of course, we at EcoModder would like to see some of these cars modified, even if only in the most basic of senses, but I guess it’s up to us to host our own fuel economy where we can set our own rules.

Source: Treehugger

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Recently I’ve been doing a bit of soul-searching as far as fuel economy is concerned. Being the co-founder of EcoModder and an active user on the forums, it’s obvious that the interest is there. But recently, I’ve been wondering how there it really is.

Earlier this summer I swapped a new engine into my CRX, which quickly bumped up my mileage quite a bit. Nowadays, with a little ecodriving, it’s fairly easy to get 60 MPG, and I’ve only failed in that pursuit once, due to a lot of center city Philadelphia driving. Now that I’m back at school and the only traveling I do is back and forth between here (NH) and home (NJ), I’ve gotten a little lazy.

It used to be that, in order to save some gas, you might see me cruising along on the interstate at a solid 55-60 mph (conditions permitting), but these days I’ll be flying down the road at up to 75 mph down hills that I usually would’ve been content to coast down. So what’s changed?

Now that I have an efficient car, I’ve become satisfied with 60 mpg. It’s not costing me horrible amounts of money when I need to drive and I’m really not using much gas, so I’ve stopped trying to push the envelope. Thinking about this, I wonder where everyone else’s point of satisfaction is? Let me know in the comments!

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The PLX Devices Kiwi is undoubtedly a cute gadget. It has a nice color display, easy navigation, and installation is incredibly easy. However, is it really for ecodrivers?

Let’s go over the negatives I found first. I have a few major disagreements with how the Kiwi operates from an ecodriver’s standpoint.

The first will be that it rates engine loading opposite what actually gives best fuel economy. If you are a regular reader at EcoModder you should know that higher engine loads result in improved brake specific fuel consumption (amount of fuel burned per horsepower produced) which increases fuel economy. However, the further your press your gas pedal down, the lower your Kiwi’s acceleration rating drops. I can understand why they did this. Who wants to promote people punching the throttle at every stoplight? However, it’s really not the most efficient way to drive.

My second beef with the Kiwi would be its smooth rating. The smooth rating, from what I can tell, basically teaches you that the most efficient way to drive is to never move the gas pedal from where it is. If you have to push the pedal down further to climb a hill or if you take your foot off the pedal while going down a hill your smoothness rating drops. Again, if you are an ecodriver, you know that high engine loads going up the hill, then coasting down in neutral is a far more efficient driving style.

The next thing on the list is critical for some ecodrivers. The Kiwi can not handle engine off at all. It can’t handle engine off coasting or just turning the engine off at a long light. When you turn the engine off, the Kiwi always brings up a summary page listing how far you traveled, how much gas you used, how much gas you saved, etc. Once you key back on, or bump start, the Kiwi has to reboot. In order to get it up and running again, you have to press a button to get past their disclaimer, and another button to get past their tip that they give you each time it starts up. This takes a few seconds to do, and you really do not want to be doing it if you are using any pulse and glide.

With all the aforementioned issues with the Kiwi, I am absolutely sure that it would still help the large majority of normal drivers out there use less gas. The techniques it teaches you are good low level ecodriving techniques. Most drivers out there don’t even have a clue as to how bad of a driver they actually are. The Kiwi would definitely help them out. I also have no doubt that the Kiwi can backup its claims of up to 30% improvement in fuel economy to the normal driver.

The Kiwi does have some pretty neat features too. On top of being a cool looking device, the color screen is quite nice, and the navigation is logical and easy. The Kiwi score would be fun to have challenges with. Who can get the highest score amongst you and your friends?  Or you could post your score online to see how you stack up against others. Of course it also doubles as an engine code reader which can come in quite handy.

The short of it all is that the Kiwi would be a great tool for most normal drivers out there. For us ecodrivers, we’ll stick with what we know best and use a Scangauge II or mpguino.

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In the beginning, there were iPhone apps that could do things like assist you in recording how much gas you used. Some of them even made pretty graphs, taking them a little bit beyond your average notebook in terms of usefulness. This pretty graphs were definitely useful, which is why ecomodder has employed them for so long in our own fuel economy garage. However, I knew there would come a day when the iPhone rivaled even the best fuel economy gauges for usefulness.

Enter greenMeter

The iPhone and iPod Touch both come with accelerometers that help them perform various tasks, and have thus far created a large amount of interesting and fun games that get you flailing your arms around like a lunatic. It was only a matter of time until someone put that useful feature to work for an automotive application. The app that born out of this technology was greenMeter, which helps drivers hone in their ecodriving skills by getting feedback on their habits.

GreenMeter will cost you $5.99, but you get a lot for those six smackers. The app takes into account things like drag coefficient, frontal area, temperature, wind, barometric pressure, and anything else that might affect your fuel economy. The only thing that it doesn’t seem to do is directly measure your fuel economy (serious bummer).

If you already have an iPhone or iPod Touch, this might be worth it to pick up. My only word of caution is that things like this are rarely correct in every situation, so this is more of an additional to fuel economy instrumentation, and not a replacement for it. Plus, if you don’t like looking up tons of stats, it might be just a bit intimidating!

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Image: joiseyshowaa

The other day I spent an hour sitting in traffic in downtown Philadelphia. Not only did I watch my fuel economy plummet on my MPGuino, but I kissed the bumper on a BMW to let an ambulance by, and my car ended up overheating. I was so preoccupied by the traffic that I didn’t notice my temperature gauge creeping up until I finally started seeing smoke pouring out from under the hood. And then I did what any responsible person would’ve done.

I turned the engine off. But, we were in the middle of traffic and there was no way to move the car to the side of the road. I probably could’ve pushed it quite a ways, but not without half of Philly cursing at me for contributing to their traffic jam. So instead of doing parking the car and waiting, I started it back even every time we needed to creep forward and then shut it off instead of idling. The temperature quickly dropped back down to reasonable levels and a crisis was averted.

But then I wondered why I, a person who ecodrives to save gas, wasn’t doing that in the first place. In dense traffic, starting the car back up didn’t slow traffic or me down at all, and all that idling killed my gas mileage. There was just a mental block preventing me from doing the obvious, which is why I was so happy I recently got this bit of encouragement.

An anecdote about idling and fuel savings

The other day, forum member dcb decided to put idling to the test in his commute. While everyone would expect him to save gas by cutting out the idling, he ended up with a surprisingly large 17% gas mileage increase. That’s a real big deal and it came from something as simple as turning off his car when stopped. It’s something everyone can do, and is being incorporated into cars now with start-stop systems so that it can be done automatically.

Of course, no one can promise a 17% increase, that depends on your commute, but any amount of idling that’s cut out will increase your fuel economy. So go ahead, give it a try.

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Today, ABG gives up an update on the Taylors, that famous “fuel stretching” couple sponsored by Shell and VW. They’re driving one of VW’s new TDIs around the country (probably exclusively on Shell’s fuel), trying to set the coast to coast fuel economy record. Unlike some people, they don’t call themselves hypermilers, but “fuel stretchers.” This makes sense, because hypermiling has developed a reputation that most companies would touch with a 10 foot liability prevention pole.

Of course, they can call it whatever they want. They’ve been driving for fuel economy decades longer than hypermiling has been a word. So far, the Taylors have achieved 58.78 mpg, which handily beats the former Guinness record of a little over 51 mpg. The Jetta TDI only gets and EPA rating of 31/40 mpg, so this is certainly nothing to scoff at. Their responsbility to corporate sponsors and lack of vehicle choice is certainly holding them back, but nearly double EPA estimates for the car is impressive nonetheless.

Good luck, Taylors! Try to get it above 60!

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If you can look past all the branding, you’ll see who many people are calling the “World’s Best Hypermilers.” Of course, there’s no real “World Championships of Fuel Economy,” so no one can officially take that title, but the Taylors would definitely be on everyone’s short list if you asked who could take home that prize.

They’ve already set records for driving around the world and driving across Australia, but now they’re after the record for driving across the US. The current record is set at 51.8 mpg, which I think they will shatter. Given that they cross Australia at 75 mpg and I have personally crossed most of the US on two tanks at 63 mpg, I think the number is so low just because there hasn’t been enough interest in such a long competition.

Of course, I’m not trying to sound mean, I just expect the Taylors to set a high bar that will encourage some more people to try and get out and compete. Might this be the new Cannonball Run? Perhaps with a little less law-breaking this time around?

I guess we’ll see. Follow along at FuelAcademy.org.

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Whenever someone signs up on the EcoModder forums, the first question they get is “do you have any fuel economy instrumentation?” So I’m asking the same thing to you today, and also offering some solutions. Instrumentation is important for anyone trying to get better mileage since it’s the only way to get real-time feedback on your driving habits. Automakers are realizing this and (also motivated by consumer demand) are starting to add mpg displays on newer vehicles. However, if you’re not one of those luck few, fear not! There is a solution out there for most of you.

4 aftermarket gauges to help you save gas

1. MPGuino

Okay, I’ll be upfront. The MPGuino is first because its what I use and it’s an EcoModder original. It’s great because it can be configured to work with almost any electronically fuel injected vehicle and only costs $30-40 to put together. The downside, however, is that it’s completely DIY, so you’ll have to know how to solder and how to wire it into your car (and it might like kind of ugly if you don’t make a nice case).

It may seem a little cumbersome, but it’s open source and pretty much the only option for pre-1996 vehicles. However, for the tweakers out there this is definitely the best choice.

Find more information on the MPGuino:

• Release one workspace forum link
  
• EcoModder Wiki page

2. Scangauge II

The Scangauge II is the most popular mpg gauge out there, and for good reason. It’s easy to install (just plug it into your OBDII port under the dash) and easy to use. The backlit display shows four pieces of data at once and it can check engine codes and aide other diagnostics.

It’s best qualities are definitely the ease of set up and used, but the $160+ price tag can be a lot for people to swallow, even though some ecodriving can win that money back in relatively short order.

3. PLX Kiwi

The PLX Kiwi is a new kid on the block, but it definitely looks interesting. The big differences between the Kiwi and the Scangauge II is that the Kiwi has a big color screen and can also “teach” you how to drive efficiently by rating your driving habits and making ecodriving suggestions. These features do burden it was a $300 price tag, though. Like the Scangauge, this is only for 96+ vehicles.

Expect to hear more about the Kiwi on the EcoModder blog in the near future, as a forum member is currently getting a test model from the company that he can try out on several of his cars.

4. Dashhawk

The Dashhawk, a lesser known display from MSD seems like a neat device. Even though I don’t know anyone who owns one it appears attractive and looks like it works much the same way as the Scangauge. Unfortunately, the $300 price tag is a little scary. I will be requesting a test model from MSD to see if it’s worth its beans, so stay tuned. Like the Scangauge and Kiwi, this is only for 96+ vehicles.

Moral of the story

If you’re interested in saving some gas, the environment, or even some money, you’re probably driving a car that can accept some type of fuel economy instrumentation. It may seem expensive, but the payback is real and these devices retain their value well if you ever want to hit eBay with it.

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Ford is really throwing down the guantlet by showing how dedicated it is to the new EcoDriving initiative we talked about the other day. I really liked it because it validates a lot of what we’re trying to do on the forums in terms of improving fuel economy on an individual level, but also showed that automakers were willing to commit (at least in name) to supporting fuel efficient driving. However, it seems Ford has really stepped up to the plate by offering ecodriving lessons over the course of several days to see how effective it really is.

Ford takes on ecodriving

Recently, Ford and a group called Pro Formance decided to take on ecodriving in the form of a 4-day long seminar with 48 different drivers taking part. Using the ecodriving tips taught by Pro Formance, the participants increased their fuel economy between 6-50%, with and average increase of 24%.

With the gas crunch hitting people hard, it’s good to see a company like Ford stepping up and showing consumers that there’s more than just air up your tires and cleaning out the trunk. Here’s their take on ecodriving:

“By working with Pro Formance to conduct validation testing, Ford is proving that eco-driving techniques are teachable and work across a broad spectrum of vehicles and drivers,” said Drew DeGrassi, president and CEO of Pro Formance Group. “It’s a great initiative for Ford to lead in this country. It’s not the end-all solution for America to obtain energy independence, but it is an important part of it.”

I would love to see what the training program is like, but for the rest of us Ford give us 10 ecodriving tips. Sure, they pale in comparison to EcoModder’s ecodriving tips list, but most drivers aren’t interested in getting really involved, and Ford’s hands-on approach is a good way to get results without asking too much of people.

Evidently they have been doing this since the 1990s in Germany, where gas mileage has been an issue for longer than it has in the US. Hopefully, this will encourage other manufacturers to bring their most efficient vehicles and programs to a ready-and-willing US market.

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Recently, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers announced an initative called EcoDriving, aimed at educating consumers on how to drive more efficiently to reduce fuel usage. When you head on over to the site, the first thing you will notice is Governor Schwarzenegger’s welcoming voice, as he explains to you a bit of what EcoDriving is about.

First, I must say that I feel slightly vindicated by this announcement. I have long been a fan of the term EcoDriving, since it hints at many of the reasons people do it (eg, environmental, economics, etc). Hypermiling, by contrast, just sounds extreme. Knowing nothing about either hypermiling or ecodriving, I think most people would choose ecodriving just because it doesn’t sound insane. And when you couple that with all the negative press surrounding hypermiling (regarding issues like drafting and hyperinflation of tires, which I am against), ecodriving is by far the friendlier, more accurate term for the way most efficiency-minded people drive, in my opinion.

Compared to EcoModder’s list, the EcoDriving campaign is definitely much simpler, but it’s those core practices that can be expanded upon by people who want to get even better mileage. The most exciting things about the fledgling EcoDriving initiative are the interesting tools to help drivers understand EcoDriving, like this game. Granted, it’s a little hard to steer in the game and you’ll likely crash a few times (killing your EcoRating), but it’s an interesting, interactive way to show people how driving style impacts efficiency.

In the end, it all comes down to education and accessibility. So if you’re really interested, go check out some of the printed materials and show them to your friends, family, or just drop them around work where other interested people might find them. If you’re really motivated, sign up for the EcoModder forums to discuss getting the most out of your car on a daily basis. I really like this campaign’s hands-on approach, and I think it will work to make ecodriving accessible to a lot more people.

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NOTE: The above readout may seem a bit unclear at first glance, but from left to right, top to bottom, here’s what the information means: Instantaneous MPG, Speed, Trip MPG, Distance. I took this photo after a short drive.

By now, we know about devices like the PLX Kiwi and the Scangauge II, but what about those of us who don’t have 1996 or newer cars? How about those who don’t want to spend $170-$300 on instrumentation or prefer to support open-source projects?

Well, the MPGuino is the answer! A few months ago, Darin posted on the forums looking for someone to help him build an open-source MPG gauge for all fuel injected cars. From there, forum member dcb stepped up to the plate and has taken the reigns in a really big way. Nowadays, on release v0.66, the MPGuino is a fully functioning, useful display that anyone with a bit of soldering kills can put together.

Building the MPGuino

The MPGuino is based on the arduino platform, and for it’s tiny footprint I chose to base my build around the iDuino, even though lots of folks use the freeduino. Since the iDuino doesn’t accept the car’s 12v, I used a cell phone charger to convert to 5v and wired directly to the board. Everything else, down to the LCD, which I bought on ebay, is pretty standard to the build. For more of the basic, check out the release one thread.

Anyway, here was my parts list and aproximate prices:
- iDuino: $20
- HD 44780 LCD: $10
- Parts from ratshack: $6-7
- Auto cell charger: $5 (at the dollar store)

Total: $42-43

It’d be a bit cheaper with a freeduino and some parts you might have laying around or found online, but I was trying to slap this together quickly.

Anyway, on to the assembly! The first thing I did was follow the iDuino assembly instructions, posted and annotated by the makers of the kit. However, I didn’t insert the jumper pins because I found it easier to just run the wires I would be connecting through the holes and soldering directly. From there, go ahead and follow the wiring instructions from this image:

My button and component board is a little ugly, but here’s what it ended up looking like:

The next step from here would be to find a project box and try to clean up the mounting a bit, but I haven’t quite gotten to that part yet.

Anyway, with the physical unit put together, go ahead and download the arduino 11 platform to your computer and then test out some of the sample programs. If it isn’t broken (hopefully it isn’t!), go ahead and upload the latest MPGuino software and make sure that everything is working.

That’s about it! The next is to wire it into the car. I disassembled the cigarette lighter cell charger like this and wired it into one of the spare spots on my fuse box so that it would be powered whenever the key was in I or II. From there I simply tapped into the speed sensor wire and fuel injector wire, which I’ll leave up to you to find on your own car, though some suggestions can be found here.

The next step is to power up the MPGuino in your car and figure out how to use it.

Using the MPGuino

Luckily, there’s really not much to using the MPGuino. The first thing you need to do is go ahead and figure out the calibration figures for your car. I’m told that most Japanese makes will use 8204 for the speed sensor and that many American makes will use 10000. However, it’s easy enough to compare the distance on the MPGuino to your odometer in order to see if any adjustments need to be made.

The fuel variable is a bit trickier. Some of them have been figured out, so I would search and then ask, but if your car hasn’t seen the likes of the MPGuino before, you might be the pioneer who figures out the numbers for a perfect calibration. The trick here is to simply keep track of your tank mileage on the MPGuino and then compare it to a standard fill up and make adjustments based on the percentage you’re off from the pump fill.

I’ll be the first to admit calibration can be a pain in the ass, but luckily it’d already been done for me. After that’s out of the way, you can check out your mileage by simply using your three buttons to scroll through the screens. See more about that here.

Personally, I tend to use the instant/current screen the most, and when I’m on longer trips or trips where the sun will hurt visibility on the screen, I use the big instantaneous numbers.

Anyway, this is really were the fun begins. The MPGuino in conjunction with your EcoDriving skills will net some good numbers (see first image).

Limitations of the MPGuino

As of writing (v0.66), the MPGuino has a few issues, the biggest of which is that you have to do all the assembly yourself. That’s not a problem for a lot of us, but for the MPGuino to go more mainstream we’ll have to figure out how to make it more accessible to your average ecomodder.

What’s more, the LCD leaves a little to be desired in terms of readability in the sunlight. However, a solution is currently being worked on.

For more issues, and more up-to-date issues, check this thread or more generally look around the MPGuino forum.

Places for MPGuino Improvement

Luckily, the MPGuino’s faults all play into it’s biggest asset: open-source. Sure, I may want an AFR display, but all that means is that I’ll have to do it or find someone smarter to do it for me. Though limited by hardware (but only to a small degree, platform changes are always a possibility), everything else is up in the air with the MPGuino and anyone can edit the code. If you’re interested, check it out for yourself in the Arduino 11 environment.

Well, I hope you’ll find this useful. If you have any questions or knowledge, don’t hesitate to post in the forums, open-source relies on all you to test and help improve the project!

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The Scangauge II (and Scangauge before it) has long been a necessary part of practicing EcoDriving effectively. It’s a neat device because it gives you instant feedback, which not only allows you to improve your driving, but also helps you implement various hypermiling tips most effectively. However, Scangauge won’t have a total market share for much longer, as PLX Devices has released a new, and intriguing device called the Kiwi.

Like the Scangauge, the PLX Kiwi takes data from your car’s OBDII diagnostics port. This means that the device is plug and play, making it accessible to most drivers, but will only work on 1996+ vehicles. All older cars (like mine) are out of luck.  The Kiwi uses the data is collects to not only show you what fuel economy you’re getting, but also to instruct you on how to get a few more MPGs. This is the part that’s really interesting, and the reason the device costs a steep $299.

PLX’s cute video can say more about how it works than I can, so check it out:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgNPwB-auu4

The website claims that the average driver can save quite a bit of fuel. In my experience, this is definitely true, though I don’t know if the Kiwi is really necessary to do it. Most people can realize these improvements without any instrumentation, though those of you looking for more profound savings will probably need instrumentation.

I can’t say yet whether it works or whether I would recommend it, but if you’re motivated I think the purchase price could be recouped in gas savings, especially with gas looking to stay up above $4/gallon. You can bet PLX will be receiving an email from ecomodder as we look to test this thing out with both experienced EcoDrivers and complete newbs.

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Who says racing has nothing to do with fuel economy? Honestly, I was rather shocked to hear about the prominence of hypermiling techniques in racing, especially NASCAR. Perhaps the revolution is hitting home with more people than the news would lead us to believe. Here’s the word direct from Earnhardt and ESPN:

Knowing the race was going to be extended beyond its scheduled 200 laps, Eury told Earnhardt to shut the engine off and coast whenever he could under the caution flag in a desperate effort to save more gas.

Junior did just that, coasting fast enough at times that he passed the pace car — until NASCAR warned Eury to have Earnhardt cut it out.

“I didn’t know how much they were going to worry about it,” Earnhardt said. “All the cars out there are gassing it, shutting ‘em off, coasting about a half straightaway, cranking ‘em back up, gas it, coast. Everybody’s doing it.

For those of you who don’t know already, this technique is oftentimes called “Pulse & Glide,” and is widely used by ecodrivers looking to get better gas mileage. P&G works by making your engine work only when it’s most efficient, and shutting it off at other times.

P&G, as the name suggests, has two main components. The pulse is an acceleration phase with lots of throttle, and the glide is a coast in neutral or with the engine off. People using P&G for fuel economy will often pick a median speed and pulse up to 10 MPH above that and then glide down to 10 MPH below, so that they can maintain an average speed around where the would be driving anyway.

It works because your engine is most efficient in high load operation, and then uses no fuel if you’re coasting with the engine off, as Earnhardt did. Rather than being in a constant low load, inefficient state, the combination of burning more during acceleration and then none during coast averages out to savings. While it may seem counter intuitive, Earnhardt’s victory clearly shows that it’s a viable technique.

Now, that said, I do not recommend using P&G in traffic where other drivers might not know what you’re doing or it might be dangerous. It’s best at low speeds (where aerodynamics is not so much of a factor) and when you have an open road that you know well. For a better description of P&G, see this MetroMPG.com article. For more fuel efficient driving techniques check out the 100+ EcoDriving Tips list.

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This post is part of a series on basic ecodriving techniques, intended to expound upon a more basic description in order to make them more accessible as well as put them in the context of safety and practicality. 

Reducing your speed is one of the simplest things you can do to increase fuel economy.  Keep in mind I did not say it is the easiest thing to do.  I’ll admit it, most drivers like speed.  But, it is a very simple thing to do.  You just have to let off the pedal a little bit.

On average, a 5 mph reduction at highway speeds (ex. From 70 to 65 mph) will net you an 8% increase in fuel economy.  Of course this differs from vehicle to vehicle.  The larger your vehicle the larger you gain is likely to be.  Fueleconomy.gov says that you can see between 7 to 23 percent increase in mileage simply by slowing down to the speed limit.  What about even a little bit under the speed limit?

Here is a some testing done by MetroMPG.com comparing speed to mileage.

There is also the fact that the speed limit is also a much safer speed should speak volumes to the car buyers who buy large vehicles because they are safer.  If you really want to be safe, slow down to recommended speeds.  Road engineers design roads with these kinds of things in mind.

A little more on the technical side is the fact that aerodynamic drag increase exponentially with speed.  So, if you double your speed you have quadrupled your aerodynamic drag.  So, you can see small increases in speed can drastically increase drag.  Aerodynamic drag is also the main force your engine must overcome while traveling at highway speeds.

So, since your going slower your going to be late all the time now, right?  I sure hope not.  Slowing down from 60 mph to 55 mph on an hour trip takes you roughly 5 more minutes.  Anything less than an hour trip is going to be less and for that 8% fuel savings you are sure getting a good deal.

The last thing I will mention is stress.  How many times have you come up on a car going slower than you, and gotten all flustered as you try to find a way to zip past it?  Stress is a serious issue with people these days.  Your daily drive can be a great time to unwind after a stressful day at work.  Its a lot easier to unwind while just cruising along at the speed limit where you don’t have to worry about that slow poke who won’t get out of your way as you rush home.  Take a few minutes longer to get home and feel better at the same time.

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Image: yr0gerg @ flickr, under CC

This post is part of a series on basic hypermiling techniques, intended to expound upon a more basic description in order to make them more accessible as well as put them in the context of safety and practicality.

Lets face it, this is about as basic as it gets. You’re not going to get better gas mileage if you have no idea what kind of mileage you are currently getting. This task is the first step to improving your gas mileage.

So, how do you track your mileage? Its quite easy, just follow this formula:

Miles traveled / gallons used

This gives you your miles per gallon or mpg.

One thing you must always do is fill your tank completely to ensure accuracy. I recommend filling the tank until it shuts off the first time. Filling past that point can introduce more variation in tank to tank gas mileage measurements.

Logging your information can be done in a number of ways. Many people like to carry a small notebook in their car that they can log their miles and gallons. Some get fancy and use a PDA. Still, others may simply write their mileage down on a receipt and log their info into a spreadsheet or ecomodder’s fuel log once they get home. They are all means to an end. Dating your entries is very helpful as you can see your mileage go up in the summer and down in the winter. It also may help to add notes to your log so you can remember when you did something like pump up your tires more, or track driving conditions if that week the traffic or weather was abnormally bad.

There are some nice benefits to tracking your mileage. Number one is probably being able to monitor driving technique changes. Changing driving technique can alter fuel economy drastically (+/- 50%) for the good or for the worse. Logging mileage also helps with maintenance. If you fill up and see your mileage is oddly low, you know something is wrong with the car and you can have it looked at right away. This may prevent you from being stranded somewhere which is a nice thought, especially in winter. Even if you do nothing else but log your mileage, you are at least going to be somewhat aware of how your driving and environment is effecting your gas mileage.

Is there something more you can do for immediate mileage feedback? Well, yes there is. For those wanting to dive right in, you can purchase a scangauge (or similar device) if your car is a 1996 or newer vehicle. The scangauge plugs into your car’s computer port and spits out all sorts of useful information that can lead to much better fuel economy. For those with an older vehicle you don’t have it quite as easy. But, if you visit our forum we can point you in the right direction. Instant feedback from a mileage device is almost invaluable for tweaking driving style.

So, the quick and easy of it is:

• Track your miles divided by gallons.
• Find a way to log that works best for you.
• If you can, get a scangauge. It is an amazing tool.

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This post is part of a series on basic hypermiling techniques, intended to expound upon a more basic description in order to make them more accessible as well as put them in the context of safety and practicality.

Driving without brakes (DWB) always makes me think of some run away roller coaster ride. You know, children screaming for their lives and all that good stuff. However, it is actually a very useful technique that can save you a lot of fuel in heavier highway traffic and in the city. This technique overlaps with a lot of other techniques which won’t all be mentioned here.

The whole idea is generally to conserve momentum, momentum you have built up by burning gas. For example, you burn gas to get up to 60 miles per hour. Then traffic slows down suddenly and you use your brakes to slow to 40 mph. Shortly after, traffic speeds up again so you accelerate back up to 60 again. How many times does this happen in your daily commute? Well, what if you only had to accelerate up to 60 once? You would have saved the gas used to go from 40 back up to 60. This is an example of what DWB does for you.

What would you do in this case if you were driving without brakes? Well, first you would leave a good cushion of space between you and the driver in front of you. Next, you would watch well ahead of the car in front of you. When you see brake lights from a few (or more) cars ahead you let off the gas and coast. Ideally, by the time you catch up to the car ahead of you they should already be accelerating again and you shouldn’t have to use your brakes at all. If you find yourself still braking a lot, increase the following distance to give yourself a bigger cushion.

The same thing applies for city driving. Watch the lights and try not to use your brakes. Slowing down is pretty much inevitable, but minimizing brake use can greatly increase your gas mileage.

The point is, if you know your going to have to slow down at any point, stop accelerating as soon as possible and start coasting. By using the brakes you are wasting gas – you’re effectively turning it into brake dust.

This may sound like common sense, but so many drivers neglect to do this day in and day out. Just think about how much gas is wasted when you see brake lights going to work tomorrow. It’s amazing how much fuel could be saved with this technique alone.

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