Some Hypermiling techniques denounced by AAA

[Lazarus]

Well Now we will see what the court of public opinion has to say. I imagine this is just the first in a long line of article to be coming out.

AAA opposes all of those methods, noting that cutting off a car's engine may negatively affect power steering and power brakes; overinflating tires leads to uneven tire wear; and rolling through stop signs and tailgating trucks puts drivers at risk.

[Blue07CivicEX]

Well, here goes,

First off, half the people on this site have cars without power steering, my car has power steering but it's light enough and small enough I can steer it quite well without the power assist.

Second, shouldn't they be glad we're overinflating out tires to whihc "leads to uneven tire wear" because that will give them more business out on the highway when your tire blows.

Third, I personally come to a complete stop at all red lights and stop signs, I may not want to but I do, my office window overlooks a 4 way intersection and during the course of an hour I'll see MAYBE 1-2 cars come to a complete stop. So, that makes me question, is ALL of Albany NY hypermiling? if so shouldn't it be safe if we're all doing the same thing?

Fourth, the above goes for red lights, I've been nearly broadsided multiple times by people racing to make lights and just blowing through them AFTER THE DELAY, my light will have already turned green and they are still running it, BUT they must be hypermiling too as only hypermilers do this to keep from ruining their mileage.

Ok, that's my rant,

Ps. I hate idiots, people that stereotype and can't come up with coherent thoughts are idiots in my mind. Also people who have extremely flawed logic, IE, AAA in this case.

[Lazarus]

True but I doubt there are online communities endorsing those practices.

[NoCO2]

OMG! But, what about all those cars back before they had power steering or power brakes!? How did they ever function!?

This is why I always tell people that ride with me and ask about saving gas to practice in a parking lot and make sure they know what to expect before they EVER go on the road and do it. I also tell them to make sure they know how it's going to act with EVERY movement you make. For example, if your steering locks when you turn off the ignition, then you should not EOC or else you might die. Make sure you pump your brakes several times so you know EXACTLY how much force it's going to take to stop your car without power assist brakes. Make sure you know where your hazard lights are without even thinking about it so in case your car doesn't start back up you can get them turned on VERY quickly and get out of the road as fast as possible.

All of these articles I have read assume that everyone does it without knowing what's going to happen before they do. Granted, a lot of the general public probably would, but this is in a country where you can also get your driver's license without any mandatory driver training and education. IMO, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the majority of hypermiling techniques. Rolling through stop signs and drafting, in another of my opinions, yes, is unsafe, however, if the driver chooses to do it then they are taking a risk that could potentially cause them and other drivers harm (more so the stop sign thing then drafting). Not to mention, those two are also the only techniques that are illegal which begs the question why, if so many people are tailgating and rolling stop signs, why haven't more people been getting pulled over for these things?

[dcb]

So what is their position on driving while using a cell phone?

[Blue07CivicEX]

Who wants to start up "How_to_drive_like_an_a**hole.com" so AAA will write and article about them discussing unsafe techniques on the almighty interweb?

[MazdaMatt]

I understand all of your outrage. Personally, i am a LEGAL performance driving enthusiast. I have a track-only car that i haul to race days. Many people I know also use street legal vehicles with performance mods. A lot o media attention in Ontario has created laws that are unjust and affect these people that I know adversely without them actually doing anything illegal. It has created a anti-performance attitude in the police.

Anyway, my point is, all that crap was caused by a number of idiots who absolutely do not act like the "purists". The purists lose out because of the stupid people.

Consider this... one of the purists on this site who has trained himself for years and modified his car in many ways tells a moron that his tires are at 50psi. Moron equates: If i set my tires to 50psi, i will get 80mpg! Moron then pumps up the tires, tailgates a truck on the highway, the truck hits the brakes, so does the moron and his tires lock up hard because he no longer has the grip he's used to. Moron dies, purist gets blamed. That is what is going on.

As a racer I understand the affects of tire pressure VERY much. If my car is acting oddly, i can adjust 2 tires by 1psi and notice a massive differnce. The reason for the massive difference is that I am ALWAYS on the ragged edge of my car's performance. The only time that a street driver is at the edge of his performance is in a major emergency. No training, no safety gear, no grip due to overinflated tires = dead person.

[Blue07CivicEX]

Well stated, so... AAA should be denouncing morons instead of educated purists, I like it :-) (I know that's not what you said but it's the reality of the matter).

[MazdaMatt]

Well, i may have used a lot more words, but yeah... that's exactly what I said.

[Lazarus]

You can't compare racing on a closed course with group of people who know what they are doing to hypermiling USA.

The point of posting this was that in order to get the movement going you need to have people interested. By telling people and indorsing(not that this site does it) to do what most would consider risky at minimum and illegal operations is not going to help in the court of public opinion. It will alway be a bunch of kooks getting in everybodys way. Especially when you can get great result without breaking the law or risky behavior. I think that AAA has it right on the things that they had a problem with in the article. As always YMMV

[MazdaMatt]

In the case of hypermilers vs. morons with high tire pressure, as in the case of responsible performance enthusiasts vs. morons with big exhausts street racing downtown... education is everything. Educate the morons to stop doing what they are doing, and educate the general public that the purists are not morons.

Hypermilers get a lot more good press than performance enthusiasts... feel lucky.

[Blue07CivicEX]

Touche! I think I will record the intersection outside my office and post a clip sometime, it's really quite funny.

[12voltsolar]

My buddy is a professional mechanic and his shop has been sent waring via fax & e-mail from most of the major tire mfg'ers warning that customers my be over inflating their tires and that shops need to be on the look out to warn these folks of the dangers.... So I talked to him and he agrees that max sidewall psi is really too high for MOST passenger cars. BUT my 7 psi (39 up from the A4 suggested 32) extra is not hurting the tires, my 'ride', or my handling safety!
Like the old saying goes look out for the other morons on the road....

[MazdaMatt]

My protege suggusts 32 all around. This is just too squishy for me. I actually get better turn-in response with my fronts at 36 and my rears at 34. "knowledgeable" drivers can benefit from some increase. I prefer to turn around an accident than slow down and hit it softer.

With my recent drive to lower my fuel consumption, i may bump it up to 39/36

[ebacherville]

Now i know why i have never been andnever will be a AAA customer.. 1 my car has no power anything.. Yes my tires are inflated higher then recommended.. but it doesnt effect the drivability of my car. Tire wear.. why cares there MY tires.. My breaks are going to last a hell of a lot longer and wond become over heated from gassing it up to stop light after stop light.. as for tail gating trucks.. a standard 3 seconds is more than close enough to pick up the draft of a big truck..

I have never been in a accident and have been driving motor vehicles since I was 12..

AAA sit on it and spin

[trikkonceptz]

Well I will have my proof on un-evenly worn tires in about 50K miles I guess....

Prior to Hypermiling I had a set of tires on my vibe that didn't even last 12K inflated to 32psi, I replaced them with the exact same tire/brand/size and have had them inflated to 50psi since day one .... 20K miles later, they still look new and the car handles and coast incredibly well.

So already, I have proven AAA wrong, how wrong only time will tell.

[Frank Lee]

Looks to me like AAA was right on everything. See, they have to have a cover-your-a$$ mentality, or else face liability when some moron misuses the data they provide or endorse. They cannot endorse anything that smacks of illegality either, and the drafting and coasting and rolling through stops are all illegal. Additionally, it has been my experience that tires do wear unevenly when way overinflated, and it seems the r.r. benefits of overinflation don't keep increasing along with increased pressure. I believe some overinflation is justified and good- up to and maybe even a little over sidewall max- but beyond that it just can't be something to tell the general public to do.

[ttoyoda]

My protege suggusts 32 all around.

That was the maximum cold sidewall pressure limit for the car tires themselves for many, many years. I guess that is why the car makers rarely suggest higher pressure, it is all inertia and history.

[RH77]

Don't forget that a large division of the AAA is their Car Insurance business. Reducing liability looks to be the aim.

Frankly, I don't really care if large organizations or the Press disagrees with the practices. It's odd -- I don't see any hard data of accidents caused by these practices.

I think people will still do what they want -- and if that means investigating into hypermiling, people will do it.

Even if folks used the MINIMAL techniques suggested (that are all perfectly legal), then they would likely boost their FE to a noticeable degree.

More sensationalism, if you ask me.

[LostCause]

Originally Posted by dcb

So what is their position on driving while using a cell phone?

I think the argument against cell phones is poorly thought out.

I've heard people argue that our upcoming "hands free" law needs to be expanded to "cellphone free." Keeping your hands on the steering wheel makes sense. Keeping people from having telephone conversations is ridiculous.

- LostCause