I came to this site about three months ago and have learned a lot about on how to squeeze a few more MPG out of my 95 Taurus SHO. I thought I had a pretty good handle on the basics, but learned that I knew nothing until coming here.
I have ran thru a number of tanks using different techniques and recording the results and have came up with some interesting stuff. Not saying that everyone will get the same results but for me, it has been pretty eye opening.
Let me say that my daily "commute" is 5.47 miles, with an average of 12 stop lights. One way being a number of right turns where I don't have to stop and wait. The speed limit is about 40 most of it. I drive around town a little, same sort of trips, five miles or so each.
While doing some pretty serious hypermiling, coasting in neutral, strategic parking, no warm up, seriously paying attention planning out up coming sig lights like a friggin Eagle hunting mice.
Going thru a few tanks I averaged 19.8 MPG and 275 miles to the tank.
While practicing all the same techniques minus the super serious stuff like neutral coasting and driving like an Eagle relaxing a little more I still acheaved 19.6 or so with the same 275 miles per tank so effectively the same mph. Pretty interesting.
I also drove with the average driver on the road techniques of accelerating to stop lights, trying to beat them, driving like I used to and like most people do over the speed limit. With these techniques I got about 15.5 MPG and 255 miles to my tank.
So right off the bat I gained
FOUR miles to the gallon simply not driving like a nut! And this wasn't driving like a total a-hole, that would even show a bigger difference. But simply driving like your average driver, amazing. So basically hypermiling I drive to work for four days costing me nothing compared to not hypermiling.
The most amazing findings is the travel time. While driving a co-worker somewhere and having him beaching at me because I was driving slow I couldn't convince him that I am not taking longer to get there. Others are speeding only to stop at stop lights. I have always said "You can't drive faster than traffic" and "You can't drive faster than stop lights".
Sooooo, I did a time test on my commute to work. I simply recorded the time that was on the clock in the car as I drove off from my home to drive to work to stopping in the parking place once I got there, then back driving home the same thing. I did it this for the tank of gas hypermiling and then driving "normal". This would be jack rabbit starts, driving over the speed limit and trying to beat as many stop lights as I can.
I averaged it out and driving "Normal" saved me 12 second.
Yep, 13.4 minutes as opposed to 13.6 hypermiling. We are talking driving under the speedlimit and leaving a LOT of room between me and the car ahead of me to short break and stuff like that so I can keep the car rolling at stop lights. It is a very slow off the line start then coasting (in gear) usually from one light (green) to the next (anticipating or seeing red). That 12 seconds cost me 4MPG!
It is totally calmed me! I will be in a big hurry I don't even sweat it, I just take it easy and drive at or below the speed limit knowing I have no control over when I get there.
Check it out, if you have a regular route, time yourself and see so you are ready when someone gives you a hard time. I laugh at the fools who drive around me hauling ars to sit beside me at the next light.
Brian
