Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
... I agree completely that the hypermiling techniques for city driving require reasonably light traffic to work well...
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Excellent! on the mods to the car, and to the "nut behind the wheel". Those are generally the most challenging ones!
Anyway, I've found at in traffic, my mpg can actually go up if I really take advantage of the situation. If you have a standard tranny, that is. Kill the engine and coast at every opportunity, and there will be many. Often you won't have to come to a complete stop, so bump starting it will save wear + tear on the battery and starter. If you do need the starter, not to worry, it takes very little effort to start fully warmed up small engines like ours.
By the way, I've found bump-starting is best in 4th or 5th gear, regardless of speed - just a quick up-down on the clutch to spin the engine a bit, and it will catch fully, AFTER you put the clutch down again. Once it's running again, put it in whatever gear is appropriate. A voltmeter is a good idea, because if your lights or fan etc. are running but the alternator is not (engine off coast), you can lose battery voltage.