Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Sharing a car with a non-hypermiling spouse

#SaveTheManuals · 10-04-2019, 12:08 PM

I was wondering how other hypermilers deal with what must be a pretty common situation: obsessively hypermiling only to have all your hard-earned tank/lifetime MPG average diminished by a non-hypermiling spouse or other driver in the household.

Now that we bought our first new car in 15 years, I'm having fun trying to keep the lifetime MPG (e.g., as recorded in the car's computer and also the Garage section here) as high as possible. That's hard to do when my wife isn't nearly as invested in hypermiling as I am. She does OK when she's concentrating on it, but it's not a big priority for her. The MPG predictably dips when she's focused on other things while driving.

Since she'll probably be putting about half the miles on the car, I know that the lifetime MPG is going to end up roughly halfway between "my" MPG of maybe 41, and whatever my wife gets (probably mid-30s). Similarly, every tank is going to be an exercise of me trying to slowly raise the average from wherever my wife left it during her last trip, up toward (but never reaching) 41 MPG.

I think the only way to be at peace with the situation -- short of my wife unexpectedly deciding she wants to be a hypermiler -- is trying to ignore the tank/lifetime average and just focus on my own per-trip MPG. Luckily the car's computer seems pretty accurate so far, maybe 1-2% optimistic, so it should be easy enough to do. Unfortunately the only way to maintain a history of my trip-MPGs is to write it down after each trip. :/

Anyone (everyone?) else in the same boat? I'm really just looking for commiseration, though any mental or practical hacks to deal with it are welcome as well.

10-04-2019, 12:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
#SaveTheManuals EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Northeast Posts: 27 ATOYOTA - '20 Toyota Corolla SE 90 day: 37.91 mpg (US) Thanks: 8 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Sharing a car with a non-hypermiling spouse I was wondering how other hypermilers deal with what must be a pretty common situation: obsessively hypermiling only to have all your hard-earned tank/lifetime MPG average diminished by a non-hypermiling spouse or other driver in the household. Now that we bought our first new car in 15 years, I'm having fun trying to keep the lifetime MPG (e.g., as recorded in the car's computer and also the Garage section here) as high as possible. That's hard to do when my wife isn't nearly as invested in hypermiling as I am. She does OK when she's concentrating on it, but it's not a big priority for her. The MPG predictably dips when she's focused on other things while driving. Since she'll probably be putting about half the miles on the car, I know that the lifetime MPG is going to end up roughly halfway between "my" MPG of maybe 41, and whatever my wife gets (probably mid-30s). Similarly, every tank is going to be an exercise of me trying to slowly raise the average from wherever my wife left it during her last trip, up toward (but never reaching) 41 MPG. I think the only way to be at peace with the situation -- short of my wife unexpectedly deciding she wants to be a hypermiler -- is trying to ignore the tank/lifetime average and just focus on my own per-trip MPG. Luckily the car's computer seems pretty accurate so far, maybe 1-2% optimistic, so it should be easy enough to do. Unfortunately the only way to maintain a history of my trip-MPGs is to write it down after each trip. :/ Anyone (everyone?) else in the same boat? I'm really just looking for commiseration, though any mental or practical hacks to deal with it are welcome as well.