100+ hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics

[hackish]

I think it's nice that some people have posted ABA results which do move toward a bit more of a scientific approach. That in itself is still quite susceptable to confirmation bias and given that driving style has a very significant impact on fuel consumption it is still far from being scientifically sound. My 5 gas analyzer is over $5k, dyno time costs me $100/hr, I get it not everyone has the equipment or coin to research all their ideas.

You do make a good point that this is a shelf full of stuff people can pick and choose from but few people have a highly indepth background in aerodynamics, vehicle safety, engine management to make an informed decision about the "tricks" posted here.

In theory some of these things are good ideas, poulsen's hybrid idea for example but what does 38lbs of junk attached to your wheels do to the suspension components? Is it safe? Will it cause premature failure of your wheel bearings? Does it have a safe failure mode? What happens if one side's regen fails? Adding that unsprung weight also has a significant impact on the handling.

This is an enthusiasts site, I get that, but it is very important that some of these mods be heavily researched and discussed before adoption or promotion as a good idea. Tailcones- what do they do in a collision? Are you going to lose your duct taped parts on the highway? Is your magical engine cutoff switch or alternator cut or whatever the eco-mod of the week going to catch your car on fire? Short out and burn you? What happens to 200lbs of lead acid batteries in the trunk should you be involved in a crash? Shutting your car off to roll down a hill, does everyone who read that tip know what happens to your braking system once the brake booster is empty?

I'm not against car mods - I do that every day for a living. I do have a bit of a problem with statements and advice given out that may not be well researched, tested or safe to do or try. Maybe in this section it would be worthwhile to weed through all the items, have some technical discussions and build an endorsed list of hypermiling tricks or mods.

[pletby]

Originally Posted by hackish

I'm not against car mods - I do that every day for a living. I do have a bit of a problem with statements and advice given out that may not be well researched, tested or safe to do or try. Maybe in this section it would be worthwhile to weed through all the items, have some technical discussions and build an endorsed list of hypermiling tricks or mods.

I have a better idea. A big disclaimer. I think we already have one too btw. Use any of these methods at your own risk. Don't be dumb. Research something before you apply it. Then practice it away from traffic until proficient. Unless I live in the hills my brake booster has more charge than I'll ever need. You may be different. You use your brakes???

Actually 'Don't be dumb.' kinda sums it all up.

I'd almost rather warning labels weren't required on most things. Natural selection would weed out the bad genetics and we'd become smarter as a species.

Oops, going on a rant almost there...heck almost mean like.

[FatCat0]

Originally Posted by hackish

I think it's nice that some people have posted ABA results which do move toward a bit more of a scientific approach. That in itself is still quite susceptable to confirmation bias and given that driving style has a very significant impact on fuel consumption it is still far from being scientifically sound. My 5 gas analyzer is over $5k, dyno time costs me $100/hr, I get it not everyone has the equipment or coin to research all their ideas.

You do make a good point that this is a shelf full of stuff people can pick and choose from but few people have a highly indepth background in aerodynamics, vehicle safety, engine management to make an informed decision about the "tricks" posted here.

In theory some of these things are good ideas, poulsen's hybrid idea for example but what does 38lbs of junk attached to your wheels do to the suspension components? Is it safe? Will it cause premature failure of your wheel bearings? Does it have a safe failure mode? What happens if one side's regen fails? Adding that unsprung weight also has a significant impact on the handling.

This is an enthusiasts site, I get that, but it is very important that some of these mods be heavily researched and discussed before adoption or promotion as a good idea. Tailcones- what do they do in a collision? Are you going to lose your duct taped parts on the highway? Is your magical engine cutoff switch or alternator cut or whatever the eco-mod of the week going to catch your car on fire? Short out and burn you? What happens to 200lbs of lead acid batteries in the trunk should you be involved in a crash? Shutting your car off to roll down a hill, does everyone who read that tip know what happens to your braking system once the brake booster is empty?

I'm not against car mods - I do that every day for a living. I do have a bit of a problem with statements and advice given out that may not be well researched, tested or safe to do or try. Maybe in this section it would be worthwhile to weed through all the items, have some technical discussions and build an endorsed list of hypermiling tricks or mods.

I'd rather PM this but I can't quite yet (I'm very new around these parts): Where could I find the thread of yours on P&G?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by neilzero

Tango Charlie says "never downshift" I rarely try down shifting as my attempts are jerky and thus hard on the clutch and other parts. Do vehicles use more fuel down shifting than idling in neutral?

Downshifting is used to help engine braking, appears to use less fuel as the fuel flow is cut off.
Yet it's essentially a braking technique, and braking wastes fuel unless you're powered by gravity and need to check your speed.


Coasting in idle beats engine braking.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by hackish

Sadly I get pissed off every time I read this site.

There's no obligation to do so.

Seriously, listen to slower music?

Errr ...
The beneficial effect of smoothing music has been proven in case studies even before the internet went mainstream.

I wish there was funding available to actually research some of these things so definitive scientific results could be presented.

That'd be great, even better if it was done really independently.

[hackish]

Originally Posted by euromodder

There's no obligation to do so.

There is also no obligation to further research in which of the posted methods are false and which are trading off tons of NOX/CO/HC polution for a litre or two of fuel.

Originally Posted by euromodder

The beneficial effect of smoothing music has been proven in case studies even before the internet went mainstream.

That'd be great, even better if it was done really independently.

Can you link to any published material that relates music to fuel consumption among hypermilers?

Also, given the complexity of engine management systems, techniques that worked on 15 year old cars may not continue to work on modern ones. The OEMs do all sorts of neat things like additional EGR during cruise control, throttle smoothing (for gas pedal stabbers) and DBW throttle control for rundown.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by hackish

There is also no obligation to further research in which of the posted methods are false and which are trading off tons of NOX/CO/HC polution for a litre or two of fuel.

Wow. You can produce tons of something from a liter or two of fuel? Let us know how you're doing that- it's probably the most efficient use of gasoline there is. Do us a favor and link to some actual research on that, will you?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by hackish

There is also no obligation to further research in which of the posted methods are false and which are trading off tons of NOX/CO/HC polution for a litre or two of fuel.

You've got a point that some techniques may cause more other pollutants to be formed.

But let's not forget that car manufacturers are also introducing technical measures that now appear to have worse effects than what they were trying to prevent with them.

The diesel particulate filter being an excellent case in point.
Sure there's less soot out the exhaust - to the point of it currently being undetectable at the yearly technical and emissions test - but it's too bad that what does come out unseen, is more harmful than those huge flakes of soot.
At the same time, the thing is costing more fuel .

Can you link to any published material that relates music to fuel consumption among hypermilers?

Not among hypermilers, but there's been a fair bit of research on the subject.

effect music driving - Google Search

Also, given the complexity of engine management systems, techniques that worked on 15 year old cars may not continue to work on modern ones.

They'd better work though, and they'd better look carefully at the techniques being used, as a lot of these techniques are pretty helpful to extending the range of an electric car.

Any of the hypermilers on here will likely get a lot more miles out of say a Volt or a Leaf.

It'd be a shame to see them develop cars that can't take more efficient driving styles.

[hackish]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Wow. You can produce tons of something from a liter or two of fuel? Let us know how you're doing that- it's probably the most efficient use of gasoline there is. Do us a favor and link to some actual research on that, will you?

Given the people here publishing results about P&G it is sure to be producing tons of extra pollutants. The research I've done thus far is not peer reviewed nor published and I haven't had a lot of time to complete it.

I've been running a ferret 5 gas analyzer on the tailpipe and using its onboard datalogging to record the gas output of a constant cruise versus shutting the engine off for 25 seconds then bump starting it for a moderate acceleration back to 120kph.

It still needs more test data and different vehicles to arrive at a statistically significant result. Thus far summing the sample interval (5 seconds I think) the output of HC/NOX and COX gasses were in the neighbourhood of 5-6x that of a steady cruise the entire time.

We don't have e-tests in Quebec but the vehicle is in decent running shape, good compression/leakdown with a proper factory cat installed.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by hackish

I've been running a ferret 5 gas analyzer on the tailpipe

Thus far summing the sample interval (5 seconds I think) the output of HC/NOX and COX gasses were in the neighbourhood of 5-6x that of a steady cruise the entire time.

A 0.2 Hz sample rate seems low , though it's likely giving a good indication of where things are going.

Could you increase the sample rate ?
This is interesting stuff - and there are worse pollutants out there than CO2 / fuel used.


How old is your test car ?
[1993]
This may be a case where the ECUs on newer cars might do better than the old ones to keep pollutants down at start-up and during acceleration.

Any chance of testing it on a new(ish) car ?