100+ hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics

[davelobi]

Originally Posted by topcat

How odd. I find quite the opposite. I just came here to recommend taking the flattest route, particularly routes which follow rivers. Apart from anything else, hilly routes are longer by 1/cos(theta).

My 2 cents on these statements..
1) Speaking of longer, I've never seen a straight river. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
2) Hills are fun, period. If you are not holding up traffic you can eoc all the way up a hill even if only crawling speed by the time you reach the crest. Picking up speed on the way back down with engine still off feels really good. Major free. Weeeee. Don't forget to attempt to high five your annoyed passenger as you creep over the crest of the hill and shout "we made it!" Resist the "told you so" urge and cheer them up despite hearing 4 or 5 "we are never going to make it" comments.

[RedDevil]

3) the higher you get, the thinner the air, the lower the air resistance and pumping losses in the engine on partial load...
4) the air is fresher and the views are better, and so is the singing: Yodela... nevermind

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by davelobi

Resist the "told you so" urge and cheer them up despite hearing 4 or 5 "we are never going to make it" comments.

Those comments will probably return later on when coasting downhill

[euromodder]

Going through the list once more, I haven't seen something like

"Buy the most efficient vehicle that fits your real needs"

in this list, nor among the 65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com either.

Yet it's the base of it all .

[PaleMelanesian]

^ and the two Honda Fit drivers say Thanks.

[Joggernot]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

Try using a 1-2" opening on both the driver's window and the right rear. Minimal aero drag, but lots of airflow through the car. If you need more, go to 4" driver and 2" on each rear window. That's how I handle the Texas summer with no AC, so I can assure you that it works.

I, too, am in Texas and that is how I run. This works very well for the driver. If I have a passenger, I'll sometime use the passenger front and driver rear to better cool the passenger.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

^ and the two Honda Fit drivers say Thanks.

For years, I got the best car I could afford, which was never a very good one. When I bought the Subaru, I was in a position to buy what I wanted- gobs of power, and it can also carry stuff.

After a few years here and with plenty of time to think it over, I got exactly the car I needed. What I wanted was either a Mirage or a Panamera, but for different reasons neither was going to work for me.

[Retardosaurus]

Hi Guys! My first post
Regarding driving in hills. #41 & #56

When you are driving in hills with constant throttle or target driving on the highway, you are loosing slowly loosing speed uphill.
When you have slowed down to some point, like 2400 rpm in top gear, wouldnt it make sense to employ "a pulse" with 75% throttle up 3000rpm, to produce the needed potential energy in an effiecient manner (BSFC) while avoiding slowing down too much and disturbing traffic?

Why should target driving in hills should be more efficient, than employing a pulse in a timely manner? Less drag with lower speed?

[Fat Charlie]

Target driving for load bleeds speed off, but hopefully not too much- then you need to throw in a pulse.

I don't see much of a payoff from doing P&G on most hills. I just slowly bleed off speed until I get to where I shouldn't go any slower, then hit the cruise for the rest of the hill.

[UnicycleDan]

Looking at #99) Drive the posted speed, is this applicable at all speeds, or only highway speeds? I feel comfortable driving within 5mph above or below the speed limit. Let me clarify with an example: say 55mph is the max efficiency speed for my car. I've been driving 5mph over the speed limit until the limit reaches 55, then 5mph below the limit above this. In light of some of the other suggestions in the Hypermiling tips does it make more sense to pay attention more to the rpm and gear shifts?

Another example to see if I understand: speed limit 35mph. If my car shifts gears between 35 and 40, it's better to drive at 40 in the higher gear, lower rpm. If there is no gear shift between 35 and 40, drive at 35mph. To take it further, if there's no gear shift between 35 and 40 and the previous shift threshold was around 30mph, drive at 30 in the lowest rpm for the gear (if traffic safely allows for 5mph under). Is this thinking correct?