100+ hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics

[pascha]

First, I do some of the things on the list already, but I learned several new tricks to employ. #42 really made me think about my cruise control use. I thought that the cruise control was automatically better than foot driving. I hadn't really considered the hills! Great compilation! I might print it out and keep it in the car.

My dad used to "drive straight" He would pick a point in the distance then drive to it. Kept down the amount of wandering in his lane he did. Cut down the mileage from the wandering too.

This reminds of something I do when driving on the Interstate. I often drive a 100 mile Interstate (I26 in SC) run between where I live and Columbia. It is the most boring stretch of pine trees in the world, I think! Anyway, lots of time to think and optimize mileage.

What I call "Straight Driving" is a little different and won't necessarily increase MPG. It will reduce the miles, time on the road and gasoline burned somewhat. How much depends on how curvy the road is. The Interstate is the ideal practice point for this, because it is always =>2 lanes and the curves are burmed, so curves won't be too hard on you. Safety, of course, comes first and you shouldn't 'cut' anyone off or hold up traffic.

What I do is attempt to straighten the curves out by taking the inside lane of curves. This requires some extra lane changes, so be careful and it is a lot easier when there aren't many cars on the road. If you hug the inside of the curve, you are reducing the distance you have to drive, much like the 'racing line' approach to turns.

[pascha]

Originally Posted by SpartyBrutus

Actually, gliding to a parking spot that gets you to (1) face out, (2) near the exit and/or (3) parked at higher elevation is often worth it.....

Indeed, I park as close the the entrance/exit as possible and walk to the store. I always ask why people love parking close to the store. What are you going to do when you get inside? Walk around!

Heck, when I park in my driveway (why isn't it called a parkway?) I pull in as little as possible, so I have less distance to pull out. 5 feet times 2 times 365 days is 3,650 feet or .7 MILES!

[Taco Bowl]

I know something important that you can add to the list.

Maintenance
Use synthetic oil. Be sure to change ur filters and oil when its due. Seafoaming the engine every now and then will probably help too.

If your oil and filters are dirty then the engine is more stressed. Keeping everything clean will allow the engine to perform more efficiently.

[Lazarus]

Do you have any data that proves synthetic oil increase FE. I know it extends the interval but I have not seen data using motor oils of equal weights that synthetic oil gives an increase in normal cars gas mileage.

[Taco Bowl]

I dont have any official sources. But I got a slight increase in mileage when i switched to synthetics. I know that maintenance will help mpg since it'll keep ur engine at the top of its game.

[NoCO2]

Great list, after reading it, though I knew most of it already, I did pick up a few more details on some tricks I was less familiar with. So far, I've improved 2mpg just by spending 5 minutes reading the tips. The cyclist thing really brought the idea home for me.

[Mike]

The following message was sent to you via the EcoModder.com Contact Us form by Ryan
Martinez.
--------------------------------

Re: Your tips.
I was reading some of your tips, and have some feedback on them.
1. Some of them are untrue.
2. Some of them are very unsafe
3. Some of them will cause your car to break down early (I'm a professional mechanic.)

As for the untrue ones. Driving with your lights on does not decrease your fuel
efficiency. On any vehicle the alternator is turning at the same relative speed as
the vehicle's engine. That means that it's going to continue charging the battery
and shunting the excess voltage back into the alternator. Only when you're using a
HECK OF A LOT of power is it going to start using battery voltage to power it all.
And by a heck of a lot I mean neons, a sound system, and a multi-screen DVD display
in the car all running at the same time.
Also, when a vehicle is warm it does have greater efficiency in fuel usage, true,
but at the same time, the warmer the tires, the more they stick, causing a decrease
in mileage. To be honest, Cold Air Intake systems usually increase mileage because
of the cold air, the warmer the air the more of it has to pass through to get the
same effect as a smaller amount of cold air, and the amount of fuel injected depends
on the amount of air passing through. So down to about 30 degrees or so it's
actually more efficient to drive in the cold than the warm.
You also seem to like turning the engine off. While that does save gas to coast it
also takes an approximate fuel/air mixture of 8:1 for a cold engine and a mixture of
10:1 for a warm engine, compared with pedal to the metal acceleration of 12:1 ratio
and optimum cruising ratio of 16.7:1.

As for unsafe ones, turning off the engine is the most obvious one here. It kills
the brake lights, kills power steering (not many vehicles without it now), kills
power brakes, takes out any warning lights/indicators, and wears out your drivetrain
faster because oil is not circulating as designed.
As for killing the engine but leaving the key on. Your power steering and brakes
are still gone, plus that will kill your sparking system. If the vehicle had points
it'd be fine, but most have pulser coils now, and if they're powered but not being
used (as in engine off key on) it kills them fast.

Engine troubles also abound with putting the transmission in park after your key is
turned off. The engines now a days are almost exclusively fuel injected. That
means they have different fuel settings for different statuses/gears/etc. A vehicle
needs to be able to adjust for that, hence why the idle temporarily jumps when you
put it in park or neutral. It also prepares the electronics to be shut off.

Neutral while stopping. It may seem like a good idea, but it's doing the exact
opposite of what you want it to. If you look at your tachometer while you're idling
at a stop sign in drive it drops down to about 800 RPM on average. That's lower
than the average of 1000-1200 RPM for neutral. It also wears out your transmission
faster, instead of lasting 150K miles it might last 80 or 100K.

Other than the ones I pointed out I agree with and utilize most of those in my daily
driving. I drive a 1997 Toyota Camry that's completely stock with over 120K miles
on it and get an average of 20 MPG in city and 25-28 highway.

Also, if you have any responses or would like to refute my claims, please feel free
to contact me, I'm always open to debate and learning. And who knows, I may be
wrong on something and too thick to think about it! Have a great day!
Ryan
---
Go nuts guys...

[RH77]

Preface: I'm also a "Mechanic" (self-certified).

Originally Posted by Mike

Driving with your lights on does not decrease your fuel
efficiency. On any vehicle the alternator is turning at the same relative speed as
the vehicle's engine. That means that it's going to continue charging the battery
and shunting the excess voltage back into the alternator.

What about the voltage regulator? I drive with my lights on all the time for safety reasons. For most of your responses, they need to be backed up by fuel-flow rates. This has already been done here and through other sites.

the warmer the tires, the more they stick, causing a decrease
in mileage.

Source? In fact this is the opposite. Some research will show otherwise.

To be honest, Cold Air Intake systems usually increase mileage because
of the cold air, the warmer the air the more of it has to pass through to get the
same effect as a smaller amount of cold air, and the amount of fuel injected depends
on the amount of air passing through. So down to about 30 degrees or so it's
actually more efficient to drive in the cold than the warm.

My shop manual (and collected data) show otherwise. So is the cold air specific to Edsels, Hondas, or Jaguars -- or ALL cars. Source?

You also seem to like turning the engine off.

Yup.

While that does save gas to coast it
also takes an approximate fuel/air mixture of 8:1 for a cold engine and a mixture of
10:1 for a warm engine, compared with pedal to the metal acceleration of 12:1 ratio
and optimum cruising ratio of 16.7:1.

This ratio lasts for how long? When does the idle consumption equal the restart consumption? You'll be surprised to find out.

the brake lights

I nearly rest my case, your honor.

faster because oil is not circulating as designed.

We don't coast in gear...

The rest requires a healthy search of real data instead of what appears to be assumptions.

RH77

[Mike]

I invited him to come and join us... hopefully he does!

[dremd]

--------------------------------

Originally Posted by Mike

Re: Your tips.
I was reading some of your tips, and have some feedback on them.
1. Some of them are untrue.
2. Some of them are very unsafe
3. Some of them will cause your car to break down early (I'm a professional mechanic.)

As for the untrue ones. Driving with your lights on does not decrease your fuel
efficiency. On any vehicle the alternator is turning at the same relative speed as
the vehicle's engine. That means that it's going to continue charging the battery
and shunting the excess voltage back into the alternator. Only when you're using a
HECK OF A LOT of power is it going to start using battery voltage to power it all.

Not true, the field circuit weakens the field (am I saying that correctly?) reducing ouput and therefore load. If it were true, then why would some race cars install devices to weaken the field when at WOT?

Originally Posted by Mike

And by a heck of a lot I mean neons, a sound system, and a multi-screen DVD display
in the car all running at the same time.

I noticed that this is false before I was in to Fuel economy, my Supra went for 17.5~18 down to 16.5~17 When I used my car computer + 15" display + 2000 watt stereo + Neon + dual power seats + . . . .. (over 100 amps continuous draw when maxed draining from a 90 amp alternator, which didn't last long) I tried a tank with everything switched off and fuel economy returned to normal, from then on I used electrical accessories when needed.

Originally Posted by Mike

Also, when a vehicle is warm it does have greater efficiency in fuel usage, true,
but at the same time, the warmer the tires, the more they stick, causing a decrease
in mileage.

Well this is partially true, however tires don't get very hot from driving efficiently. And you are ignoring hot grease, hot transmission fluid, hot transfer case fluid. I can tell that my car is significantly easier to push (by hand in my driveway) when hot than when cold, couple that with a cold / less efficient engine and you have significantly worse fuel economy (30% in my case; your mileage will vary)

Originally Posted by Mike

To be honest, Cold Air Intake systems usually increase mileage because
of the cold air, the warmer the air the more of it has to pass through to get the
same effect as a smaller amount of cold air, and the amount of fuel injected depends
on the amount of air passing through. So down to about 30 degrees or so it's
actually more efficient to drive in the cold than the warm.

Someone else will reply who knows more about this subject, but in general the idea is to decease the effective engine size, thereby running it at a higher throttle which is typically more efficient, at very least, it warms the engine up faster.

Originally Posted by Mike

You also seem to like turning the engine off. While that does save gas to coast it
also takes an approximate fuel/air mixture of 8:1 for a cold engine and a mixture of
10:1 for a warm engine, compared with pedal to the metal acceleration of 12:1 ratio
and optimum cruising ratio of 16.7:1.

My Wideband make sit look like my supra starts lean . . . 15~16 to 1 ish. Diesel doesn't have an O2 sensor, so I can't comment.
You are also contradicting yourself about colder engines being more efficient

Originally Posted by Mike

As for unsafe ones, turning off the engine is the most obvious one here. It kills

Originally Posted by Mike

the brake lights,

False, go outside get someone to put their foot on the brake pedal (with the key in their pocket) and look at the brake lights, in every vehicle I have ever seen they have stayed on

Originally Posted by Mike

kills power steering (not many vehicles without it now),

True! This is where someone needs to know their vehicle, some drive fine without power steering, some do not, some situations are safer with it, some don't matter.

Originally Posted by Mike

kills power brakes,

False, I get at least 3 full stops without adding vacuum to the booster (tested in mountains) and you will need to start the engine once you are stopped, replenishing your vacuum reservoir.

Originally Posted by Mike

takes out any warning lights/indicators,

Mixed. On some cars the indicators will stop, this is an issue if turning. I have modified mine to always work. As far as warning lights they will work at all times.

Originally Posted by Mike

and wears out your drivetrain
faster because oil is not circulating as designed.

Debatable, if you are leaving the engine off for several minutes there is some oil drain back, but assuming that your anti-drain back valve is functional (inside most oil filters) then it will be only a few drops. However all those hours that your engine is not idling, it is also not wearing at all.

Originally Posted by Mike

As for killing the engine but leaving the key on. Your power steering and brakes
are still gone, plus that will kill your sparking system.

False on modern engines; True for points; (When was the last time you saw a car with points? my 66 bus was swapped to electronic as soon as I burnt the coil up leaving the key on to run the stereo), which may (if the engine stoped in the wrong spot continue charging the coil, and overheat it (ask me how I know).

Originally Posted by Mike

If the vehicle had points it'd be fine, but most have pulser coils now, and if they're powered but not being
used (as in engine off key on) it kills them fast.

Absolutely False, see above

Originally Posted by Mike

Engine troubles also abound with putting the transmission in park after your key is
turned off. The engines now a days are almost exclusively fuel injected. That
means they have different fuel settings for different statuses/gears/etc. A vehicle
needs to be able to adjust for that, hence why the idle temporarily jumps when you
put it in park or neutral. It also prepares the electronics to be shut off.

Neutral while stopping. It may seem like a good idea, but it's doing the exact
opposite of what you want it to.

Umm, I do not know if I am following you, or not, but I believe you are claiming that the ECU will be confused by early shut down, not know what gear you are in and perform poorly? I don't have iny information other than that I tried to do odd things with rental cars shifters, and they all reacted in the best way I could think of. . . .

Originally Posted by Mike

If you look at your tachometer while you're idling
at a stop sign in drive it drops down to about 800 RPM on average. That's lower
than the average of 1000-1200 RPM for neutral.

If your car behaves that way, I would suspect either a faulty Throttle Position Sensor, or sticky Idle air Control valve. Some older cars will take a second to "adjust to load" but most newer cars do it so quickly that the engine does not rev/ accelerate a noticeable amount.

Originally Posted by Mike

It also wears out your transmission
faster, instead of lasting 150K miles it might last 80 or 100K.

Can you provide any information about this? there are additional shifts, but they are low load, and in general you will be reducing load on the transmission, therefore if I had to guess I would think that the transmission would last as long or longer.

Originally Posted by Mike

Other than the ones I pointed out I agree with and utilize most of those in my daily
driving. I drive a 1997 Toyota Camry that's completely stock with over 120K miles
on it and get an average of 20 MPG in city and 25-28 highway.

A good fried of mine has a 97 camry V6 auto not a bad car IMHO, that's about the mileage she gets.

Originally Posted by Mike

Also, if you have any responses or would like to refute my claims, please feel free
to contact me, I'm always open to debate and learning. And who knows, I may be
wrong on something and too thick to think about it! Have a great day!
Ryan

Thank you for the invite, I'll say that some of the things on the list are way out on left field, I'd use them in competition, but in daily driving, there are probably only 75 or so I use.