Hugely dissapointed with hypermiling results

[sn0w3n]

Ok, so my car is an 02 saturn sl2 auto. I dive with a permit so my grandmother also drives the car. Although she isn't an ecomodder or a hypermiler she is preety conservative with her driving. We also do only city driving sadly however, after calculating this weeks mileage i got BELOW EPA(25 mpg city) with (125 miles on 5.12 gallons of gas) This yields 24.4 mpg. So far what I've been doing: coasting down hills (engine on in gear), not revving up past 2000 rpm when possible when accelerating, only turning the ac on when other passengers say so ( cuts ac usage by 1/3 ), avoiding excess idling whenever possible, tricking the transmission to go into fourth at 35 (allows me to go 35 at 1500 rpm) and once in a while taking a slow parking lot hill in neutral. Also note I am not allowed to modify the car aerodynamically and for comfort/ apparant safety reason I am not allowed to put the tire pressure above 35 PSI. WHAT DO I DO???!!!

[Frank Lee]

Maybe it's ready for a tune-up.

[sn0w3n]

hmm possibly but we already had it at the mechanics tiwce this month

[Frank Lee]

Does the parking brake release?

I think you are driving right; I think you should perhaps do somewhat better for fe. Any history of the car's fe?

[basjoos]

Possibly brakes are sticking. After driving it for a few miles at 45mph or higher, stop and feel the temperature of each wheel at its hub to see if one is hotter than the others. Also could jack up the car and spin the wheels by hand with the brakes off to see if one is sticking.

[evolutionmovement]

Could be running rich. If it's only driven in the city, an Italian tune up might not hurt, either, though it sounds like you'd have trouble getting away with that.

[chuckm]

Sometimes conservative driving means driving with one foot on the gas and one on the brake. My mom's driving absolutely drives me crazy: accelerate up to speed, oops, one mph past, hit brakes, repeat. I love her, but I was at risk of whiplash even without getting in a wreck.
That said, depending on how much stop and go you are actually seeing (ie, how much time is spent at stoplights), it can destroy any gains you might see by hypermiling.

[rjacob]

What's an "Italian tune up"?

Hypermiling takes practice. Each car is different. You need to get a feel for what works, and what doesn't. Bummer about not being able to pump up the tires. Have you considered getting a scanguage?

[sn0w3n]

thx guys didn't think of the brake issue as for the engine running rich how could one just you just check that kind of thing. We spent $900 at the mechanics this month so any easy diy info would be helpful.

[sn0w3n]

as for my grandmother she does drive using one foot and she does act pretty much like a regular driver.