New challenge: No tach or speedo
 

dosimatr's thread got me thinking a bit.

I'm going to fill up tomorrow (it's premature - I still have over 1/2 tank) in order to try a new challenge. I'm going to try to hypermile without ANY reliance on my speedo or tach. I may even put a piece of paper over both gauges so that I have no choice but to ignore them entirely.

My goal is to improve the precision of my ear to engine connection. Sure, I can do that already, but not with precision.

Additionally, I figure this will do two other things: make commuting more relaxing, and put my focus back on creating bigger buffers as opposed to opting for higher gears prematurely (and then braking).

Lately, I've been disappointed as I try to get to higher gears before traffic is ready. It's a poor habit. I figure that if I can take the "perfect is the enemy of the good" (that's Voltaire, I think) philosophy and apply it to hypermiling, I'll perform better in traffic and be a better driver overall.

This is my challenge. My goal is to meet or exceed 23.5 mpg in this manner. If any other EM'ers are interested, you are welcome to give this challenge a shot. I'll post back in a few weeks with single tank results.

The problem with adjusting to the cars around you is that those cars are going too fast, more often than not.

The ear doctor has a precise gizmo which he will be more than happy to help you with:p
http://www.spicepuppy.com/2007/07/cop_radar.gif

Hehe, "No officer, I'm not sure how fast I was going exactly...I'm not allowed to look at my gauges this week."

The ironic part is that if PSL laws actually were extremely rigidly enforced (like with 2 mph), there would probably be more distraction related accidents until technology made precision easier to monitor.

Tried the challenge today. I peeked at my speedometer 9 times in 20 miles, but I'm actually motivated to improve. I felt better behind the wheel, and definitely looked down a ton less. Plus, my buffer zones were more consistent.

Kool little challenge...makes the monotonous and slow driving kinda fun making little goals and challenges. I am a gear head at heart and within a couple weeks of owning a vehicle can figure it out by sound and vibration etc. I rarely ever have to look at the tach anymore and can usually judge speed by the way the car feels as well. This "fine tuned" ability can help in your driving...but it can also drive you NUTS. Every little rattle, bump, hangup, grind or wobble that I can feel or hear in the pedals, shifter or wheel thats not "normal" drive me insane LOL. I will hunt and hunt until I cant find anything else it could be then drive my other mechanic buddies nuts askin em what it might be. Its got its pros and cons, but I could possibly see it work with regards to efficiency!!! Keep us updated and dont worry bout the cops, if you find yourself alone, maybe take a peak at the speedo just to make sure and keep it off limits otherwise. In traffic, like said above...just blend in and hang with the pack!
Matt

PR for in-town driving: 24.77 mpg.

I broke my rule a few times, but was overall fairly obedient. I rarely peeked at the speedo for cruising speeds, but did look on a few other occasions. Overall, this is an area with room for improvement, but this tank was a game changer.

I want to qualify the mpg PR with a bunch of noise variables. Previous tanks succumbed to lower tire pressure, which I fixed this time around. Previous fill-up was unusually low, so I think that this one may have gotten a slight artificial boost. Overall, I still think this was an improvement.

Maybe by not peeking at the speedo so much, it focused my attention on more important aspects of anticipatory driving, and got me out of the 'stay in top gear' frame of mind and more into the 'maintain momentum' state of mind. But this is all too vague. I'll keep playing and see if there is a trend.

Either way, decreased speedometer precision did not adversely affect my mileage, at least for this tank, which was my main concern. I suppose for someone just learning stick, who was really unsure of shift points and engine speed, the results might be different.

Complacency is the devil's play place. I tend to ignore the tach completely and rely on my instincts and training to drive. I got to the point where I could rev match a down shift perfectly in my old Nissan without any gauge influence.

Congrats on the PR. I had an 05 Colorado Xtreme regular cab with the 2.8/auto and I squeaked out a 30mpg average over a 7 mile in town trip, all under 35mph.

Once I get a few more posts I will post up some pictures of my SGII PR.