Hypermiling Update, or “Is it really worth it?” or, “What is that sucking sound I hear?”
To answer the question, “Is it really worth it?”, I would say yes. I drive a 2005 Ford Escape (non-hybrid). Before I started using some of the hypermiling tactics, I was getting 21 miles per gallon.
Now, after a week of trying to hypermile but not always succeeding, I calculated my mileage at 25 mpg. Ok. Not great, but better.
I wasn’t expecting to get 55 mpg or anything, but after being flipped off, yelled at, and downright insulted by other drivers, I would say yes, but more would have been better if for no other reason to balance out the negatives and the positives.
So all of you drivers that think driving 62 in a 55 mph zone is too slow, I say, “Thanks for being the cop magnet as you zoom past me at 75 or 80.” And, to everyone else slamming the accellerator to go around me and then cutting me off because you think I’m going too slow, “Gee, what is that sucking sound, I hear?” Idiots.
My intention is to keep at it, incorporate additional methods, and try and squeeze some more miles per gallon out of a tank of gas. Squeeze. Hmm. Good word. Kind of like what the oil companies and speculators are doing to all of us.
Squeeze? Oh yeah! Gas out here is now pushing $4.50 at the big corporate stations, and the independent formerly-cheap stations are nearly $5.
Do you have to drive on the Beltway? The craziest drivers I’ve ever seen were on the Beltway (even crazier than the ones in Boston, Tampa, Long Island, or Los Angeles) …
jamesviscosi
June 8, 2008 at 11:37 am
James, thank goodness I don’t have to drive the Beltway (495/395). I travel almost the whole 25 miles (one way) on I-66. And, I agree … they are nuts.
twobarkingdogs
June 8, 2008 at 11:41 am
I CANNOT believe the price of gas! It is officially insane.
canyon cottage
June 10, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I’m glad your efforts are paying off….I get flipped off no matter what speed I’m traveling at..LOL! I hope all is well with you..I’m just now catching up!
Hugs,
Robin
Robin
June 11, 2008 at 1:52 am
My latest calculation has me at 27 mpg.
twobarkingdogs
June 20, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I also am trying to hypermile an Escape (2002)…..I am averaging about 26 mpg highway and town. I haven’t gotten flipped off, but do get passed a lot. I kind of like the slower pace…I have read that one should try and keep it down around 2 rmp or lower for best milage.
sophia
June 27, 2008 at 6:54 am
I’m new to hypermiling. I drive a 2008 Escape, non-hybrid, mostly local miles. I’ve found that I’m less likely to be harassed on the highway if I’m following a truck rather than going it alone. Perhaps other drivers figure “she’s just stuck behind the truck” and don’t take my driving speed as a comment on their speed, which is what ticks them off (to apply a bit of psychology). I want better mileage, but I also want to drive in peace, so I find a truck going the speed I want to go, and hang out behind. Not too close, since I also want to arrive alive.
The beltway is madness in motion (I lived in DC a few years). My favorite memory is seeing a driver reading the newspaper, neatly folded up on the steering wheel. Not an isolated incident, alas.
Jane
June 29, 2008 at 9:34 am
Jane – thanks for your comment. I find too that getting in behind a truck can be an advantage. Good luck with your hypermiling. D.
twobarkingdogs
June 29, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Do you think you can forward me some of your hypermiling tactics? I am driving a 2004 Escape and do little things to improve my gas mileage like: inflate the tires to the max PSI listed for better coasting, slow to predicted red lights, and accelerate at no more than 2100 RPMs. I still can’t get much better than 21 miles a gallon. I only drive about 15 miles each way and half of the speed limit is 55 mph and the other half is 25 mph. Shoot me an e-mail at slickswick@hotmail.com . Thanks for any info you can give me.
Gavin
August 10, 2008 at 5:26 am