how long?

[Erdrick]

So, how long has everyone been hypermiling for? I used to do it in my Nissan 200SXs, (one of which is now logging over 200k miles) before selling them to friends. I didn't even know what hypermiling was at the time. I was just a jobless college kid trying to get home on the weekends. I bought both of my 200SXs at auction, fixed them up, and drove them for two and one year respectively. I ended up making a profit on them, even after figuring in all insurance and gas. Not bad, especially when you consider that I was able to develop good driving habits in the process.

Fast forward about 3-4 years, and I am now living in Japan. Not sure if what I am doing is considered hypermiling, but I am getting damn good mileage. I forget what the MPG works out to, but my km/l is great. I have just eclipsed the 10/15 mode estimate that Japan rates it's cars with. This is like the EPA estimate from hell. I can't imagine how they expect anyone but the most crazy "nenpi mania" people to achieve these figures. Anyways, I have been able to do it.

Even so, I look forward to moving back to the USA, where I can drive a diesel without getting nailed with taxes. Japan is trying to kill off diesels, and charges people about $500 a year to drive them if they don't meet emissions standards.

So, all in all I have been hypermiling (or trying to) for about 4 years.

[Matt Timion]

A little over two years for me.

[CO ZX2]

Dabbled forever.

Seriously since September 2006.

[GasSavers_TomO]

I guess I started with my first car, a 1985 Chevy Cavalier. I got over 32 MPG combined driving compared to the 27MPG (old EPA) and 24MPG (new EPA). Since then I've had a couple hot rods but usually drove them for FE. All of my Vehicles have always maintained or exceeded 30MPG (even my 1990 Turbo Grand Prix). So I guess you could say I've been hypermiling for 13 years now.

[Bill in Houston]

My dad and I calculated the mileage on every tank as far as I can remember, and I continued that when I started driving. So I guess you could say that I have been interested for a long time. BUT I have only really tried to drastically improve my mileage for a few months, pretty much since when I joined here.

[landspeed]

I've always been interested, started doing this seriously in 2004 - due to having a girlfriend living 400 miles away Which was quite a good reason to save fuel with UK prices being what they are.

Extreme hypermiling since I joined (I had experimented with engine-off coasting before but decided it was not worth it. Because I had driven a work car with a diesel engine and an MPG gauge (Avensis D4-D), and saw how efficient the idle was. After joining the site I realised the error of my ways (because my car is petrol).

Before joining I once got 90MPG(UK) on a 100 mile journey with no elevation change in the D4-D, which is about double the official figures, and I only drove slightly slower than most people would. This is when I realised the importance of instantaneous feedback!

[cfg83]

Erdrick -

I used to keep a gaslog in my Dad's Karmann Ghia in the early 1980's. I restarted doing gaslogs around 2002, but I didn't employ gassaving techniques and gizmos until GasSavers. I've always been a granny driver, however.

Back when I had my CRX, my friend would tell me "You drive 50 MPH on the freeways and 50 MPH on the streets, you never change speeds!!!!!!!!!!". Would that have counted as a gassaving strategy?

CarloSW2

[Hockey4mnhs]

6-7 months now. this is my first car and i got into it for thr $ saveings. its changed to cutting emissions and saveing gas to try and slow down useage.

[kickflipjr]

Around 2 years now.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Back when I had my CRX, my friend would tell me "You drive 50 MPH on the freeways and 50 MPH on the streets, you never change speeds!!!!!!!!!!". Would that have counted as a gassaving strategy?

Only if you had whipped out the BSFC graph on him. :-)