What are the simplest ways to hypermile to persue someone to start

[Snax]

To borrow a term from the Smith Driving System, Aim High in Driving. In other words look ahead as far as reasonably possible. Notice the lights, how long they have been in the current state. Keep a larger buffer in front of you, limiting the amount of unnecessary slow downs for things like people turning off. Just anticipating having to use the brakes well in advance of actually needing them can go a long way toward reducing waste acceleration and cruising.

[guest001]

Originally Posted by mooner

Your engine will not warm up efficiently while sitting still. You will warm up quicker while driving slowly. If it is extremely cold (<0F), or if you live just a few feet from the highway you need to travel on then go ahead and idle a minute or two. Use lightweight synthetic oil, 5w-30, and a block heater if you live in the Artic.

The point is not that you warm up faster. It is that you let the car warm, oil get up to temp, pistons un oval and form to the bore, oil fully circulates the entire system, before you drive off and the rev the engine up.


I agree Ideally the car should be warmed up before you take off, but I but it is inconvenient most of the time. usually I will start the car first then turn on the radio, seat belt, etc. then take off. then really take it easy on the and not rev it up high.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I've always waited for my oil to come up to full pressure before shifting into drive, and once I shift into gear, I wait another moment for the transmission fluid to get up to full pressure before I go.

[FrugalFloyd]

Slow down. I brought my average mpg up to about 35.5 mpg (just short of 150% of '08 EPA) just by slowing down from 72 mph to 55 mph. All the other hypermiling tricks in my bag only added 2 mpg (about 7%) more.

[trollbait]

{usually I will start the car first then turn on the radio, seat belt, etc. then take off. then really take it easy on the and not rev it up high.}

This is what most people do, but the manufacturers had assumed some back that people just turned the on and drove off. So modern engines don't need a lengthy idle time to warm up. In the case of a TDI, the engine deosn't produce any excess heat to warm the engine up.

On the flip side, a Japanese driver reported getting better milage with his Prius by letting the car idle and go through stage 1 warm up in the driveway.

[imzjustplayin]

Well how about you guys read the Owners manual for your cars and maybe you'll discover something like I did, that you should actually drive the car immediately, but gentle on the throttle, and not idle excessively. It specifically states in the toyota owners manual not to excessively idle in order to "warm up the car" because it creates excessive pollution and the car warms up more slowly which causes more wear and therefore is worse for the car than just driving immediately.

[spotaneagle]

Originally Posted by OUScooby

I'd just like to add something to the warming up the car point. I always let me car idle for about five minutes before driving. Yes modern cars can "warm up while driving", but there are a few reasons I warm my car anyway. If the car has been sitting overnight, the oil is no longer clinging to the internal parts of the motor so your engine will not be properly lubricated. I'll let the car idle so everything can get coated in oil.
Second if your oil is not up to temperature and pressure it also will not be lubricating as well. Warming up your car is something I'd especially recommend to people who have short commutes. If your daily commute is only a few minutes then this means that your probably isn't up to temp and pressure until you park it and shut it off. This means that during most of your driving your oil isn't doing its job and your engine is not properly lubricated.
Over time a lack of lubrication will lead to wear in the cylinder wall which causes a loss in compression, and a significant loss in MPGs.
Most modern cars are equipped with TGV's, tumble generator valves. These are emission control devices that are basically a butterfly value at the bottom of the intake manifold. At start up when the engine is cold the butterfly values only open part way, restricting the flow of air into the engine, in turn limiting the amount of fuel needed. The TGVs don't fully open until the engine get up to temp. Or they'll be equipped with EGRs, exhaust gas recyclers, which put exhaust gasses back into the intake manifold, reducing the amount of "clean air" coming in, and reburning any unburned fuel. So the amount of fuel you'll burn letting your car warm up will not be as significant as you think, and may save wear on the engine that will cost you in the future.

one minute should be fine except on real cold days (below 15) just keep the rpms as low as possible, the quickest way to warm your car up is by driving it

[spotaneagle]

my car has an air pump that warms up the cat quicker, i usually just let that turn off before i start to drive when my car is totally cold, it runs for about 50 seconds