I must confess....

[ZugyNA]

I was probably hypermiling before some on this forum were born. But only under duress when I was out on some camping adventure and ran low on gas...and was trying to get to the next town.

* drove 35-40 mph

* shut the engine off and coasted down hills

* very light on the throttle

* have tried shadowing trucks and even coasting on freeways, but this was right after it was reopened after a flood in the desert.

* one time the alternator went out and I camped on hills and bump started it until I hit a town with a repair shop

Didn't know enough to up the pressure in the tires...but that wouldn't have lasted long on rough back trails.

Now making the ultimate hypermiling move...not driving unless really needed. Could actually cut back much more...even to the point of using a bicycle for 90% of transport. If gas hits $5-6 a gallon I might.

My prediction is that gas will fall back to $3.00-3.50 by the end of this year....but $3 is the new baseline. Overall trend is still UP.

May the lord save us from our sins....


Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Bob Dylan

[R.I.D.E.]

I think the technique was developed in WW2 as a means to maximize mileage during gas rationing.

In the 30's Plymouth developed a system called free wheeling, which disconnected the engine from the powertrain during coasting. I think it was a form of one way clutching mechanism.

The problem was you had to engage it when the vehicle was stopped, couldn't do it when moving.

This created the scenario where you loose all engine braking, which when combined with the pitiful brakes available, created a situation where you would loose the brakes in mountainous areas and crash.

Virginia outlawed the use of freewheeling. In doing so they made it illegal to coast without the car in gear, or with the engine shut off.

It's funny when you consider that current hybrids do exactly that in certain situations. I guess if the law is still on the books you could conclude that its illegal to drive a Prius in the state of Virginia.

regards
gary

[8307c4]

Same here, I hit upon DWB'ing and EOC'ing long before I found this on the Web.

I seen this crap coming since around 1999, when gas first started to inch up...
Once the pumps were asking 1.16 but then it went to 1.30 and 1.40 and by the time it said 1.59 I knew it, just slowly but surely it kept going up. About that time I started messing with gaining better mpg.

I would have to say the biggest change happened once I bought a car that happened to have onboard FE computers, a 1988 Thunderbird at the time it displayed mpg both instant and average... I was astounded how inefficiently I had been driving all these years, that stupid FE gauge radically changed the way I used to think about economy.

But I further agree, in the end you're better off NOT driving in the first place
It may not increase your mpg but burning no fuel at all is still the ultimate.
Because several times I have caught myself doing stupid crap such as taking the easy route to get better mpg (when in effect it was also the LONG way which in turn actually cost me more fuel).

There is that extra step to fuel economy:
MPG is miles per gallon, yes.
But Fuel Economy is days per tank.
Now in my book 17 mpg's on a tank that lasts two weeks is BETTER than 25 mpg's on the same tank (of fuel) that only lasted 10-12 days.

And that's just my problem, my mpg suffers because I don't take the old 100 mile drive anymore, infrequent and then short trips waste the mpg all to shreds but I get more for my dollar, so I can still win even if mpg sux.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

looking at your total carbon footprint vs just better FE.

I have a buddy that lives with me right now and he rides with me to work whenever possible. I am losing a little on the MPG side which is evident by the better numbers when I ride separate but it is one less vehicle burning fuel on the road and a little more money in both of our pockets.