From 15 to 23.75mpg (so far) in a 5500lb work truck

[theholycow]

So, you have a kill switch and a starter switch? Why are you electric starting when you could bump start?

Bump starting is more efficient. Electric starting requires kinetic energy to be converted (with loss) to electricity, stored (with loss), and converted back to kinetic energy. Bump starting has less loss, and doesn't wear your starter. The first thing that comes to mind is that it wears your clutch, but the wear is less than the amount of wear you get when you gently start from a stop in 1st gear.

User PaleMelanesian has described the procedure the best, and here's how I describe it:
No, I bump start. Another user, PaleMelanesian, has refined the procedure into a few very easy steps, which I will attempt to reproduce here:
1. Shift into a higher gear than you'd drive at that speed (for me, there's no such thing, since I'm good for 25 in 5th)
2. In one quick movement, let the clutch partially up and immediately back down -- just enough to make a slight amount of friction and kick the engine over, not as much clutch wear as you might get pulling away from a stop
3. Wait for engine to catch and smooth out (once it starts to fire I lay on the gas for my rev-match)
4. choose gear, rev-match, go

For me in my car, it all happens within maybe two seconds. 5th gear, pulse the clutch, lay on the gas, clutch up, and I'm powered again.

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

Smooth bump starts:
Do a little clutch pulse - just a quick up-down - in top gear. Don't even let it out all the way. It'll give the engine enough to start, but not enough to jolt anything.

Then, choose your gear and shift and go.

It's smoother and less strain than even the smoothest standing start.

[TruckHyperMiler]

Originally Posted by theholycow

So, you have a kill switch and a starter switch? Why are you electric starting when you could bump start?

I always drop the clutch to start when I am moving, but i do a lot of city driving. Bump start doesn't work when you are sitting at a traffic light.

[TruckHyperMiler]

I got stickers from both Zazzel and CafePress.

Thanks for all the support guys

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I had a printing error from Zazzle recently. Something that was supposed to be yellow was tennis ball green. I was very impressed with how they handled it. Rather than having me mail the defective one back, they asked for a digital photo of it. They then had someone personally verify the replacement matched their website picture. Took slightly longer because of this, but it arrived pretty quickly and looked great. Overall a very positive experience, since small errors are inevitable when you handle so many orders. It's how you handle the mistakes!

[Jay2TheRescue]

IMHO it was probably quicker, because it probably would have taken several days for the post office to deliver the defective sitcker to them. They were able to immediately start processing a new one as soon as they got the picture.

-Jay

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Oh yes, of course. Cheaper too. It's just so often that I come across customer support pipelines that don't avail themselves of modern techniques or are just brain dead that it was a real nice change.

Anybody want a defective apron?