An ecogeek doesn't always have to buy latest and greatest technology - sometimes you just have to figure out how to use the technology you have in a more environmentally friendly way. You've probably heard that keeping your tires properly inflated, rolling the windows up on the highway, and using the A/C less will get you better mileage. These kinds of tips are showing up in the news more and more, as studies like this one come out.
If you own a Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, or Volkswagen Jetta TDI, chances are you're already aware of the mileage, and it's probably pretty good. But what if you could get that kind of efficiency out of a normal, gas powered car? Or better yet, take one of these super efficient vehicles and push it to its limits, getting better that 100 MPG? The answer is, you can - and you don't have to spend a dime. You just have to be willing to risk life, limb, and the patience of others drivers to achieve it.
A new breed of driver has evolved out of the MPG craze: the "hypermiler". These are regular folks with regular cars who routinely use some eccentric, and at times hazardous, driving techniques to radically increase the efficiency of their transportation. Most of us would never dream of cutting the engine on the highway, drafting just inches behind a huge 18 wheeler, or taking an exit ramp at over 50 MPH. But for a select few, these are the tenets of a new religion.
Wayne Gerdes, the godfather of the hypermiler movement and leader of a group that got 109 MPG in a Toyota Prius (1,397 miles on a single tank, over 48 hours) has been the subject of several interviews of late. You can listen to some of his tips on Sierra Club Radio.
via Mother Jones
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written by chris walker, February 17, 2008
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written by Kendra, April 18, 2008
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written by FrankSaver, May 28, 2008
Coast at lights/stop signs
Drive speed limit
Speed drop up hill
Coast down hill
Stay in the right lane while doing speed limit
In my VW TDI I was getting 42MPG without hyper miling. I now get 64MPG with hypermiling.
Almost 900 miles off a single tank of juice!
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written by wedding dresses, October 13, 2009
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MAR 13
"cutting the engine on the highway, drafting just inches behind a huge ..."
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