Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:45 pm Post subject: Re: Hypermiling
my sound card is kaput and the video looks like forstenken. so all I see is some old guy on a harley? what's it about? _________________ ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap
basically he uses different drving techniques to get way better mileage out of stock or close to stock cars. _________________ shame on us, doomed from the start
god have mercy on our dirty little hearts
Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 2464 Location: South of Atlanta
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 8:02 am Post subject: Hypermiling?
A friend sent me some links concerning peole who squeeze every mpg they can out of their vehicles. Interesting stuff really. Some of it seems a bit extreme, and some of it is very easily adopted. article
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 9:49 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
It will be a lot easier when there are less cars on the road. There would be no gas crisis this summer or the next if we the speed limit was lowered to 55mph.
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:06 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
Good times. First car I drove was the already efficient Opel Kadett my dad drove through the 70s crunches. I wasn't too fuel conscious when I drove it (gas was 85c per gallon), but I heard his 70s stories (including drafting semis). The neatest trick was a little cable-pull installed under the dash. It cut fuel to one of the twin carbs. Once you were up to highway speed, hey, 25hp is enough, right? I've seen the same mod on a similar-era Beetle. Funny enough, GM is doing the same thing today in trucks, shutting off unneeded cylinders when cruising.
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:12 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
A LOT of what he is doing is illegal, or at least unsafe:
*tailgating 18 wheelers
*turning corners at unsafe speeds (52 MPH!?)
*driving 50 MPH (right lane at least) on a divided, limited-access highway
*rolling through stop signs
I find it funny that he still lives in suburban Chicago (actually, halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee) and commutes 2 hours to work. While apparently proferring the Bin Laden-Saudi-oil wealth link as a reason for his miserly behavior, he seems to think that the American way of life is still non-negotiable, if only we'd adopt his behavior.
I can imagine the accidents we would begin to see if even an insignificant percentage of drivers begin to adopt his ways.
Turning the A/C off and coasting down hills, though, seem like reasonable enough suggestions.
Best paragraph in the whole article:
Quote:
i stay at wayne's home, part of a modern suburban development between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan's western shore. It's not the kind of place where people drive compact cars, much less hybrids. "There's a Hummer over there," Wayne says after we step inside, pointing to a neighbor's house beyond his microwave. "And there's a Hummer over there," he says, pointing past his TV, the largest flat-screen I've ever seen outside of a sports bar. In the kitchen with us is Hobbit—he prefers that to his real name—another visitor who is staying at Wayne's house while attending Hybridfest. Hobbit has a patchy beard and a braided ponytail and travels in bare feet. He looks and thinks like the ecoradical you might expect a hypermiler to be and confesses he's surprised by Wayne's home and lifestyle. "I thought you'd be living like a college student," he says.
Here's a close second:
Quote:
"Buckle up tight, because this is the death turn," says Wayne. Death turn? We're moving at 50 mph. Wayne turns off the engine. He's bearing down on the exit, and as he turns the wheel sharply to the right, the tires squeal—which is what happens when you take a 25 mph turn going 50. Cathy, Terry's wife, who is sitting next to me in the backseat, grabs my leg. I grab the door handle. As we come out of the 270-degree turn, Cathy says, "I hope you have upholstery cleaner."
_________________ "It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
George Carlin
Last edited by emersonbiggins on Fri May 25, 2007 10:24 am; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:12 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
my friend does this stuff out on route 299 on the way to Berry Summit. He turns the engine off at the top of Lord Ellis Summit and then coasts down the other side and then up as far as he can go. Turns the engine back on at the last minute, just as other cars might be catching up and their drivers' getting impatient.
These are not trivial little hills, maybe 5 miles runs at 55-65 mph, switchback turns, and several thousand vertical feet change. It is a real fun-house ride. _________________ ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap
Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 1627 Location: Springsteen Country (NJ)
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:24 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
Interesting article, but I wonder what he'd do if he was informed of Jevons' Paradox and he realized that his saving fuel makes it cheaper and just results in more people "throwing it away"? _________________ Joe P. United Political Debate
"Only when the last tree is cut; only when the last river is polluted; only when the last fish is caught; only then will they realize that you cannot eat money." - Cree Indian Proverb
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:30 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
joewp wrote:
Interesting article, but I wonder what he'd do if he was informed of Jevons' Paradox and he realized that his saving fuel makes it cheaper and just results in more people "throwing it away"?
this asssumes 'more' people become greedy, stupid, and self-destructive. Maybe the consequence is that those who already have too much money, gasoline, and toys just get more?
Makes them easier to identify. I never forget. _________________ ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap
Joined: Apr 17, 2005 Posts: 2717 Location: Vancouver Island
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:33 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
perhaps the savings that he's achieved is what allows him to live the suburb life style with the giant plasma tv? We probably would be better off if everyone just gave up on trying to save the world and did whats best for themselves instead. _________________ shame on us, doomed from the start
god have mercy on our dirty little hearts
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 10:33 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
Here is this guy's daily commute, notice the 90 miles & the 2 Hours part:
So, 180 miles a day, at 60 MPG, let's see:
3 gallons day
x
5 days/week
__________
15 gallons/week
Not bad, but imagine if this guy chose to live somewhere a little more sensible.
Catch-22, though, because this guy's 60 MPG average is largely based on the fact that about half of his commute is on rural interstates (from the looks of it) or reverse-commuting on suburban interstates.
So, this article (and this hypermiler) sells the notion that we "could all do this," when, in fact, his commuting pattern lies far outside the norm of Joe Q. Sixpack, who commutes from suburb-to-suburb or suburb-to-core. _________________ "It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
Joined: Apr 06, 2006 Posts: 3330 Location: 3 miles NW of Champoeg, Republic of Cascadia
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 11:06 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
Agree that this is is the fuel efficiency equivalent of Extreme Sports. Mods to vehicles will be a monster cottage industry soon, for the rest of us - big bucks to be had.
Quote:
Not bad, but imagine if this guy chose to live somewhere a little more sensible.
What a statement! _________________ Cogito, ergo non satis bibivi
I will not abide another toe.
Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 11:57 am Post subject: Re: Hypermiling?
Wayne's just a bit of a nut *holds hands really far apart*. Probably takes that turn so fast because he gets so damn bored commuting at 55mph or whatevs.
But, there are plenty of safe and quasi-legal ways to drive efficiently (hypermiling seems like such a silly name). Driving slow will not result in any undue danger as long as it's the lower limit for that road in the right lane, or even ~10-15mph below depending on situation, but it will significantly reduce gasoline use in top gear. Of course, the trade off is spending more time on the commute, but then it comes down to the old adage.
Quote:
Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?
The irony is the ones who can save the most money, those who can go from 5mpg to 8mpg, or 10mpg to 15mpg, probably won't because it doesn't feel like a big jump in mileage, even though it's a huge drop in gasoline used and money spent. _________________
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ree rah rip ram. sunofabitch godamn. hidey didey christ almighty. rah rah crap 
