For you Hypermilers and other MPG h4xx0rz

[47_MasoN_47]

Do you guys just put up with the impatient a-holes honking and screaming at you when starting off at redlights and stopsigns? I generally find myself letting the car get up to 2500 RPM or so when starting because the person behind me looks like they are going to have an aneurysm. Do the rest of you have to put up with that crap? Maybe the drivers in my area are just a-holes. I know the vast majority of people here have no idea how to drive.

[50MPGDream]

Most of my driving is at off peak times on 4 lane roads so I don't find myself in this situation often, however when I find myself being honked/yelled at I generally just smile and wave :)

[YarisOwnersDad]

Oh, so YOU are the A-hole that I was behind at the traffic light yesterday! I thought your engine was stalling out or something!

:laughabove:

J/K

Guess you will just have to let people "get over it."

Tom

[TheRealEnth]

Yeah, people are always gonna be assholes... then again i find myself on the other side of the table... Im behind a guy... in a 2 lane road... and both the cars are going identical f**king matching speeds... so all the cars behind them cant pass. Or in another case, they take like a 5 second reaction time to start moving on green that by the time the 4th car passes the intersection, it turns red and traps everyone behind.

[YarisOwnersDad]

Yeah, people are always gonna be assholes... then again i find myself on the other side of the table... Im behind a guy... in a 2 lane road... and both the cars are going identical f**king matching speeds... so all the cars behind them cant pass. Or in another case, they take like a 5 second reaction time to start moving on green that by the time the 4th car passes the intersection, it turns red and traps everyone behind.


Whoa! You just hit on two of my pet peeves.

I HATE it when someone on a two lane road gets up behind the car in front him and will neither pass the car nor leave enough space in between to allow me to pass him without also having to pass the car in front of him.

I also hate people who are so slow to get started from a traffic light. I don't expect them to floor the accelerator, but I do expect them to start moving when the light turns green and the car in front of them has already moved on.

This is especially annoying at the end of exit ramps where there is a stoplight, and you have to turn left. (It's usually a yield sign for those turning right.) Those lights are never green for the exit ramp traffic for very long, and when they turn green when I am several cars back in line, I sit there and fume as I see ten car length gaps develop between the cars that are pulling out and making the turn as I await my turn to do so.

I make sure that I stay right on the bumper of the car ahead of me as I make my turn out of consideration for the people behind me. I don't normally tailgate, but in that situation I am going slow enough that I can stop in a very short distance and should not have to worry about running into the back of the guy ahead of me.

Tom

[47_MasoN_47]

Yeah I mean I'm not the most patient with people who hesitate at green lights or slow down to 2mph to go around a turn. It is annoying when people expect me to redline every time I'm starting off though. I had a guy behind me the other day that kept honking at me wanting me to turn out in front of traffic. There was twice I could have made it but I'm sure I would have had to get up in the 3400 RPM range to avoid being smashed. I don't see the use in wasting that much gas or risking the personal safety of my fiance or myself either one.

Maybe I should get a bumper sticker that says "I'm hypermiling...you can wait."

[1stToyota]

I'm usually pulling away faster than anybody around me, go 65+ mph, run 32psi, still got 43.5 mpg last tank (real Shell), 44.6 mpg the tank before (real Conoco). Don't know what I'd get if I actually tried.

[supmet]

Slower speeds = less people making it through each light = more people sitting around getting 0 mpg and polluting the air = defeating your purpose and just pissing everyone off so you can have a false sense of self satisfaction

oh. and gtfo of my way ;)

[47_MasoN_47]

Well (I'm sure to the dismay of many people here) I don't really give a rat's ballsack about the environment, I just want to save myself money on gas lol.

[talnlnky]

i've never been honked at... tho there are some techniques I don't use (like pulse N glide), and I try to keep up with the flow of traffic as much as possible. In city driving you would only notice my slightly slower acceleration, and my tendency to glide to an intersection VERY early in attempt to time the lights so I don't have to stop. There are somedays that I can drive 9.2 miles to work and only have to stop two or three times.

[Loren]

When in traffic, you have to strike a balance between all-out hypermiling and being courteous. Be "on your game" and always ready to go when the light changes, that often will make up for being a little slow accelerating. Position yourself properly within traffic: try to NOT be the first car in the line at a traffic light, and if possible, get behind something slow like a semi. The people who want to go fast will be less likely to line up behind you that way.

I'm proud of myself. I've been slacking lately because so many of my trips are short and getting good mileage on short trips is difficult at best. Today I had to drive over to the beach for a meeting. About 20 miles across the county and back. (not rural county... all pretty urban) Averaged 49 mpg on the way there and 52 on the way home for a daily average of something like 50.6. Good to know that I (and the car) can still do it!

[Yaris Hilton]

I accelerate moderately anyway. You don't give up much on that, as long as you don't stomp the pedal down to where the engine goes open loop and smoky. Where I get the A-hole behavior is from simply obeying all the posted speed limits. Most people seem to think they have a right to break the law. I used to do it all the time myself. I just ignore the rudeness.

[1stToyota]

Do you guys just put up with the impatient a-holes honking and screaming at you when starting off at redlights and stopsigns? I generally find myself letting the car get up to 2500 RPM or so when starting because the person behind me looks like they are going to have an aneurysm. Do the rest of you have to put up with that crap? Maybe the drivers in my area are just a-holes. I know the vast majority of people here have no idea how to drive.

Don't take it too hard. Maybe they're not yelling at you as much as the Yaris..they probably just think your little car is nutless.

[BailOut]

I accelerate moderately rather than slowly, but shift at 2,000 RPM. This is the olive branch that I offer to all of the egos around me.

However, I live in the right lane, and once I'm doing the speed limit, or 55 MPH on the highway, I don't give a flying frack what anyone behind me thinks or wants. I've never been honked at but I have been passed by many an intent driver while coasting in to a RED light at low speed. Go figure. :iono:

[Henry G.]

If youre doing the speed limit, in the slow lane then they have nothing to say.
BTW the guy blasting past you in the fast lane is me....:biggrin:

[47_MasoN_47]

Thanks for the tips, I've noticed that as Loren said it does help a lot not to be first in line. It's much easier for me to keep it below 2000 RPM accelerating when I'm somewhere in the middle.

I took a trip to Nashville on Tuesday and was letting it roll just to see how it would do (I was going about 80 the whole time). I just filled up today but haven't had time to do a mileage check. I'm pretty sure that even with the fast driving I got better mileage than I normally do in town.

[Loren]

Yeah, people are a little rude sometimes when you try to drive anywhere near the speed limit. I try to keep it at 5 over, I think that's reasonable. If they don't like that, they can find a way to pass me. And if they tailgate too closely, I just slow down.

[Yaris Hilton]

Having done it myself most of my life, and often quite flagrantly, I'm not being self-righteous here, but doesn't it seem insane to set legal speed limits and disregard them? Worse, to regard those who follow them as rude transgressors of etiquette? Or even as dangerous obstacles? Seems like a simple proposition to me, either you obey the law or you break it. Break that one and you might as well break any other. I think the popular disregard of speed limits is something that has promoted a lot of other illegal activity. Lots of speed limits are unreasonably low, as I well know from obeying them, and it seems that the traffic engineers must set them that way so the scofflaws driving 15 MPH over them will be reasonably safe. That just encourages disrespect for the law. Strange situation we've set up in this country.

[47_MasoN_47]

I agree that some of the speed limits are setup just so people who speed won't do it excessively. There is a road near my house that is about 5 miles long and almost perfectly straight except for 1 S-turn that has a speed limit of 25 the whole way down it. I generally try to follow the speed limits when in town (yeah I break them a lot on the interstate) but I just can't drive 25 down that long of a road.

[Yaris Hilton]

There's one a mile long, straight and open, posted at 25 right in my neighborhood. Cops run radar on it all the time. Many people want to run about 45 on it, which I think reasonable, actually, but with the reputation it has for radar most folks stick to 30-35. When I'm coming down the steep hill and sharp off-camber lefthand turn to get on that straight and then braking to turn into my neighborhood the 25 is more than enough, though, and that's where I've usually got some jerk in a big pickup 3 inches off my bumper, then barely clearing me as he blasts around WFO as I turn. I always hope the cops will get folks like that, but they generally don't.

[Henry G.]

I drive 50 miles of 2 lane country road everyday as part of my commute. When someone comes roaring up behind me and I have nowhere to go due to cars in front of me I just pull over and let them tailgate the other person. Sometimes it works tactically as they then pull over and I get by them as they were slowing me down. Tailgating or being tailgated in this car is bad news...

[Zaphod]

The way I figure it, people are going to be a-holes no matter what you do, and I find that doing what I like increases my tolerance for stupid behavior.

So I hypermill in the Yaris because I really enjoy it, with the car's nice, quiet, smoot, precise ride. The Harley is totally different, I enjoying blowing away racer wannabe idiots (when it's safe) and getting 50mpg to boot.

[Loren]

That is largely true. The person who is inclined to tailgate you is going to do so whether you're going 5 under the speed limit or 20 over. They don't think about it, they don't even realize they're doing it, it is just their habit to be "2 car lengths" off of the car in front and that is that. For those of us who know better, it's terribly annoying. All you can do is add some space in front of you to make up for the space they aren't leaving behind you.

[devinlamothe]

That is largely true. The person who is inclined to tailgate you is going to do so whether you're going 5 under the speed limit or 20 over. They don't think about it, they don't even realize they're doing it, it is just their habit to be "2 car lengths" off of the car in front and that is that. For those of us who know better, it's terribly annoying. All you can do is add some space in front of you to make up for the space they aren't leaving behind you.

Yes tailgating is one of my worst pet-peeves. Actually, just the other day this rather angry looking fellow was tailgating me so close he obviously wasn't paying attention, and when I was slowing down for a RED LIGHT, he was speeding up, didn't see in time, and swerved off the road and into a ditch. Serves him right, though, I hate tail gaters!!!

[Kaotic Lazagna]

^ I concur, serves him right.

I slow down a bit when someone tailgates me. If you want to annoy me on purpose, I might as well have some fun back. lol.

[eTiMaGo]

I drive 50 miles of 2 lane country road everyday as part of my commute. When someone comes roaring up behind me and I have nowhere to go due to cars in front of me I just pull over and let them tailgate the other person. Sometimes it works tactically as they then pull over and I get by them as they were slowing me down. Tailgating or being tailgated in this car is bad news...

yeah it always brings a chuckle to let them pass and see them slam the brakes behind the next car who's driving normally... :biggrin:

[Woody_Woodchuck]

I accelerate moderately at lights of from stop signs if there is traffic behind me. Meaning I accelerate faster than I would if no one was behind me or no one coming up behind me on the road I am turning onto. There are several places I have to accelerate rapidly to avoid making other vehicles brake to avoid back ending me. Sure I lose mileage but there are places I can make it up along the way.

I try not to be an accident waiting to happen while hypermiling. If it is a busy 2-lane road I will drive the speed limit at a constant pace and DWL instead of FAS coasting or P&G. If no one is behind me I can make up tank mileage.

Bottom line I accelerate according to traffic around me. I try not to be a bottleneck or make other drivers need to do something stupid to get around or avoid me. I try and be a courteous driver who just happens to be trying to get a 60 mpg weekly commute tank. Not there yet though, last week was 58.05 mpg for 286.9 miles. You can get good mileage and be a courteous driver!

[47_MasoN_47]

I finally got around to checking my mileage from the Nashville trip I took with my fiance last week. I drove around for 2 days back at home in town after the trip (ran 1 bar out in town), so the results are somewhat skewed I'm sure. I'm very happy with the results though. Even going an average of 75-80 on the Interstate and having some quick accelerations in downtown to get in with the flow of traffic I still got 37.9mpg. The actual MPG for the trip was probably closer to 38.5 if I had to guess, since generally I get 31 in town. It was awesome driving all the way to Nashville, running around, and coming back to Florence on one tank of gas and having some to spare! Normally in my Ranger we had a gas station we always stopped at on the way to Nashville, then a BP I stopped at in Athens on the way home. I was normally running at about 3100RPM or so going 75, so I wasn't sure how the mileage would do, glad to see it was as high as it was! I'm sure I could have gotten better mileage if I had driven slower, but we didn't get started until an hour.5 later than we wanted (I slept late and failed it) so I was running hard to get there quickly so we'd still have time to do what we wanted. Luckily the trip went well and we even had 20 minutes to spare before the final mall we went to closed haha.

[talnlnky]

getting good mileage on short trips is difficult at best.

agreed, though last night I had a quick trip to the store because the dog had a mess and we needed some spot remover asap. Drive was less than a mile each way. SG stated I got over 50mpg on the way back... Had to do a lot of DFCO to get it that high.

[TheJames]

Yeah I mean I'm not the most patient with people who hesitate at green lights or slow down to 2mph to go around a turn. It is annoying when people expect me to redline every time I'm starting off though. I had a guy behind me the other day that kept honking at me wanting me to turn out in front of traffic. There was twice I could have made it but I'm sure I would have had to get up in the 3400 RPM range to avoid being smashed. I don't see the use in wasting that much gas or risking the personal safety of my fiance or myself either one.

Maybe I should get a bumper sticker that says "I'm hypermiling...you can wait."

there's no need to hold up traffic so you don't have to get over 3400 rpm. if there's someone behind you, and you can pull out without blowing your motor, do it. hypermile when it doesn't inconvenience everyone else. sitting 2 wide on a four lane=asshole.... not going when the light turns green=asshold.... not pulling out when you can clearly make it but don't want to rev over 3400 when people, who could be in a serious hurry are behind you=well... i'm not going to call you an asshole for that post but thats very inconsiderate.:rolleyes:

[roadrunner]

Bottom line I accelerate according to traffic around me. I try not to be a bottleneck or make other drivers need to do something stupid to get around or avoid me. I try and be a courteous driver who just happens to be trying to get a 60 mpg weekly commute tank. Not there yet though, last week was 58.05 mpg for 286.9 miles. You can get good mileage and be a courteous driver!

That is like perfect Woody! I am the same with great mpg.
Roadrunner

[BailOut]

if there's someone behind you, and you can pull out without blowing your motor, do it.

Negative. Unless you are some form of emergency worker on their way to an emergency, in which case you would have some form of audio-visual signals to let me know such, then you have absolutely no good reason to be in that much of a hurry. It's just your ego talking, and egos aren't real.

We do not live on a race track.

[supmet]

Negative. Unless you are some form of emergency worker on their way to an emergency, in which case you would have some form of audio-visual signals to let me know such, then you have absolutely no good reason to be in that much of a hurry. It's just your ego talking, and egos aren't real.

We do not live on a race track.

Where do you draw the line then? Being the uber-est hypermiler in the world, I refuse to rev over 1200 rpm. I believe this is the best combination of highest mpg + minimal engine wear. Unfortunately, due to my strict self imposed safety regulations, I need a 2 mile opening or no cars in view to pull out safely. Should the people at the grocery store have to wait 15 minutes or longer to pull out of a parking lot, just because of my beliefs?

Besides that, its not just ego. Waiting too long to pull out can create bottlenecks behind you, leading to more accidents and a less safe driving environment for many people, not just the one behind you honking.

As others have said, on multiple lane roads, you can drive 1 mph for all I care, but if you are at the front of a one lane land train going unreasonably slow, you probably deserve the sodas and other random debris thrown at you as people pass you.

[1stToyota]

Negative. Unless you are some form of emergency worker on their way to an emergency, in which case you would have some form of audio-visual signals to let me know such, then you have absolutely no good reason to be in that much of a hurry. It's just your ego talking, and egos aren't real.

We do not live on a race track.

Reality check time...probably 98%ish of the driving population doesn't give a skunk's scrotum about hypermiling driving techniques, they just want to get where they need to be, fast. They don't have time to play games.

[BailOut]

Reality check time...probably 98%ish of the driving population doesn't give a skunk's scrotum about hypermiling driving techniques, they just want to get where they need to be, fast.
Take a dose of reality yourself... I don't care that they don't care, and their wants do not trump my own. Get over it.

[ern-diz]

Take a dose of reality yourself... I don't care that they don't care, and their wants do not trump my own. Get over it.

i'm one of the most understanding and open minded people out there but i gotta be honest and say that i think you are a bit over the top with your perspective...if you could only read some of your posts on this forum, you'd see why you get some of the feedback you do...i've seen you post next to irrelevant posts in threads that had nothing to do with your response, almost as an undercover way to continue to promote your next-to-nazi hypermile tactics...why you didn't buy a hybrid or, better yet, ride a motorcycle or, hey, i got an idea, why don't you ride a bicycle since you're never in that much of a hurry LOL...no disrespect intended, please don't take this as a personal attack because i respect a lot of the awesome information you've contributed to this forum with but, i wish you could look at some of your own posts objectively and you'd see why you get the response you do sometimes (although i don't think you care)...you realize most everyone on this forum drives a gas sipper and there are people putting around out there in hummers and triton v10's, right?...if it's really not about ego's, then why do you take such pride in being the king of hypermilers?...unfortunately, if i've learned anything about the way you carry yourself on here, i'm sure you're just going to try and disect my post, piece by piece, in an effort to out logic me, rather than accept a different perspective and 'get over it' lol...

[RUFFSTUFF]

I'm beginning to like it here. In this corner we have arguments over "hypermiling" or some attempt at that... in the other corner we have people arguing over engine mods and forced induction for 100hp wheezer motors... and I swear I saw somewhere where there was a discussion on which tires give the best gas mileage! Damn... I think everyone has lost the big picture. Yaris = car = cheap = just drive it and STFU.

Other than that, keep up the good work.

[devinlamothe]

My view is if I am following the posted limit I should not be inconveniencing anyone. If you are speeding, too bad, you are going to fast and need to slow down. This is why I stay in the right hand lane. If someone really wants to race to the next red light, they can go around me.

That being said, I will NOT make a turn if I have to 'gun' my engine, I will wait until it's safe to make a steady turn at a moderate speed.

Remember, everyone on the road is equal except for emergency vehicles. I don't care what people say, we all share the road and we all have to be safe as well as courteous. But this does NOT mean speeding, etc.

[1stToyota]

Take a dose of reality yourself... I don't care that they don't care, and their wants do not trump my own. Get over it.

That's your problem. One hypermiler out of 100 cars around him, that are driving differently, doesn't have the right to get pissied off. They're just not into the 3 extra drops of gas sqeezing games like you are. Sorry. Flow with traffic, or take the bus. :biggrin:

[Woody_Woodchuck]

I drive the speed limit as my max on the 4-lane and go to 10 mph under the limit, depending on traffic. If it is heavy I will speed up to the psl, if sparse traffic I will go 10 under. I look at it this way, folks are going 10+ mph over the limit, if I go 10 under they are coming up behind me at 20+ mph. Pretty scary to have someone texting or on the phone barreling that fast up to me and I will be causing them to do something else stupid to go around me. Sure it is their fault for being a speeding moron but I just want to give them clear sailing to fly by me and go on their way. I have other more remote sections of my commute where I can make up the lost mileage and be safe.

I have one Yield intersection that I do have to accelerate pretty rapidly to merge with traffic. It is on a 2-lane road and if I waited for there to be even a quarter mile with no one coming I would be there for hours. Traffic can back up fast and even a 3 or 4 minute wait (not uncommon) for a spot to go there can be 10 or 30 vehicles behind the lead vehicle. I bite the bullet on this and consider it just part of my commute. Yes, there is an alternative route but even with the accelerating here I use less gas than going around it. Sure I would have a much better mpg average using these go-arounds but using more gas to get a higher mileage average.

[BailOut]

why you didn't buy a hybrid
There are several reasons I did not buy a hybrid. They are expensive (both to build and to buy), they suck at hill climbing (I commute over a mountain) and I knew I could get hybrid-like mileage out of a light 4-cylinder vehicle even with my unusual commute.

or, better yet, ride a motorcycle
I seriously considered this, and was actually 1/3 the way done with building an EV motorcycle out of an old Ninja chassis at one point, but then I gained not just one but two carpoolers. I also became a Big Brother. These things mean that I rarely drive alone.

or, hey, i got an idea, why don't you ride a bicycle since you're never in that much of a hurry
I have put over 500 miles on my road bicycle this year, all of it from errand running. 25 mile round trip grocery runs, picking up take out, picking up materials from the home improvement store, etc.


Sorry. Flow with traffic
This conversation is about when or when not to enter the flow of traffic from a stop at a right-hand turn. One cannot keep with the flow of traffic if one has not yet entered the flow of traffic. Please try to focus.

or take the bus.
I have spent over 600 miles on buses this year. You can read about some of my travels here:

http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=1027031

When's the last time you took advantage of public transportation?

I wouldn't count on Bailout on making any changes. He craves the attention too much, even if that attention is some 80 yr old lady flipping him off for driving too slow.
Your penchant for alarmism is showing again. Please take a deep breath and try to relax. I have never been flipped off, honked at or had anything thrown at me. Ever. Not here, not in California, not even in Vegas. You have a self-created and convoluted view of what hypermiling looks like but I assure you that your assumptions are inaccurate. If you ever find yourself in the Reno/Tahoe region I invite you to ride along with me for a bit to see for yourself.

[ern-diz]

Brian, i can totally respect your response and actually give you a ton of credit for putting as many miles on your bicycle as you claim to have...

on another note, i've been thinking about DFCO and have a lingering question that i couldn't answer for myself by reading all 7 pages of the DFCO thread...maybe you have the answer...

do you know if DFCO still kicks in while running the a/c?...i would assume that since everything is still turning, then the appropriate belts that keep the a/c running should still be spinning but, wasn't 100% sure...

[BailOut]

Brian, i can totally respect your response and actually give you a ton of credit for putting as many miles on your bicycle as you claim to have...

on another note, i've been thinking about DFCO and have a lingering question that i couldn't answer for myself by reading all 7 pages of the DFCO thread...maybe you have the answer...

do you know if DFCO still kicks in while running the a/c?...i would assume that since everything is still turning, then the appropriate belts that keep the a/c running should still be spinning but, wasn't 100% sure...

I thank you for the compliment, and am happy to answer your question. :smile:

Yes, DFCO will still work with the a/c on, though you will experience a much faster rate of deceleration any time the compressor is running due to the extra drag on the drive train.

[R2D2]

Bottom line= It's Bailout's car-he can drive it the way he likes as long as he's within the law. Let's face it, he's got more to stand on than all the obnoxious speeders out there. BailOut's commuting habits are far from radical behavior-more like foward thinking-we will all be operating this way in the near future-out of sheer necessity.

1st, I'm starting to think you've got quite an appetite for this type of jousting-did you spend your $200 already?

R2

[ern-diz]

Brian, that makes total sense, thanks...

R2D2, to chime in i'd say that forward thinking is more along the lines of electric vehicles and the future of it just may be in the works today with cars like the chevy volt and it's claims of over 200mpg (dare i speak of a domestic manufacture on yarisworld! lol)...i'm not a fan of american cars, having only driven toyotas and hondas in my lifetime but, there is something to be said about electric tech...if we're talking about forward thinking, we shouldn't be talking about natural resource fueled, internal combustion vehicles, IMO...

[1stToyota]

Bottom line= It's Bailout's car-he can drive it the way he likes as long as he's within the law. Let's face it, he's got more to stand on than all the obnoxious speeders out there. BailOut's commuting habits are far from radical behavior-more like foward thinking-we will all be operating this way in the near future-out of sheer necessity.

1st, I'm starting to think you've got quite an appetite for this type of jousting-did you spend your $200 already?

R2

If you look at my profile page you'll see that I already spent the $200.00, and sorry to break it to you, but the day that 98+% of the driving population start hypermiling it & only about 2% decide to drive the speed limit or above, acting like they need to get where they're needing to be in a rush, instead of wasting LOTS of their time [lol] to save a few cents at the pump will probably never come to pass. Gotta face it, the 2% isn't quite ready to dictate to the 98%.

[RUFFSTUFF]

I say move over to the far right lane and drive as slow as you want.

Speeding is not some uncontrolled phenomena where you exceed the speed limit and spontaneously combust. Speed differential is the culprit. If I go 10 over and you are 10 under then the 20 mph differential is the issue. If you always do 10 under then you are probably inducing a differential of at least 10 mph.

I can easily hop on one of my bikes and go down the interstate at 150+ mph and its no big deal. Now throw some cars on the road doing 75 mph and now there's a problem.

[RUFFSTUFF]

Found this and thought it was neat...

A mechanism that was developed in Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany) is the Grüne Welle (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gr%C3%BCne_Welle&action=edit&redlink=1), or green wave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_wave), which is an indicator that shows the optimal speed to travel for the synchronized green lights along that corridor. Driving faster or slower than the speed set by the behavior of the lights causes the driver to frequently encounter red lights. This discourages drivers from speeding or impeding the flow of traffic.

[1stToyota]

Ouch! :eyebulge:

Anyways, I just hope that the average hypermiler out there is getting WAAAAY better mpg than I'm getting, for all their efforts. My last tank I got 44.4 mpg [1/3 city - 2/3 highway], by going around 5 mph over the speed limit, using the a/c, not coasting in gear, running 32psi in my tires, flowing with traffic and getting up to speed quickly, etc...

[bronsin]

Found this and thought it was neat...

A mechanism that was developed in Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany) is the Grüne Welle (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gr%C3%BCne_Welle&action=edit&redlink=1), or green wave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_wave), which is an indicator that shows the optimal speed to travel for the synchronized green lights along that corridor. Driving faster or slower than the speed set by the behavior of the lights causes the driver to frequently encounter red lights. This discourages drivers from speeding or impeding the flow of traffic.


Great idea.

[VitzBoy]

exactly. there were no personal attacks an any but the first post i made. i'm sure there's a legal problem with deleting post because you dont like them. nothing in the last few post of mine that got deleted was against the terms of use. go read the constitution. FREE SPEECH. i have just as much right to voice my opinion as brian or any of the mods on here. it's downright illegal to tell me i can't voice my opinion because it's different from the mods or the almighty brian.

Move on folks. Any further off-topic posts will continue being deleted. And please familiarize yourself with constitutional law before you go off claiming you have a constitutional right to speech on a privately owned forum.

[RUFFSTUFF]

The topic is hypermilers being inconvenienced by non-hypermilers, right?

[YarisDude]

Just my unwanted opinion....Be civil and courteous to others on the road when hypermiling (stay to the right and when in traffic go with the flow). Be civil and courteous to others on the forums. All comments have some merit (even if you do not agree), that's what makes social networking interesting. Most importantly have fun.

The Lurker - I read all, but say little.

[RUFFSTUFF]

Just my unwanted opinion....Be civil and courteous to others on the road when hypermiling (stay to the left and when in traffic go with the flow). Be civil and courteous to others on the forums. All comments have some merit (even if you do not agree), that's what makes social networking interesting. Most importantly have fun.

The Lurker - I read all, but say little.


In these here parts it would be cool if the HM'ers stayed to the RIGHT. :thumbup:

[RUFFSTUFF]

Just my unwanted opinion....Be civil and courteous to others on the road when hypermiling (stay to the right and when in traffic go with the flow). Be civil and courteous to others on the forums. All comments have some merit (even if you do not agree), that's what makes social networking interesting. Most importantly have fun.

The Lurker - I read all, but say little.


Aha you tried to be quick on the edit but I caught you!

[YarisDude]

Fingers were in gear before the brain! Sorry.:bow:

[47_MasoN_47]

Good grief, looks like I stirred up a poo-storm.

The topic is hypermilers being inconvenienced by non-hypermilers, right?

Yes that was the point of my original post. I see that we have quite a wide variety of opinions on the subject. I don't see the acceleration rate that I tend to follow as unnecessarily slow. Most of those big-anus SUVs that are all over the place accel at about the same rate I do unless they are flooring it. It's mostly when joining traffic that I have problems because not only do I not want to add the extra wear on an engine that I need to last me at least another 15 years, I don't want to risk my personal safety by pulling out in front of people. Around here, if you pull out in front of someone (no matter how far away they are) they will speed up, then slam their brakes on behind you to make it look like it was a real big deal for them to slow down. I've had people do this even after I've reached the speed limit (45) on the roads I generally travel on.

For you speed demons, please slow down. You only live once...please don't end your, my own, or someone else's life by driving unsafely. It seems like every other day there's at least 1 fatal car wreck caused by a speeder in my city of 45k people. Sure it's not a large percentage, but that death could usually be prevented by safer driving.

I'm only 22, but in the few years I've been driving my habits have changed a lot. Until I was around 18 my little Ranger's back wheels spun often at red lights because of just being impatient and having that "I'm too good to wreck" attitude. I often drove 10 or more MPH over the speed limit. After a close friend of mine lost a cousin in a 1 car wreck because of speeding, my attitude changed greatly. It's not worth the risk to save 2 or 3 minutes.

Sorry for the epic post, but I had to get that out there.

[BailOut]

Mason,

Your thoughts are solid, your approach is smooth and your attitude gives me hope regarding the current generation of young Americans.

Don't let the drama here get you down. I've been enduring it for 2 and a half years now. It's gotten so bad that many folks ask me questions or thank me via PMs for fear of being attacked on the forums, and I can't say that I blame them.

The funny thing is that it's just a few key people that always start the trouble. They change faces over time but it's always just a select few. Feel free to put them on ignore as they show themselves.

[Yaris Hilton]

Nearly all drivers think of themselves as much better drivers than they are. (I doubt I'm an exception.)

[1stToyota]

The topic is hypermilers being inconvenienced by non-hypermilers, right?

From OP: "the impatient a-holes honking and screaming at you when starting off at redlights and stopsigns"

I read that and thought the topic was the non-hypermilers being inconvenienced by the hypermilers, with the hypermiler being mad at the non-hypermiler for being mad. :redface:

But I know what the OP means by speed demons...yesterday I caught myself not flowing with the traffic, slowed down just enough to be nice and let someone enter the freeway ahead of me...guy behind me got really pissed off and started flashing his highbeams at me several times. Sheesh.

[posaunemeister]

I guess people are somewhat more tolerant here in KC. I haven't been honked at yet, save for day I purchased my '08 Yaris 'S' 3 weeks ago and drove home from the dealership with only a total of 10 mins of instruction and watching a few how-to videos the night before.:redface:

[ern-diz]

I guess people are somewhat more tolerant here in KC. I haven't been honked at yet, save for day I purchased my '08 Yaris 'S' 3 weeks ago and drove home from the dealership with only a total of 10 mins of instruction and watching a few how-to videos the night before.:redface:

are you saying it was your first time driving a MT, or?

[ellenbetty]

Do you guys just put up with the impatient a-holes honking and screaming at you when starting off at red lights and stop signs? I generally find myself letting the car get up to 2500 RPM or so when starting because the person behind me looks like they are going to have an aneurysm. Do the rest of you have to put up with that crap? Maybe the drivers in my area are just a-holes. I know the vast majority of people here have no idea how to drive.

While I do hypermile using a ecometer, I am concerned about being shot or rear ended by someone speeding. I have been honked at a few times. I have been rear ended once with major damage to my car. I have learned to look behind me and slow down slower when there is traffic trapped behind me. I take into consideration how much space there is between me and the vehicles in front of me. If I reach the next red light just as it is turning green, and there is at lease one vehicle in front of me, I figure I am not holding up traffic and therefor less likely to be shot by some nut case.

Traffic lights are timed to give the best traffic flow for people who drive the speed limit. Those people who drive faster than the speed limit, hit more red lights.

For those who think that hypermilers should stop driving and ride a bicycle, I say, go post on the boost forum. I was rear ended while bicycling. The USAF doctor who treated me told me to never bicycle again. The USAF doctor said, with the damage already done to my body, I would not survive another bicycle automobile accident. I have been receaving disability checks ever since that accident. People disabled by speeding weaving drivers are part of the reason that taxes and insurance is so high.

[RUFFSTUFF]

Traffic lights are timed to give the best traffic flow for people who drive the speed limit. Those people who drive faster than the speed limit, hit more red lights.



Not everywhere. On Union St. in Jacksonville, Florida for example, if you get a green light for the first one you have to do about 5 over to keep green all the way through.. otherwise you'll start catching reds...



People disabled by speeding weaving drivers are part of the reason that taxes and insurance is so high.

Here are some others...
http://www.motorists.org/blog/why-does-car-insurance-cost-so-much/

[ellenbetty]

That might be true for a few blocks, but try driving across a area as big as Baltimore. Given a hour or more driving during rush hour, a speeder will hit more red lights.

I know in Baltimore Maryland the state police will some times drive in a row on I-695 (Inner or Outer Beltway) to force rush hour traffic to drive the speed limit. Nothing like a 30 mile long backup in muliple directions to slow speeders down. While that is not hitting red lights, it has the same effect. The Maryland state police also likes to set up moving checks point on intercounty roads to catch drunk and drugged drivers. Again not a red light. But the moving check point forces speeders to drive at a craw.

[RUFFSTUFF]

That might be true for a few blocks, but try driving across a area as big as Baltimore. Given a hour or more driving during rush hour, a speeder will hit more red lights.

I know in Baltimore Maryland the state police will some times drive in a row on I-695 (Inner or Outer Beltway) to force rush hour traffic to drive the speed limit. Nothing like a 30 mile long backup in muliple directions to slow speeders down. While that is not hitting red lights, it has the same effect. The Maryland state police also likes to set up moving checks point on intercounty roads to catch drunk and drugged drivers. Again not a red light. But the moving check point forces speeders to drive at a craw.


How do you speed for an hour in Baltimore during rush hour? Must be like Los Angeles where you have bumper to bumper traffic at 70mph.

[Jahbs]

hypermiling is like a style ur either used to it or ur not

tbh i dont care wat other drivers think i save moneh :w00t: let them get impatient

[47_MasoN_47]

Mason,

Your thoughts are solid, your approach is smooth and your attitude gives me hope regarding the current generation of young Americans.

Don't let the drama here get you down. I've been enduring it for 2 and a half years now. It's gotten so bad that many folks ask me questions or thank me via PMs for fear of being attacked on the forums, and I can't say that I blame them.

The funny thing is that it's just a few key people that always start the trouble. They change faces over time but it's always just a select few. Feel free to put them on ignore as they show themselves.

Thanks :) Sorry it took a while to post, been sick and some other stuff came up.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

hypermiling is like a style ur either used to it or ur not

tbh i dont care wat other drivers think i save moneh :w00t: let them get impatient

I agree with you. I'm driving within the range of the minimum (55 mph) and maximum speed limit, so I could care less what other drivers think of me. I'm a full time student so I'm trying to save money where I can. And driving slower saves me money.

[R2D2]

I agree with you. I'm driving within the range of the minimum (55 mph) and maximum speed limit, so I could care less what other drivers think of me. I'm a full time student so I'm trying to save money where I can. And driving slower saves me money.

Well said-as long as no laws are broken it is not your responsibility to drive in a manner that pleases anyone else.

[47_MasoN_47]

I agree with you. I'm driving within the range of the minimum (55 mph) and maximum speed limit, so I could care less what other drivers think of me. I'm a full time student so I'm trying to save money where I can. And driving slower saves me money.

Yep, I'm a full time student as well (this is my last semester if I can pass Quantitative Methods III). My paycheck at work isn't real big so I don't want to waste money on things like gas...I need the $$ for ammo and Yaris parts :P

[DevilGirl]

I need the $$ for ammo and Yaris parts :P

Well ordered priorities!! :thumbup::laugh:

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Well said-as long as no laws are broken it is not your responsibility to drive in a manner that pleases anyone else.

Yup. Also, if the lane next to the slow lane is free and the person behind me is not tailgating me, I'll move over while keeping 55 mph, and let them pass, then move back into the slow lane. If they're tailgating me, I won't budge. hahaha.

Yep, I'm a full time student as well (this is my last semester if I can pass Quantitative Methods III). My paycheck at work isn't real big so I don't want to waste money on things like gas...I need the $$ for ammo and Yaris parts :P

At least you have a paycheck :tongue:. I have no income, so all the money that I do have goes to paying off the monthly bills and just staying alive. I've cut my meals to a foot long from Subway and may be a cheap burger everyday (until I can go back to my mom's and eat food there, and bring some back, lol).

[RedRide]

I have found that there will alway be impatient, a-hole drivers behind you a a red light no matter what you drive.

When this happens I just calmly and very, very slowly drive away to piss them of even more. :biggrin: