For you Hypermilers and other MPG h4xx0rz

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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...

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

[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]

Originally Posted by Loren

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]

Originally Posted by 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."

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.

[roadrunner]

Originally Posted by Woody_Woodchuck

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]

Originally Posted by TheJames

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]

Originally Posted by BailOut

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]

Originally Posted by BailOut

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]

Originally Posted by 1stToyota

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]

Originally Posted by BailOut

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...