Living Clean

Hypermiling and Controversy?

Though the term "hypermiling" is a new word, the concepts it is based on are not at all new. We have just never had a specific name for it until now.

However, with gas prices soaring to the extortion levels, people (out of necessity) have started to pay more attention to how much fuel they are using.

And thus the word "hypermiling" has been born. The term "hypermiling" (originally coined by Wayne Gerdes) in simple terms means getting the best gas mileage out of the fuel you have.

Before the word "hypermiling" was born, "hypermiling" was just referred too as sensible fuel economy, or common-sense driving practice.

But today, getting the most for your money (by squeezing out the maximum amount of mileage per gallon of gasoline) has become a specialized field, as covered in the blog, Hypermiling.

A lot of "controversy" has been built up around the subject of hypermiling. Some claim it is dangerous or state that it causes accidents, etc. These statements are about as intelligent as the statement that driving is dangerous or causes car crashes.

Of course, if there were no cars on the road, there would be no car accidents. That is about the level of logic we are using when we say that hypermiling is dangerous or controversial.

Before the subject of Hypermiling came about, we would have heard about "safe and unsafe driving practices." These days, in the interest of controversy, we no longer hear about "unsafe driving practices," but about hypermiling. I guess monkey learned a new trick.

Lets take a look at what hypermiling is, and what a few of the hypermiling techniques are:

First of all, a common hypermiling practice is to plan one's trips a little more carefully, in order to avoid unnecessary driving. That's common sense, I would say. But it's not something we were too careful about when fuel was cheap.

Another favorite hypermiling technique is staying within the speed-limit, since driving at higher speeds wastes fuel. Avoiding excessive idling of ones engine is also a key hypermiling tactic, as you are getting zero miles per gallon when you are standing still. What is interesting about this last point is that, for years now, we have had cars whose engines switch to "hibernate mode" after standing still for a few seconds, in order to avoid wasting fuel. "Hibernating" here means that the engine "switches off" and starts up again the moment you hit the gas peddle with your foot.

Making sure that your tires are inflated to the correct air pressure, according to the instructions of the manufacturer, is also a hypermiling technique. That might sound like a minor detail to some, but if you have ever ridden a bicycle with tires that were under-inflated you will have a good idea how much extra energy it takes, as compared to riding with correctly inflated tires.

Well, the same goes for a car. Under-inflated tires make your engine work a lot harder and consume more fuel. Try riding a bicycle with badly inflated tires sometime, and you will get a good idea of what I am talking about. A car handles better with correct tire pressure, giving you a lot more control when you are driving.

I could go on and on, detailing all the other points of hypermiling. But I think the above examples serve to show you that we are really just talking about common sense.

The only real truth in all this controversy is that there are safe drivers and there are unsafe drivers. But that's not new. And this fact did not arrive with the subject of hypermiling. It will not go away with the subject of hypermiling either.

Some people are smart and some are less so. That's nothing new and it's not something we didn't already know.

I guess it's the ones who are "less so," who feel the need to create a "controversy" around a subject like hypermiling. It probably makes them feel clever.

The fact is, hypermiling consists of safe and sensible ways to improve gas mileage. Just as one could drive unsafely in the interest of better gas mileage, one could also be a maniac gas-guzzler who speeds around turns, slams on his brakes, and pays high gas prices as a result.

Real hypermiling techniques involved safe and sensible driving habits.

Regardless, hypermiling simply consists of a set of techniques and driving practices which are used to get better gas mileage, using common sense and safe driving practices.

See also the Hypermiling E-Book and What is Hypermiling?

Hypermiling - Safe as Drinking Water?

Hypermiling is being talked about a lot recently.

Hypermiling consists of a system of methods and techniques which one can use to reduce fuel consumption and get better gas mileage, thus spending less money on gas and emitting less toxic pollution into the environment. Due to soaring gas prices, many people have begun to study and practice the art, or the science, of hypermiling.

Recently there has been a lot of discussion on one question: "Is hypermiling safe?"

Well, the answer to that really depends on how you apply hypermiling.

Anything can become dangerous when taken to extremes. It is usually not the subject that makes something dangerous, but how the subject is applied.

Even the most mundane every-day activities can be performed in dangerous ways.

For example, crossing the a street as a pedestrian. This can be done in a safe way, and can be done in a dangerous way. Crossing the street against a red with cars are bearing down on one, could be considered to be dangerous. But, unfortunately, some people still seem to do this (as witnessed by the statistics).

Does this make it unsafe to walk across the street unsafe? No, of course not. Well, the same applies to hypermiling.

Factually, proper hypermiling techniques include safe driving habits.

Lets take a look at some of the factors we are talking about here.

Correct hypermiling means that you stay within the speed limits on highways. This is because most cars get their best gas mileage at around 55-60 Mph. In fact, at the current gas prices ($4.00 per gallon and up), each additional 5 Mph above this rate adds up to 30 cents per gallon to your gas bill. Staying within posted speed limits, therefore, is fuel efficient. This is a safe and sensible hypermiling technique.

Another safe driving practice that hypermilers advocate, especially around urban areas, is avoiding rapid acceleration and breaking. These practices waste fuel. We have all experienced what it's like to ride in a car with someone who accelerates and breaks rapidly around town. At times, these people can be a menace to the roads. In fact, they make it unsafe for our kids to play near the streets. Rapid acceleration and breaking in our suburbs is not a safe driving practice.

More points could be brought up, but I think the above examples serve to illustrate.

There are also the aspects of hypermiling which involve the maintenance of one's vehicle.

Tire pressure is one example. When applying hypermiling, one frequently checks his tire pressure to ensure that the tires are inflated correctly, according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Not only does one get better gas mileage with correctly inflated tires, but having one's tires inflated properly also increases control of the vehicle. Surely, this adds to safety on the road.

Another hypermiling practice is to remove unnecessary weight from one's vehicle. Every 100 pounds of reduced weight reduces the gas bill by roughly two percent. In other words, don’t drive around with unnecessary stuff in your car. The reduced weight increases the braking capacity of your vehicle. So I am hard-put to figure out how this could be considered an “unsafe practice”.

Another important part of hypermiling is keeping one's vehicle in good working-order. That means changing the filters when needed, getting the regular check-ups done, and a host of other specific actions which are all geared toward keeping one's vehicle in optimum condition, in order to get the maximum mileage per gallon. Anyone can tell you that a badly-running vehicle is a danger on the road.

To sumarize, hypermiling itself is a common-sense and perfectly safe activity.  It is only the individuals who driver dangerously, who are unsafe.  Using unsafe hypermiling techniques is unethical and gives a bad name to an otherwise very useful and constructive activity.

It is only extremes that are unsafe. But I guess it’s the job of critics to look for extremes. After all, some critics will even claim that it's unsafe to drink water (I have actually seen articles on this). And I am sure that if you drank five gallons of water in one shot you would not feel too well. But that doesn't mean we all stop drinking water.



Anna Stone

For more information you may also see:

What is Hypermiling? on Squidoo

Hypermiling and Other Gas Saving Secrets

Hypermiling, The Environment, and Your Wallet

- by Anna Stone 

LivingClean.com

Global warming and environmental issues are no longer the only reasons to lower our consumption of fossil fuels. Sky rocketing gas prices are becoming a real
threat to families and businesses all over America and put a serious economic urgency on the matter.

We could wryly look at this and admit that the situation at least raises our personal necessity to emit less earth-damaging fossil fuels.  But when the
situation is affecting one's personal life, business, or job, that thought doesn't help much.

There are many different ideas in the works and progress has been made on different fronts - alternative fuels, hybrids, talk of electric car, and methods of
converting one's car to burn water as gasoline. 

But there is another more immediate remedy which just about any driver can put into action on a right-now basis.  And this is "hypermiling."

What is hypermiling?

Hypermiling is a relatively new term which was coined at some point within the past few years.

Hypermiling consists of driving techniques, tweaks, tune-ups, other gas-saving tips, and even lifestyle changes that help you reduce your consumption of gasoline and get a much higher MPG (mileage per galleon of gas).

What does this mean for your budget?

Well, by using hypermiling techniqes you can dramatically reduce your fuel consumption by 25% to 40%.  And with gas prices now up to $4.00 per gallon or more (and expected to rise up to $6.00 per gallon), than can make a big difference in your expenditures on fuel.  People have been able to get up to 50 miles per gallon or more by using hypermiling techniques.

So, while cheap gas may be hard to come by, there are ways to improve gas mileage, and to make that gas last longer and take you further.

What does hypermiling consist of?

There are several aspects of hypermiling.  Mainly:

1.  Preparations to make before you even get in your car.

2.  How to start your car properly.

3.  Choosing the right times of day to drive in.

4.  How to handle your air conditioning and how to drive on hot days.

5.  Types of weather or traffic conditions to avoid when you are driving.

6.  Where and how to park your car

7.  How fast you should drive for maximum fuel efficiency

8.  How to properly brake and accelerate your car

9.  How to properly position items such as bicycle racks on your vehicle

10. Which part of the highway to drive on

11. Lifestyle changes which will help you save money on gas.

Hypermiling and Driving Safely

Some drivers have been known to engage in unsafe and stupid practices and call it "hypermiling."  This includes idiocies such as tailgating large trucks and other illegal practices which put you, your car, and other people in danger.  You should never engage in unsafe driving practices for the sake of saving a few pennies or a few dollars on gasoline.  A bit of money saved is poor compensation for the loss of a loved one.

But there are many hypermiling techniques which are not only safe driving practices, but in many cases are safer driving practices than usual.

The best thing about hypermiling is that it is something anyone can learn quickly and instantly apply.  By learning a few hypermiling techniques you can start to save money the next time you drive.  You don't have to wait till you have a hybrid or until you have converted your car to run on water.  You can start saving money right now.

Hypermiling techniques are also good for the environment as they reduce fuel consumption.

An E-Book which will teach you all the important techniques of hypermiling, as well as other gas-saving tips, can be found at Hypermiling and Other Gas Saving Secrets.

You can also see videos of hypermiling in action, as well as hypermiling on the news, at What is Hypermiling.

Gasoline Prices and Hypermiling

Gasoline And Oil — Why You’re Paying Too Much

In May of 2008, gasoline prices had climbed to unprecedented highs and oil prices were rocketing past anything that’s ever been seen in the past, the United States Congress finally called oil execs on the carpet to explain why.

One by one, executives from each of the five largest oil companies (Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Shell Oil, Chevron and BP) wrung their hands, shook their heads, and explained that the law of “supply and demand” was responsible for the high prices at the gas pumps.

The cry of  “the market sets the price” may have seemed like an easy out for these oil execs.  But it takes only a tiny bit of research to see that supply and demand have little to do with the reason we're paying higher and higher prices for every fill-up.

In earlier years, when U.S consumers were shocked by prices at the pumps, that shock was always caused by a disruption in supply. (In 1973, for example, an Arab oil embargo caused gas shortages that resulted in high prices and long lines at the pumps.)

The late 70’s saw another spike in gas prices with yet another shortage, and once again the law of supply and demand prevailed.

The next price hike in the U.S. (which was caused by a real shortage) came in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast oil refineries and devastated production.

It was from that point forward that a new trend in pricing began to emerge: one that had little to do with real world supplies and real U.S. demand.

It had more to do with Wall Street commodities traders who were pumping money into futures contracts, a move that pushed prices ever higher.

By late in 2005, oil had reached a then-staggering $70 a barrel.  This caused conservative publication The National Review to warn the investors that the manipulated “oil bubble” was surely about to crash and create a downturn in the economy (which would make the dot com bust of the 90’s “look like a picnic.”)

Of course, as we all know now, prices did not crash. Much to our surprise and consternation, they did, in fact, continue to rise and rise and rise.

Oil prices have now passed $130 a barrel. And this is despite the fact that there has been no disruption in supplies, no rising surge in demand.

In fact, the oil industry’s own statistics indicate that world oil production is up while demand in the U.S. is on the downturn.  And U.S. gasoline reserves are at their highest levels in 15 years.

That’s because the American motorist, faced with sky-high prices at the pumps, has actively embraced conservation.

But the resulting downturn in U.S demand hasn’t delivered any relief at the pumps, or any lowering of prices.  In fact, gas prices are getting higher every day.

So, supply and demand is not driving those prices we pay at the pump.

What is?

Just as The National Review warned in 2005, oil and gas prices are being manipulated by investors who’ve pulled their money out of the busted real estate market and poured it into other commodities: like corn, gold and oil.

As the prices for those commodities climb, the investors who bought low are selling high.  And it’s the American consumer who’s paying the price.

So where does that leave you?  

What can you do to save money on gas?  If your car is an essential part of your life (or even if it isn't), this effects you, no matter what the “reasons” are.  

A modern solution to this is called “hypermiling.”

What is “hypermiling?”  How is it defined?

A simple definition of “hypermiling.” is “a sytem of improvements,  tweaks, and techniques used to reduce fuel consumption, save money on gas, and get maximum mileage per gallon of gasoline.”

Hypermiling has become an increasingly popular method of dealing with this gas crisis.  It includes driving techniques, automotive tuneups and tweaks, basic steps to take before you even start your car, and even lifestyle changes.  

There is also the possibility of using alternative fuels in your vehicle.

For more information on hypermiling, you might want to get a simple and inexpensive E-Book.  You can find such an E-Book at Hypermiling and Other Gas-Saving Secrets.  This E-Book is simple and clear and will give you step-by-step instructions and techniques that you can apply in order to save money on gas.

There is another reason we might all want to start to learn and practice hypermiling - and that's the environment.  Global warming is a real issue and it seems to be increasing exponentially.  This video gives you some idea of what is occurring:

For more information see Hypermiling and Gas Saving Tips

- Anna

www.livingclean.com