One of the hottest blog topics in the past couple of days has been “hypermiling”, a practice that could boost fuel economy in even the biggest SUVs, thereby saving consumers thousands of dollars at the pump.
Hypermiling was originated by Wayne Gerdes of Wadsworth, IL. Gerdes, who used to operate a nuclear plant, says he gets about 40-70 mpg out of his Ford Ranger pickup — considerably higher than the 25 mpg the truck is supposed to get. According to Gerdes, he reckons he has saved about $15,000 in fuel costs since beginning this hypermiling technique several years ago.
How does he do it?
Here are some tips from an article I read:
- Don’t let your engine idle for too long, and turn it off completely if you need to idle for more than 10 seconds
- Fill your tires to the maximum rating as printed on the sidewall
- Don’t weigh your vehicle down with excess cargo in the trunk, backseat, etc.
- Use the lowest weight oil allowable for your vehicle
- Decelerate when approaching stop signs and red lights
- Try to cut down on air conditioner use
- Don’t drive above the speed limit
- Change your air filter once a year
These techniques sound interesting, and I think I may give them a try. The only ones I actually use now are not driving above the speed limit and not accelerating to stop signs and stop lights. I want to try inflating my tires more, changing my oil to a lower weight, and changing the air filter.
If hypermiling can double my car’s mpg rating, then these small changes will be worth it. I can’t wait to try!