When a hybrid isn't enough - hypermilers go to the extreme

"the throttle closes automatically to cut off the fuel and let the engine compression help control the decent."

You realize the car is in nuetral? it sounds as though your example is in gear during the downhill thus using the gearing to reduce speed which will work the motor. Your theory is eliminated everyday someone drives a manual and saves gas.

jkbrent: I think the state police will find your call quite humorous. You could call them about a real crime and they likely will not respond quickly. Most interstates do post a minimum speed limit. In addition, the ticket can be given for traffic not moving to the right in Va. Your both right. However, per your admission to loving the smell of gas, I strongly advise you to not do this. There are many groups that can help you.

Thank you for running the story about hypermiling to save gas. This is such a timely and significant issue that effects every one of us.

It was a real pleasure talking to Mr. Geiger, sharing my, uh, new found passion. After personally meeting Jacob, he started asking questions that told me that he had been doing his homework long before we met. He brings great credit to his profession.

And thanks to your partners at the Channel 13 TV news and the video crew. I can only imagine the coordination and team work that is required to get a story together from video shot in Williamsburg at 6 PM, then broadcast to the community from Norfolk by 10 and 11 PM.

Could I address a few comments from the online version of the article. My claim to attain 62 mpg is based on consuming 598.7 gallons of gas while driving 37,272.9 miles in 2 years, not the car display. I keep meticulous records on this. Yes, the display in the car is inaccurate. The last fill up took 10.8 gallons while travelling 758 miles. The display indicated 66 mpg for the tank, actual results were 70.1 mpg.

But this tit-for-tat bickering really misses the point. Jacob “got it” when he saw it and did for h

I don't know if the cars ahead of me were hypermiling or what, but they sure were not saving gas. When we were 200 yards away from the red light, these cars slowed down. I assumed they were slowing to let the light turn green. The light changed to green and they never sped up. Then the light changed to red as we got to it. 2 miles down the road the lead car turns off; the remaining vehicle did it again! How does missing the light save on gas. I got around him and turned onto 164. That idiot tried to race me! Like if I stayed in front of him, he couldn’t make me hypermile!
As someone pointed out earlier; you cannot travel in the left lane blocking traffic, you cannot obstruct traffic and a host of other laws. So while you my believe that you are keeping speeders in check, you are really breaking more laws and being far more dangerous then someone doing 10 mph over the limit.

Anyone using cruise control in the city on 264 or any other highway is looking for trouble. Cruise control was not intended to be used on such highways. It's human nature to find a way not to "break" your cruise, which leads to bad decisions and often-unnecessary obstruction of traffic or braking. Even on long trips over rural highways I'll use cruise for about two minutes, re-adjust and put my vehicle back in my control. It's no doubt in my mind that gadget cause way more accidents than we'll ever know; just think about when you use it, how far you let a situation deteriorate before you'll finally accelerate or brake.

Just a FAST thought.

Never had a speeding ticket in my life and never will. Know why, because I don't speed. Noting in life is that urgent to die for. So, take all the pictures you want. I wasn't too ugly to be on TV. So, if you want the honor of my mug to look at... snap away.

I drive to and from the oceanfront once a week via 264. Given the price of gas I have slowed down in order to conserve and boost my MPG. With the cruise control set on 56 MPH and in the second lane from the right, I'm passed by EVERY other vehicle; almost no one observses the posted speed limit. I chuckle as the SUV's whiz by going 80----at least I'm saving a few bucks---as our Founding Father Ben Franklin said---a penny saved.
IMHO -- our esteemed Senator John Warner has it right in proposing lowering the limit nationally to 55 MPH.

"Submitted by jkbrent on Sat, 07/12/2008 at 4:25 pm.

As a proud IDIOT, I do pay the price. I love the smell of gas as it flows into the tank. You want to do 41mph. Fine, get out of the way. You can bet I'll call the state police if your doing 41 in the left lane in a 55 or higher zone. I've done it before.. and "The Man" WILL pull you over for it. I'll even maintain a safe distance behind you and run my emergency flashers so the fuzz knows EXACTLY where you are."
To return the favor, I'll take a picture with my cell phone of your liscence plate as you are flying by me(in the right lane by the way)at 20 mph over the limit. It's the least I can do.

First of all, if anyone is in the left lane doing 41 mph, they aren't one of us.

I don't have the time to be all so mindful of saving $30, $40, even $50 of gas a month. For all the hassle of hypermiling, I got better things to do and be mindful of.

Oh, and as for buses.... No way Jose. lol Besides being slow, with obnoxious knuckleheads on board, they're rolling coffins. Not putting my life in the hands of someone else behind the wheel. I don't even like riding in someone else car...lol

Yeah, but anyone knows the most amount of power is used to put weight into motion. The same as pushing a heavy crate on wheels. You use the most strength to start it rolling. Therefore, each time you accelerate from stop, your eating down an enormous percentage of those batteries power. I don't care what Toyota says, and I'm sure they mean well as they put out good stuff. If your in heavy traffic or driving in town and never get past 30MPH, those batteries are going to be dead in no time.

"Toyota's use electrical power to approx 30mph then run on gasoline engine."

What's the point in driving this thing anywhere but in a subdivision, or a golf course?

The reason is a lot of your wasted gas is in that range. Calling a hybrid system more efficient isn't really correct. A tractor trailer is far more efficient than a Prius because it moves far more weight per gallon of fuel. What it supposed to do is eliminate burning fuel when it's not being used such as sitting at a light or in stop and go traffic. Conventional cars have to sit an idle when you're not moving which is fuel used that does absolutely nothing. If you really want to save gas, getting on the bus is the best choice because they blow away any car in efficiency.

Bob is doing something of excellent value by sharing his wisdom with others, and all I see on these comments is whining and bashing. Oh my, where on earth did you hear that he blocks up the left lane, illegally impeding traffic, not letting faster cars pass,etc...??? these must have been pulled from a different universe folks!
Oh NO! I see he has to be in his car an extra 15min each day, the dread!
Or wait, mabye he GETs to spent an extra 15 minutes in the outdoors enjoying the view and practicing a skill he loves, living life to the fullest! More power to him I say! :) It is all a matter of perspective! Climb out of the box and view the big picture! :)
What about the time you will lose, if you get killed or kill someone else because you were going too fast, hmmmm?
Emancipate yourself from the rat race, for he that wins is STILL A RAT!
There is only one destination we are all bound for, that is DEATH, then the JUDGE

As a proud IDIOT, I do pay the price. I love the smell of gas as it flows into the tank. You want to do 41mph. Fine, get out of the way. You can bet I'll call the state police if your doing 41 in the left lane in a 55 or higher zone. I've done it before.. and "The Man" WILL pull you over for it. I'll even maintain a safe distance behind you and run my emergency flashers so the fuzz knows EXACTLY where you are.

"Toyota's use electrical power to approx 30mph then run on gasoline engine."

What's the point in driving this thing anywhere but in a subdivision, or a golf course?

Hybrid drivers will be the ones cauing a traffic jam when the battery runs dead in the middle of the hightway. And/or that tiny little gas tank runs out of gas.

Perhaps you need to go back to school and study supply and demand because based on what every expert on the subject states it is not people driving 65mph but the rapid development of countries like China and India.
So call them up and moan about $4 a gallon gas which is a price everyone in Europe would love to pay!

I've driven the following cars for extended period: Insight, Civic Hybrid, TDI Jetta & 2 Corrados that I've converted to TDI. The Hybrids I've driven have required a very gentle touch on the highway to return close to 50mpg. I drive the highway a lot and enjoy stomping on the go pedal to get places quickly. I have found that the TDI yields the best mileage. My cars are always getting better then 45mpg even when at the drag strip, typically returning 50+mpg without the disturbing hypermiling practices that piss people off. Even with the higher price of diesel I still return a cheaper per mile cost then a 40mpg gas car and have more fun.

While I agree that a large number of the drivers in this area are idiots and a majority of them seem to post messages in the Pilot forums, it is not your or any other drivers job to drive slow in the left lane to force other people to drive slow.

Not only is it illegal to NOT give way when in the left lane. It is also listed under the aggressive driving code. Virginia Stated code 46.2-842. Driver to give way to overtaking vehicle. Look it up.

It is also illegal to impede the progress of another vehicle 46.2-818.

So all of you self righteous people talking on the phone and eating your Big Macs while driving slow in the left lane are in violation of numerous laws.

Get off the phone and move over and let the police take care of the idiot that is trying to break the sound barrier.

"The key point to keep in mind can be best summarized by the following quote from the article: "Hypermiling has added 15 minutes to Winger's 31-mile commute..." Assuming that the 15min. added is for each way, that's 150min./week or 5hrs./yr. assuming he takes a four week vacation (commutes 48 weeks out of the year)."

Actually it's a lot more than that. He's adding 1/2 hour a day, 2.5 hours a week, 120 hours a year to his commute. So every year he's doing the equivalent of working an extra 15 days.

Algae farms can produce 10,000 gallons of ethanol per acre. Corn produces about 50 gallons per acre. Algae also love CO2. We need to switch now.

I agree with the comment that obviously gas isn't high enough, the way people still drive their big SUVs like there's no tomorrow.

Prius driver, here, I get 50 mpg without trying, 60 driving the SPEED LIMIT. My commute may be a few mintues longer, but the stress has really dropped because I am no longer constantly looking around for a policeman because I'm no longer breaking the law. Funny how that works.

Hybrids and all electric cars are the future if we plan on driving in the years to come. Some of us may be forced to use *GASP* public transportation.

Now, everyone, a few deep cleansing breaths. It will be okay.

The idiots here are the ones that think a 55 speed limit means they can go 75 if they're in the left lane. A limit is a LIMIT...not to be exceeded in ANY lane. The minimum on Interstates is usually 40. I can go 41 if I want. It's because of you morons that we're paying 4 bucks a gallon, keeping the demand high. Until you start conserving, the Arabs are going to stick it to us... Go back to school and learn the "supply and demand" theory. If people are still buying gas, it means the price is still not high enough. YOu don't like the price, slow down or stay home. It's not rocket science. If you want to be selfish, pay the price. Unfortunately, we ALL have to pay the price.

Rick, It is obvious you have no idea how the hybrids work. Toyota's use electrical power to approx 30mph then run on gasoline engine. Honda's use gasoline engines all of time and engage electric motor when extra power is needed, such as pulling away quickly from a light or pulling a long hill. Both totally shut down at a light, if you have the econo function engaged. Can anyone tell me where there is an area to get around in VA Beach, other than neighborhoods where the speed limit is less than 30? Honda's and Toyota's work differently than the other and serve different functions. If you live in a town where the limit is less than 30 mph, drive that Prius, otherwise you need the Civic. Enjoy the banter, I'm loving it, and Jack_McLovin not all hybrid owners are smug and self righteous. It almost sounds like you have contempt for hybrid owners. Have you considered medication?

This isn't guess work or opinion. That's how the deceleration systems work. When you're traveling down even a slight hill, the engine does not need to apply more power by burning gas. RPMs is not an indicator of fuel being used. The amount of fuel an engine needs at a given instant is how much resistance it's getting against its rotation and not how fast it's rotating. Take when you drive up a hill but maintain your speed and gear. Even though the RPMs is unchanged, the throttle has to open up more and get more fuel into the cylinders in order to get the bigger bang needed to climb the hill. You can hear it doing it. When going down a hill and maintaining your speed, you're actually decelerating because the incline would normally make the car move faster. At that point the throttle closes automatically to cut off the fuel and let the engine compression help control the decent.

Hi Bob:

Great story and great job pulling 83 mpg on your commute home yesterday evening.

Thank you for teaching yet another young journalist how to almost double the EPA rating of an automobile without so much as following the speed limits and driving far more aware and safe than Joe and Suzy Q. Public. And to think you are paying only half what the average Honda Civic Hybrid driver is paying at the pump let alone just 1/4 what someone in a regular non-hybrid sedan is paying all by Hypermiling.

I have to wonder how much time the individual that says it takes to much time wastes when he pulls into the gas station probably 4 times as often as you do :)

Yo do not use more fuel coasting in nuetral. When you shift to nuetral, simply look at your rpm's and you can see for yourself that your car needs less fuel to operate. Unless you are coasting in gear it is not true that idling could use more fuel than accelerating.

Automobiles are incredibly inefficent. They constantly use more energy than is needed. I second the guy with the 80's era Honda. I drove to Richmond and back on a quarter of a tank.

Life is too short to spend it not enjoying the ride! I will die dead broke and do all I can to make my life as easy and enjoyable as possible.
If you are content counting all your pennies, accelerating slowly, washing and reusing ziplock bags and aluminim foil then knock yourself out as it is your miserable life to live but please respect my choice as I respect yours.

TIP: Save some more pennies by making your kids eat their cereal with a fork that way they can share the milk!

When you shift into neutral and coast down hills, you're actually using more gas if you have a relatively new car. The computer is smart enough to cut off the fuel supply during deceleration and you're disabling that feature by switching to neutral. Instead it has to turn back on the fuel to keep the engine at idle speed. This is pretty much a mandatory feature of newer cars because incompletely burning fuel during deceleration produces pollution that would make them fail emission requirements.

The key point to keep in mind can be best summarized by the following quote from the article: "Hypermiling has added 15 minutes to Winger's 31-mile commute..." Assuming that the 15min. added is for each way, that's 150min./week or 5hrs./yr. assuming he takes a four week vacation (commutes 48 weeks out of the year). That's almost a full working day's time taken out of your life just to accommodate the ADDED time to save a few bucks in gas. I don't know about everyone else, but my time is worth much more than saving a few cents more on gas. Another way to look at it is that if you include commute time as part of the working day's hours, you've effectively taken a pay cut. I'll choose to drive about 5-7 over the speed limit, accelerate from a stop in a reasonable amount of time, keep up with traffic (not too fast or too slow or weaving in and out) and generally driving in a smooth but expeditious manner. Sure,

We have a 2006 Expedition that we drive on the weekends for family outings.

I read a bunch of stuff from this website a couple of months back. Some of it made good sense, some of it was simply crazy and unsafe in a metropolitan area.

When I have the opportunity I accelerate slower, I maintain 60-62 IN THE FAR RIGHT LANE and use the cruise control as much as possible. By doing this I improved the MPG by 4 mpg around town and as much as 7 on the highway. It made a big difference.

Just drive sensibly. Not unsafe. Accelerate when you need to, but do not race from stop light to stop light, you get there no faster than the guy beside you.