hypermiling my bosses xB

[aar0s]

A guy that my boss knows is a mod at cleanmpg.com. So he takes my bosses new scion xb (the boxy one) and uses all his mypermiler tricks on it and claims 61mpg's, the cars rated at like 35 on the highway. Then I hear that he did this going like 35 and 45 mph! If I met a guy going 35 in a 55 he better be having car problems. Basically he saved a gallon of gas and turned a 30 min. drive into over an hour-long drive.
The thing that gets me is that two of his tricks were to cover the bottom air dam, I thought this dam allowed air to pass through the AC condenser, don’t matter cause I guarantee that he didn’t use it (low 90's here this weekend with high humidity) and the second was to inflate his tires to 60 PSI. He claims that they will hold 6 times the recommended PSI. How safe is that?

 

[Darkwriter77]

Some hypermiling tricks are just common sense (don't nail the throttle from every stoplight, use the A/C less or not at all, reduce your highway speed a little bit, etc.) but a lot of them are not only stupid but downright dangerous.

Jacking up your tire pressure to insanely high levels not only threatens to pop the tire, but affects handling, makes the car ride like crap, and also shrinks the size of the contact patch your tire has upon the road - not good in dry conditions, and VERY bad in wet weather.

The other suggestions I've seen about hypermiling involve gradually getting up to speed and then slowing WAY down, then speeding up again, over and over again. Another involves something similar to that, called an "advanced technique," but actually involves SHUTTING THE ENGINE OFF while going down the road.

Not only does this piss off the people following you (dangerous method because it creates road rage incidents), but if you turn the key too far back so the steering wheel locks, you're screwed if you need to turn the wheel, and you have no power assist for steering or brakes with the engine shut off, so again there's another dangerous thing.

Basically, the whole hypermiling thing is a stupid form of excess to which people will go just for the bragging rights of having higher MPG numbers. Sorry, my safety isn't worth risking my own life or others' just for some statistics.

Not only that, but considering that a lot of the suggested techniques will put more wear n' tear on your vehicle's other parts, you'll wind up spending MORE money on replacement parts (excessive tire wear, starters, batteries, etc.) than you'll be saving on gas, so it's kind of counter-productive in that sense.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I'd plain old murder a guy going 35 in a 55. MPG would be the least of his problems.

 

[Mustang5L5]

the second was to inflate his tires to 60 PSI. He claims that they will hold 6 times the recommended PSI. How safe is that?

Wow, to save $0.30 he's gonna wear his tires out ASAP and have to spend $400-500 on a new set sooner than expected.


The MAX tire pressure is stamped on the tire. NEVER exceed this. There is a safety factory designed into everything by engineers but you can NEVER assume it's there.




I get a kick out of a lot of these so called "gas-saving tips" by non-technical people. A lot of them have no engineering basis at all.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Basically, the whole hypermiling thing is a stupid form of excess to which people will go just for the bragging rights of having higher MPG numbers. Sorry, my safety isn't worth risking my own life or others' just for some statistics.

I agree. I almost get the sense that people like to brag about thier MPG to make up for buying such a crappy car. I realize everyone on the road isn't exactly a car enthisiast, but you can't tell me the average person in a prius doing 35MPH down the highway wouldn't rather buy in a nice 400HP luxury sedan or something else that would tickle their whistle?


I remember once i had some guy in a toyota echo or something pull up to me at a light. I had the windows down and gave it a few revs to show a buddy my exhaust. He comments "Yeah it's nice, but i get 40MPG with this baby. You can't say that"

I just responded. "I could care less about MPG...i'd rather enjoy my car and have fun on my commute than save $300 or so a year on fuel costs. That's more important to me"

 

[Darkwriter77]

Prius (and similar car) owners pollute the world with SMUG instead of smog.

 

[stykthyn]

Some hypermiling tricks are just common sense (don't nail the throttle from every stoplight, use the A/C less or not at all, reduce your highway speed a little bit, etc.) but a lot of them are not only stupid but downright dangerous.

actually many cars will start experiencing negative drag effects from open windows at about 35mph. running the a/c at this point will not be as detrimental as keeping the windows down. unless you like your hair whipping around and the deafening sound of road noise and wind rushing through the car at 55+

 

[Mustang5L5]

actunless you like your hair whipping around and the deafening sound of road noise and wind rushing through the car at 55+

Actually I do. If i can't roll my windows down at 75MPH on the highway on a nice sunny day...i feel like i'm missing out on something.


Seriously..it can be 40 degrees outside...i'll put the heat on full blast and roll the windows down

 

[lang williams]

If some one is doing 35 in a 55 it should be legal to put em in the wall. Russ Wheeler would.

 

[LiquidGT]

actually many cars will start experiencing negative drag effects from open windows at about 35mph. running the a/c at this point will not be as detrimental as keeping the windows down. unless you like your hair whipping around and the deafening sound of road noise and wind rushing through the car at 55+

+1
I just run the a/c on the highway because the fox needs all the areodynamics it can get, at highway speeds its usually cheaper to use the a/c. Plus I can't stand all that wind, noise, hot air blowing in my face, and shopping bags getting sucked out of the hatch area and flying onto the highway, I cant deal with it. Sorry for the rant.

 

[Darkwriter77]

FWIW, my truck isn't affected by the windows being up OR down. Doesn't matter when the vehicle is shaped like a friggin' cinder block. My MPG is measurably INCREASED by NOT using the A/C on the highway, and it definitely sucks gas down when I use the air in city traffic. I don't think many vehicles made in the 80's, what with their boxy-shaped bodies n' all, would ever really be affected by the windows being up or down. Granted, I seem to be one of only a handful of people in the country still driving a vehicle that's over 10 years old, and most newer cars are all round and shaped like potatoes on wheels, but the rule of aerodynamic drag caused by windows being down doesn't exactly apply across the board.

The A/C system also makes a bigger difference on lower-torque motors. If we were talking about, say, running the A/C on the highway only in a 5.0 Fox, then yeah, the difference between no A/C and highway A/C would be minimal (if any, at all); however, in something like my truck or even a Geo Metro, with no A/C versus highway A/C there is a significant savings in NOT using the air. Basically, the rule of thumb is that if you can feel your power bog down quite a bit and you have to lay into the gas pedal a bit more to maintain speed on the highway when you switch on the A/C, chances are you're using more fuel.

FWIW, Frankenstang's '04 and '06 V6 Mustangs both suck the gas down like a V8 when she's using the A/C, and you can definitely feel the difference in power between the two with the air on versus when it's off. Those motors do have decent HP numbers for a V6, but they still lack the torque of a V8, so when you're cruising along at only 1500 to 2000 RPM, you're not spinning things fast enough for horsepower to be the deciding factor as much as torque.

It's also hard to measure mileage with the windows up and no A/C versus the windows down and no A/C. I mean, c'mon, if you try driving around with no A/C and with the windows rolled up here in the summer in Phoenix, you'll literally pass out within a few minutes from the heat. And besides, about the only time of year a person could really test it accurately is in the cooler fall/winter months, at which point (at least here in AZ) they switch to that stupid ethanol blend which kills your gas mileage and power, anyhow, so no matter what your MPG is gonna suck.

 

[stykthyn]

seriously..it can be 40 degrees outside...i'll put the heat on full blast and roll the windows down

I am guilty of that too
I put the heat on my feet and put the top down, the wife hates it.

 

[aar0s]

Some of the common sense stuff is well, common sense. but most of it sound like its a hazzard to the people on the road around you. I told my boss that id through nickles at a guy going 35 in a 55

 

[LiquidGT]

FWIW, my truck isn't affected by the windows being up OR down. Doesn't matter when the vehicle is shaped like a friggin' cinder block. My MPG is measurably INCREASED by NOT using the A/C on the highway, and it definitely sucks gas down when I use the air in city traffic. I don't think many vehicles made in the 80's, what with their boxy-shaped bodies n' all, would ever really be affected by the windows being up or down. Granted, I seem to be one of only a handful of people in the country still driving a vehicle that's over 10 years old, and most newer cars are all round and shaped like potatoes on wheels, but the rule of aerodynamic drag caused by windows being down doesn't exactly apply across the board.

The A/C system also makes a bigger difference on lower-torque motors. If we were talking about, say, running the A/C on the highway only in a 5.0 Fox, then yeah, the difference between no A/C and highway A/C would be minimal (if any, at all); however, in something like my truck or even a Geo Metro, with no A/C versus highway A/C there is a significant savings in NOT using the air. Basically, the rule of thumb is that if you can feel your power bog down quite a bit and you have to lay into the gas pedal a bit more to maintain speed on the highway when you switch on the A/C, chances are you're using more fuel.

FWIW, Frankenstang's '04 and '06 V6 Mustangs both suck the gas down like a V8 when she's using the A/C, and you can definitely feel the difference in power between the two with the air on versus when it's off. Those motors do have decent HP numbers for a V6, but they still lack the torque of a V8, so when you're cruising along at only 1500 to 2000 RPM, you're not spinning things fast enough for horsepower to be the deciding factor as much as torque.

It's also hard to measure mileage with the windows up and no A/C versus the windows down and no A/C. I mean, c'mon, if you try driving around with no A/C and with the windows rolled up here in the summer in Phoenix, you'll literally pass out within a few minutes from the heat. And besides, about the only time of year a person could really test it accurately is in the cooler fall/winter months, at which point (at least here in AZ) they switch to that stupid ethanol blend which kills your gas mileage and power, anyhow, so no matter what your MPG is gonna suck.

I think they did the study on Mythbusters, and I think they concluded it was better to drive with the air on at high speeds.

Low torque cars are awful with the a/c running, I dont remember how many times I had to turn off the air so I could pull quick left turn in heavy traffic in the old Escort wagon. Me to passenger: "I have to make a left turn into traffic, so it's about to get hot in here." I also triggered the wot off switch many a time in that thing. My buddy’s SVT Focus power drops with the a/c on, my moms 3.1 Cutlass drinks like a V8 with the a/c.

Honestly I never seen a difference in the Mustang though, its light and powerful so it doesnt matter either way.

Its probably my imagination, but I think the Ranger air dam I put on the 'stang a couple of weeks ago increased my mileage just hair; and I haven’t been driving "economically" lately either. I did it for cooling, but it might be working for underbody drag too.

 

[Mustang5L5]

There are min speed limits where i live.

They sometimes post a MAX with a MIN below it. MIN is usually 45MPH. So if you go under it, you can get a ticket.


OT, but just the other day I was doing 65MPH in the fast lane when someone in a crappy car merged onto the highway and then darted as quickly as possible over to the fast lane...and then cruised at 45MPH. I was coming up on them and had to slam on my brakes. Then i had to go into the middle lane and whip around them along with other traffic behind me that was cruising at 65MPH with me. I couldn't beleive that they NEEDED to get over to the left lane in the span of 300-400 feet after getting on the highway, but then proceeded to do SLOWER than the original lane they were in. They were also one of those "stare straight ahead totally oblivious to their surrounding" type of driver.

 

[stykthyn]

over on the greenrodding board at corral a bunch of guys are talking about the pros and cons of making under body sheets that will smooth the bottom of the car and therefore reduce drag. not sure what the actual results would be vs cost of fabbing such a thing, but I definitely think that some huge gains could be made in this area. unless you are in daves truck b/c it's a giant cinder block

 

[Darkwriter77]

Just think, though, if you go covering the entire underside of your vehicle ... what about when you need to crawl under there to work on something? Like, say, to do an oil change? That might suck, having to remove a bunch of panels or one big panel just to get at other things that've gotta be removed, as well.

Plus, it just provides animals yet another place to crawl up in there and live when the vehicle's parked. Next thing you know, you're driving down the highway and start smelling burnt hair because of the cat that crawled into the undercarriage of your vehicle and is getting baked by the exhaust...

 

[Flavadave4]

Actually I do. If i can't roll my windows down at 75MPH on the highway on a nice sunny day...i feel like i'm missing out on something.


Seriously..it can be 40 degrees outside...i'll put the heat on full blast and roll the windows down

I'm the same way, I just enjoy driving with the windows open. I can handle them closed in the pick up, but in the 5.0...I'll crank the heat just to have them open, my wife sitting next to me in a knit hat and gloves freezing here arse off

 

[stykthyn]

Just think, though, if you go covering the entire underside of your vehicle ... what about when you need to crawl under there to work on something? Like, say, to do an oil change? That might suck, having to remove a bunch of panels or one big panel just to get at other things that've gotta be removed, as well.

Plus, it just provides animals yet another place to crawl up in there and live when the vehicle's parked. Next thing you know, you're driving down the highway and start smelling burnt hair because of the cat that crawled into the undercarriage of your vehicle and is getting baked by the exhaust...

living up to your CT again I see

 

[Darkwriter77]

living up to your CT again I see

Meh ... my life sucks right now, I've gotta vent somehow, so I take it out on all of y'all with my grumpy, pessimistic posts.