UKPylot’s MINI Blog

06 May, 2008

Hypermiling, sorta

Posted by: ukpylot In: My MINI ()

Suddenly hypermiling is the word du jour so I thought I’d let myself get caught up in the fervour. Well, not really, but I have been mixing up my driving habits with some good results.

This morning the OBC was indicating 30.1mpg after 350-odd miles, something I have never seen all the time I’ve owned the ‘05. Better yet, the low-fuel light was yet to come on so it looked like I would finally get my first ever 400 mile tank. But then I was stymied - by an Arco gas station selling premium at 3.925. I’d almost certainly be paying 20c a gallon more if I waited close to 400 miles and eventually the luxury of paying less than $4 a gallon won out. My actual mpg came out to be 29.1, my highest ever.

My new driving habits? Nothing earth-shattering, just trying to pull away more evenly, drive the speed limit on the flat and uphill, floor it like I own it on the downslopes.

5 Responses to "Hypermiling, sorta"

1 | carbasics

May 7th, 2008 at 01:24

You are spot on with what you are saying, hypermiling has lots of techniques, some basic and some extreme. You can read more about these techniques here ;

http://www.carbasics.co.uk/what_is_hypermiling.htm

The message is the same though, you don’t have to be 2-wheeling it around corners to keep your momentum going (but it can be fun), common sense and a little looking at your own drivng skills (and others) or lack of can make a big difference to your wallet in these hard times.

http://www.carbasics.co.uk/what_is_hypermiling.htm

2 | Ian C.

May 7th, 2008 at 13:15

I don’t think gas will go down again, so the question is … will you drive like this forever?

3 | rb

May 7th, 2008 at 21:38

Hello from Holland.

Over here petrol is beyond stupid. I see the US heading this way very, very quickly now so hang onto your seat and wallet, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride for quite a while.

Never heard of this term.

Sunday it’s off to the International MINI Meet.

4 | db

May 18th, 2008 at 07:02

Similiar techniques have been working quite well for me. I got 30MPG out of my last tank that was almost entirely city driving.

This is good practice and stuff to keep in mind. While I don’t think gas will be getting much more expensive than it is now (supply and demand will be kicking in at some point in the near future I think), I also think the days of truly ‘cheap’ gas are behind us.

5 | Mark

June 17th, 2008 at 07:44

This string caught my attention, but still a little surprised there isn’t as many comments as I expected. I’ll keep checking back since this is a hot topic for me personally.

Comment Form

ukpylot: Yeah, I was somewhat surprised but not much I could do. Sound though that I should plan ahead for the front brakes and get them done for much cheaper.
Brian Lalor: Egads. For $330, I'd have driven home without brakes and done the work myself. On my back on ice in freezing rain. Seriously, that's crazy. The to
Josh Wardell: I am almost due as well (at over 80k mi). I think I remember some people saying it was about $800. My brakes are on their way out, and I've had braide