30 Day financial challenge- fuel economy

[WanderingOak]

After reading an article on hypermileing last week, I decided to start a 30 day challenge to change my driving habits for optimum fuel efficiency. I commute 100 miles every day (for Northern Virginia, this is considered a 'moderate' commute), so if this works, I will definitely notice the change in the amount of money leaving my wallet. The gentleman featured in the article claims that he can get 59MPG in a non-hybrid 2005 Honda Accord. I'm not sure if I can beat that, but then again, I am not going to try. Since I began changing my driving habits, I have already noticed an improvement . Before, I was averaging between 28 and 29 miles per gallon in my slightly long-in-the-tooth 2000 Hyundai (203K miles). So far, I have topped off the tank three times, and I am averaging 30-31 MPG. I should probably start keeping an odometer/fuel log to make this more scientific, instead of relying on memory. If I can keep my fuel economy at the higher numbers, I will consider the challenge to be a success.

Anyhow, so far my driving habits have not changed drastilcly. I am accelerating more slowly, and I try to keep my speed around the limit, without being dangerously slow. I do not plan on doing Forced Auto-Stops (killing the engine while moving) or anything like that, just because I happen to like power steering and brakes, and drafting behind semi's is just plain suicidal. I don't plan on using the cruise-control overmuch either because they aren't designed to work very well in hills and mountains, which I have plenty of. I am going to try to remember to shut off the engine rather than idling at traffic lights, although at times, I do forget. I'm not even sure if it is worthwhile if I am only going to idle for 10-15 seconds. The car is well maintained, and my tires are only a few months old (pressurised with Nitrogen), so I shouldn't have to make any mechanical changes to increase milage.

Back when I had a stick-shift I used to idle the engine when I was on a flat straightaway or a slight decline. I'm not going to try that in an automatic- I think there are safety interlocks that keep the transmisson from being taken out of drive while in motion. I would get 40MPG in a stock 89 Ford Escort, although it didn't have enough power for mountain roads. Being good on gas is an admirable quality for a vehicle, but being able to get out of your own way when necessary is useful as well. The brakes left much to be desired which was her downfall...

Anyhow, I am going to start keepin a milage and fuel consumption log, and update here every now and then. If anybody has any tips, tricks, or suggestions, I would appreciate any feedback.

[WanderingOak]

After driving 901 miles, my car has burned 28.2 gallons of gas, giving me an average of 31.95 MPG. The official EPA fuel economy for this car is 24 City, 31 Highway, and my driving is pretty much a mix of the two, over sometimes hilly terrain. The EPA figures were done under laboratory conditions, which do not reflect driving in the real world. Since I am beating the EPA average for this car right now, I guess I am doing something right.

As I mentioned earlier, I was getting about 28 MPG before I began paying attention to and changing my driving habits. That is only a 4 gallon difference over 900 miles, however, I am not inconvenienced by the change in my driving habits whatsoever. My commute still takes me roughly the same amount of time, as I am driving with the flow of traffic for the most part. I am neither the slowest or the fastest vehicle on the road. The main change that I have made to my driving is that I avoid heavy accelleration unless I have to for safety reasons. In other words, I am still driving the same speed that I was before, it just takes me a bit longer to get there now.

It's interesting that the EPA calculates 'average' acceleration at 3.2 MPH/second. That's 0-60 in 18.75 seconds. I don't have a stopwatch or an accelerometer handy, but that seems awful slow, even by my current driving standards. I might pay closer attention to how long it takes me to get up to speed.

One inconvenience to shutting down the engine at stoplights that I discovered is tha my car has a battery saving 'feature' that shuts off the headlights when the engine is off. This is the exact opposite of the high-end luxury cars that keep the lights on for five minutes after shutdown. This could be a safety issue when driving after dark, so I may look into ways of disabling this 'feature'. It is even more fun when I have a burned out running light, because then my car is almost completely invisible when my headlights are off and it's dark out. Until I get this fixed, I am probably going to keep my engine on when driving at night.

One advantage that hybrids have is that they automaticly shut down at idle if the batteries are topped off. You don't even have to take them out of gear. All you have to do is step on the gas and she'll start right back up again. It takes me about 3 seconds to start the car and get her in gear. If I can see the other light turn yellow, I can usually time it so I am running and in gear when my light turns green.

Anyhow, I'll keep you updated and let you know if I have anything new or if there are any changes.

[SeriousKidding.com]

Boy, that is way cool, my friend! Good luck on that. Each day gas prices go up, you're saving more and more money. I do pity those of you who have to commute. That's how life in American has been planned with full-on suburbia and having to drive into the hub city to work. I am very lucky in that the small town I live in requires nothing more than feet and a bike to comfortably travel anywhere. But, I did grow up in Los Angeles, so I know all about long commutes. Anyway, very good luck in your endeavor to save money on gas and to help spew less crud into the environment. I salute you.

[WanderingOak]

Well, it's been more than 30 days, but I am still at it. I guess that means that the driving habits that I adapted 'stuck'. I don't have my milage sheet with me now, but my average has gone up to 34 MPG. Until April, I was actually approaching 36 MPG, but I think the warmer weather may have something to do with the drop since then. Either running the A/C or opening a window will reduce milage. I had a tuneup in early April, which may have accounted for the increase in fuel economy. Delaer plugs and wires cost me about $40.00, which offset any fuel savings, but a tuneup is basic maintenance, and is required every now and then.

[RT Wolf]

Niceeeee. Good work!