I read about this guy. His theories are interesting, but he drives like an ass. He does stuff like straddle lanes (so he doesn't get stuck in the grooves on old pavement) and generally doesn't give a crap about anyone else on the road so that he can boost his MPG by a fraction.

Those tactics may improve mileage, but many of them are not safe.

It's more than a fraction, but his driving is incredibly dangerous. I mean, drafting a semi at 60? Driving in two lanes, shutting off the engine at highway speed to 'coast' around curves, depending on the TURN to slow him down?

Not to mention, in most modern cars, if you lose engin power, you lose power brakes and power steering, which significantly decreases your ability to make an emergency manuver.

How arbitrary is the statement that driving over the speed limit increases wind resistance. So if the speed limit is 75, there is no increase until 75mph? But if in a neighborhood the wind resistance increases about 25mph?

Ugh. Yeah, asses like this deserve 4-5 punches in the face.

Cute if you can increase your milage, but when you begin blocking out other drivers just so you can brag about your numbers.. Well, you get a keying..

#10 is only true in town. On the highway, driving with the windows open usually lowers your MPG (wind resistance). #7 will save you only a fraction on MPG. In general, don't drive your car like you stole it and you'll get decent MPG.

My theory is there's more to life than mpg.

I think most of what Mr Gerdes does can be used with a bit of common sense applied. You don't have to drive like an ass to apply much of his advice. Like a gun or knife, in the hands of the many that exhibit no common sense these tips could be disatrous. Don't be that guy.

There are already too many people driving like they have no brakes.

You use 0 gallons of gas when you've been rear-ended by a semi doing a wind-resisting-75 after you've been "acting like you don't have brakes."

Read the comments in the previous post, then decide if what you're saying is fresh or interesting. If not, please stop typing.

We all realize he's nutty. That's why the previous post had "insane" in the title.

@joeblevins:

That's the same thing I was thinking. Wind resistance is dependent on wind speed and direction with respect to the motion of the vehicle. An arbitrary speed limit has nothing to do in an argument about wind resistance.

The AC thing has been constantly disproved. The lose of mileage from having a window open vs using the AC is practically the same.

Ya this guy is totally nuts. I think he would pull his car around like a rickshaw if he could.

@Falconfire: From the previous post on the guy, he doesn't drive with the windows down. A/C off, windows up.

Christian Bale lived on a can of tuna and an apple a day to prepare for The Machinist. NEW DIET ALERT!!!

Who cares about this guy, he's insane, unsafe, and a complete asshole on the road. The guy should be taken off the road, then he wont even have to buy gas.

@mopar_man: actually, it depends on your speed. i believe mythbusters showed that up to 55mph, windows open = saves gas. over that speed the resulting drag uses more gas than it saves.

He obviously doesn't live in Florida, with its triple-digit summer temperatures. What a douche!

It's also important to note, it's not wind resistance that goes up, it's the resulting drag of the car.

AC does make your engine work harder, but if you have an efficient and strong engine, you won't notice. The real catch here is for older cars (like my girlfriend's Altima): you really notice the diff with AC on and off.

Lastly, filling your tires to maximum pressure is a bad idea: the tires are more likely to blow out at maximum pressure. The flexibility is what allows for effective traction at varying speeds and maneuvers (e.g. turning causes inner tires to press down and get more grip). Instead, you should regularly check the tire pressure, say once a month or two, and fill them to the recommended pressure inside the driver's door frame.

"Rather than trying to maintain a constant speed, focus on maintaing a constant engine load"

I hate these people on the freeway. I always want to rear end them on principle.

Adding to all of the fine points mentioned above, the repair costs resulting from shutting off the engine every time you come to a stop light will far outweigh the pennies saved in gas.

#10 - Depends on the meaning of this and the type of car. Turn off the ac and just use the vents? Then yeah. Turn off the Ac and open a window? What type of car? Can the air easily flow back out? city or highway driving?

#9 - Yep. Nice to get feedback.

#8 - Negligible amount of gas saved

#7 - Negligible amount of gas saved.

#6 - Right in theory but not literally. 55 MPH used to be the most efficient speed to drive at and part of the reason the speed limit on most highways is/was that. Not sure if that still applies to modern cars since they're shaped different.

#5 - Yep.

#4 - Yep. Pay attention to the road ahead. If you see traffic slowing ahead, instead of keeping your foot on the gas and breaking when you get to the slowed cars, take your foot of the gas well ahead of time and let the car naturally slow down. Similar thing for curves. You want to avoid driving like you're in a city as much as possible.

#3 - yep.

#2 - I guess.

#1 - Depends. Could be dangerous. Too much inflation makes you lose grip on the road.

Here's the real number one way to save gas.

#1. Remove key from ignition.

Why not just walk to the supermarket and put all the bags in a cart... and walk home... that would DEF boost your MPG...

#1 .. I have a scan gauge on my Subaru STI, the tool itself is fantastic, it really helped me see how the car consumed fuel, so I noticed things like 70mph is the sweet spot on the highway, a little lower or higher and the car is less efficient.

That being said I realize that worrying about fuel mileage in sports car is silly most of the time, but on highway trips it is worth it.

I dunno...I believe the AC thing. I haven't had AC in my 94 Civic for about 5 years now. The car's in terrible shape, yet I get 30+ MPG driving in town (minimal or no highway driving)! It has to be the AC thing - there is no way this thing is that efficient.

I've heard and seen this guy on so many outlets. At least the Chicago Tribune had a police officer sidebar that said which of his methods were illegal. You should never have your car in neutral while driving on a public road. You're putting yourself and others in danger.

You should not be turning off your engine in traffic either. This guy would probably be shot if he drove in some major cities for holding up traffic when lights turn.

As others have said, some cars get optimum fuel economy on the highway at higher speeds than the speed limit.

You should always avoid being in situations when you have to brake needlessly. That's the number one rule of commuting. Of course no one follows that.

I have to agree that although this guy gets good MPG, he drives like a fucking asshole. Hes the kind of person that gets people killed because hes more worried about saving a couple dollars than driving safely. Nothing would make me happier than to see his license taken away from him so he could get the ultimate MPG of zero gallons used on a bicycle.

This guy must be a horrible tipper. Seriously, If you're spending that much time & energy worrying about your mpg, then consider public transportation. Don't endanger the public for your frugal antics.
Oh and @matt1978: Your comment was neither fresh nor interesting. I type when I want, like you.

I've never heard of #9 the scangauge. I just checked out the website and it looks really interestingbut I'm curious if anyone's used one and thinks it's worthwhile and cost saving.

I must admit that this guy pulls impressive numbers.
One day, while pulling out of the parking garage at work, I switched off the engine.
When I tried to turn, the powersteering was off. I almost hit another car before I managed to stop.
On the highway, that's just dangerous.....
Here's my list of ways to up your MPG:
1) Accelerate slower
2) Don't ride the brake
3) Keep your tires inflated to the recommended pressure - check this at least once a week
4) Don't drive 90 miles an hour. Your car is more efficient at 60-75mph
5) Don't let your car idle for more than a minute or so.
6) try to avoid high traffic times. If your highway is jammed when you leave work, try to find another way home (using streets instead, for instance)
7) Check your oil.
8) Keep your car clean.
9) Fix any damage to your car as soon as possible.
Do all that, and I guarantee you'll get better fuel economy.

@kahri:
Don't get it twisted...
He's a 'hypermiler', not a cheap ass.
There is a difference. I believe his point is that you can get better economy and efficiency. It's not about the cash. He drives an uplevel Accord with some extra bells and whistles. It's more about the pride of being able to get great fuel economy than anything else.
Hypermilers are a strange breed. Instead of 0-60 times and quarter miles, they measure their skills by how far they can push their MPG's...

@killavanilla: what mpg does your list get you? this guy gets 80-180mpg.

@bonzombiekitty: 55 MPH used to be the most efficient speed to drive at

55mph used to be a comfortable balance based on how long it would take to cover large distances, how safe cars were at those speeds at the time (mechanical concerns, human reaction times, etc.) and efficiency based on air resistance.

Air resistance is proportional to the square of the speed you're travelling at, meaning no matter what speed you're going, going slower will decrease the drag force on the front of your car.

If time wasn't a factor, we would make cars efficient for driving us places at 5mph, since there would be negligable drag force.

Long story short is, a lot of people think 55mph is somehow the most efficient speed to drive at. It's not. It seems to make sense since you get better mileage on the highway, but that's because you're not stopping often. If you had an empty highway and drove 10mph on it, you'd get better mileage than if you drove 55.

Perhaps we should bear in mind that Mr. Gerdes is focused on miles per gallon, as opposed to cost or safety.

Yes, his methods increase wear on the engine and tires, not to mention being sociopathic. But none of that is the point. The point is to get the highest MPG at any cost.

I'm surprised that he doesn't use a big ol' spinnaker for city driving on windy days.

WIND RESISTANCE:

Generally speaking, as your speed doubles, your wind resistance quadruples, so yeah, the faster you go, the more fuel you consume.

Source: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 theory lessons ;)

I like to think that any improvement he makes to his own MPG is offset by everybody (myself included) who floors it around him going uphill. But I do agree with shutting off your engine if idling over ten seconds but only if you are parked and waiting for somebody.

i have a standard, so coasting for me is pretty simple. downhill is usually in neutral where my car idles at 500-750 rpms.

here's something i've been pondering & i can't seem to find an answer to it: on a manual transmission, is it more fuel-efficient to rev a lower gear to a higher rpm (where it strains on the high end), or upshift into a higher gear at a lower rpm (where it strains on the low end)?

case in point: around 45 mph, i can sit in 3rd at about 3200rpm, or i can upshift to 4th at about 2000rpm. the ideal cruise window is 2200-2800rpm. there's noticeable engine strain above 3000rpm & below 2000rpm.

i would assume that a higher revving engine burns more fuel, but wouldn't an engine revving too low also burn fuel less efficiently, thereby also requiring more fuel to produce less power?

which is more efficient? anyone know?

@forever_knight:
Don't be silly - he doesn't get 80-180 mpg.
He gets 50-75. But in doing so, he flaunts his expertise in his driving methods. Turning off your car on the highway isn't a good idea for most of us.
And for the record, my MPG went from around 20 to around 26-28. Mostly city driving in a 4 cylinder honda accord.
I'm not a hypermiler either, so comparing what this guy gets to me is a waste of time.
I was merely offering some less dangerous, more common sense suggestions.

For the record, the 55 mile and hour speed limit wasn't put in place for fuel economy, it was put in place for 'safety'.

this guy would totally get a tire slashing if he pulled some of those maneuvers around here.

@forever_knight:
And even Wayne will tell you that he doesn't recommend other people do what he does all the time. He is an expert with loads of experience. Give the keys to a 16 year old and tell him to do this stuff and his MPG will go way up when he's dead.

I have one of those Scanguages. It's a fun gadget to have, and moderately useful.

It confirmed that, for my car, the mpg difference between driving 65mph and 75mph on the Interstate was negligible, so I don't feel bad about speeding. Making sure my tires aren't under-inflated had a bigger impact.

Either it or my odometer is off by a little bit, but since I only compare the scanguage's numbers against itself, it doesn't matter.

I like #4: Drive like you have no brakes; coast whenever possible and avoid needless braking.

Going to start practicing my powersliding techniques over lunch. :)

When this dude causes an accident, I so hope the opposing attorneys have all this stuff in their evidence files. If I were a lawyer, I'd print this out and just wait for the guy to be named in a reckless driving suit.

Your primary focus as you drive should be that YOU HAVE MY LIFE AND YOURS IN YOUR HANDS DINGBAT!!!

That felt good.

In terms of practicality while driving, I think #4 and #5 are the most useful yet least practiced by the average driver. I hate cruise control for the exact reason that it is based on speed with no consideration for load, which is terribly wasteful on hilly roads, and I do drive under the no-brake method because accelerating toward stop lights and braking while going uphill should rarely be necessary.

@killavanilla: So instead of a cheap ass, he's a "hypermiler". Now I like him even less. So he's not doing it to save some money, he's doing it to impress his friends? Well I don't care how much experience he has, he's going around "teaching" people how to drive recklessly for sport.

i have a '06 wrangler. It has poor gas mileage but I've recently started driving 10mph slower on the highway and really easing into gears and I've noticed a 3mpg improvement which helps on the fuel budget a lot. If you live in LA, relax, take it slow, you really aren't going to get there any faster :)

Yes, but what about ten PRACTICAL ways to increase mileage? Shutting your engine off after 10+ seconds of idling?? Tell that to the guy behind you who's laying on the horn as you fumble to restart your car when the light turns green.

My vote is to reinvent the automobile. How's that for practicality?