Easy driving: Al ‘Hobbit’ Walker employs special techniques to increase fuel economy in his Toyota Prius. The hybrid usually gets 40 m.p.g.; Mr. Walker can push 60. (Mark Clayton)
Squeezing the most out of a gallon
As gas prices rise, clever drivers adopt new rules of the road.
By Mark Clayton| Staff Writer for The Christian Science Monitor/June 11, 2008 edition
Reporter Mark Clayton discusses a recent experience with Al 'Hobbit' Walker, a Boston-based hypermiler.
Reporter Mark Clayton
Franklin, Mass.
With gas prices soaring above $4 a gallon, grousing at the fill-up station is rising fast, too. But instead of complaining, America’s leading “hypermiler” advises simply “teaching your right foot” to behave.
A former nuclear engineer, Wayne Gerdes is the nation’s foremost proponent of a radical shift in driving behavior away from the gun-it-and-go style to an approach he calls “hypermiling” aimed at saving fuel.
Once a voice in the wilderness, this hypermiling evangelist has recently found a receptive and apparently growing flock. To demonstrate his techniques, Mr. Gerdes recently drove 800 miles from Chicago to New York in a borrowed Toyota Prius hybrid burning just 8.9 gallons – or 71 miles per gallon, far better than the car’s fuel-rating.
Still, it’s not a system just for long trips, nor is owning a hybrid required, he says. Even in his eight-year-old Honda Accord, Mr. Gerdes can squeeze out 59 miles to the gallon, double its fuel-economy rating.
Doing so, however, involves deploying many subtle, as well as common-sense, changes to driving habits. They range from timing traffic lights and gliding on through rather than stopping to filling tires to the maximum level listed on the tire instead of what’s inside the vehicle’s door. On subtler points, Gerdes is equally adamant: park on the highest points of mall parking lots to use gravity more – nose out to avoid backing up.
“We’re finally starting to see a lot more people moderating their driving and going a little slower – and that’s nice,” he says. “But moderate isn’t enough when all this stuff is so easy. We can’t afford to ‘just drive’ anymore. We have to use the tools we know.”
Zen and the art of ‘no brakes’
Jack-rabbit starts are obviously out, he says. So is heavy braking. His new mantra is “DWB,” or “Drive Without Brakes,” which means driving almost as if you didn’t have them – gliding to stops instead of accelerating to them. Using momentum to sling-shot a vehicle through turns instead of braking first, then accelerating. Changing to synthetic oil, taking heavy junk out of the car’s trunk, and minimizing the use of air conditioning – which can cut mileage by 5 to 25 percent.
This last step may be hard for many. But it makes perfect sense to Gerdes, who began hypermiling as a patriotic gesture after 9/11 to help make the nation more energy secure. Even so, few were interested until gas prices climbed after hurricane Katrina.
Now with gas prices higher still, dollar-saving driving is the new incentive. To deal with that, 66 percent of Americans said they would change driving habits and 71 percent said they were thinking about buying a fuel-sipping vehicle, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research poll.
Another sign is the growing attention to mileage achievement these past three years at the annual Hybridfest in Madison, Wis. At the festival’s “MPG Challenge,” on a 30-mile course, William Kinney of Kennewick, Wash., drove his Honda Insight at 168 miles per gallon – 223 percent over the EPA estimate of 52 m.p.g. for his vehicle to win the top division last year.
Still, it’s hard to say just how widely the hypermiling idea is catching on. Hits on Gerdes website cleanmpg.com have soared with increasing attention by the news media. And as gas prices have grown, so have discussion board tips on how to save gallons.
“I’m just taking advantage of the hills and the back roads and all the great hypermile advice,” says Laurie With, a business manager in St. Cloud, Minn. “People zoom up behind and flash their lights. But if I’m doing the speed limit, I have the right to do that without having someone say ‘go faster, go faster.’ ”
Following Gerdes’s rules, she’s coaxed her 2005 Honda Civic far higher than its 41 miles per gallon rating to get more than 65 m.p.g. on her daily commute. She lightly accelerates down one hill, gliding up to the crest of the next. Driving “without brakes” and no more than the speed limit as well as inflating her tires to the maximum have all helped, she says.
So does having a gas-mileage gauge, which tracks miles per gallon in real time. While more vehicles today have them, one of the auto industry’s little secrets is that all cars sold since 1997 have the capability to use them. Gerdes recommends buying a “scan gauge” for about $150 as the fastest way to improve mileage through “accountability.”
Tricked out dashboards
Al Walker, a Boston computer-security expert, has adopted the hypermiling way of life for his Prius hybrid. In addition to the car’s built-in fuel-economy indicator, Mr. Walker has bolted onto the dash a voltage meter, vacuum gauge, tachometer, and temperature readouts to help him tease more mileage out of his motor.
Like a few other hypermilers, Walker comprehends sophisticated techniques like “pulse and glide” that can utilize the engine’s torque curve to minimize engine thirst.
On a recent trip to New Jersey, Walker and his Prius achieved 72.5 miles per gallon – and almost 60 miles per gallon on a short test trip with this reporter to display his hypermiling methods.
“This is the essence of good pulse and glide driving – using the engine to accelerate, gently,” he says, smiling and nodding at the gauges, “but not so gently that you’re running it inefficiently.”
He follows the Gerdes hypermiler basics, too, which means highway travel mostly in the right lane at the low-end of the speed limit. For this he has another more low-tech approach – a sign on his rear window advising bumper riders to “Go Around.”
“Okay, that truck back there is getting a little impatient because I didn’t burn out [of that stop light] back there,” he says, glancing at his vacuum gauge as a large SUV bears down. “I guess he’ll just have to deal with it.”
For more fuel-efficiency pointers, check out the Monitor’s Horizon blog.
( More stories )
Comments
2. Kev | 06.11.08
Loose the pony tail and get a Ford 350 dude! Any conservative will tell you that most of the money you pay at the pump goes to the gov in taxes and to the profits of your representatives favorite hedge fund ( not to mention 20 million other people). We are not addicted to oil, we are attached at the waist like a siamese twin. Everyone who is invested in big oil has the god given right to make money. Everyone else just needs to buck up. Stop blubbering and pay the piper. $8 oil baby, bring it.
3. Terry Traub | 06.11.08
Way back when I was a young lad, my driving instructor taught me to “let the hill slow you down” when going up the hill to a light, and other common sense techniques to save the brakes and decrease fuel consumption.
Evidently, most people did not receive such training, and boy, do they get mad when I take my foot off the accelerator for a red light. They will zoom around me, and after a while I coast right up behind them at the light. They have gained 10 feet and they paid through the nose for the privilege.
This article has inspired me to try to raise my ‘97 Corolla’s performance from 37 mpg to over 40. Driving around sunny Phoenix, it’s hard not to use the AC, but there are definitely ways to improve mileage without arriving at work soaking with sweat.
4. Carlos | 06.11.08
It is about time… I lived in the USA for more than 20 years. During this time I saw people waste; FOOD, CLOTHES, APPLIANCES, TIME AND ENERGY ETC. Welcome to the real world. This is not a nightmare. People living in the third world countries have dealt with these restrains for a long time. The fun ride is over, is time to pay. Get use to it. And do not forget that even with this saving philosophy, you are still a top consuming country.
5. Flag Waiving Bob | 06.11.08
Hey Carlos, when did consumption become a crime? I do not want any part of your conception of “the real world.” The US is not a 3rd world country. It is a country built on the concept of individual freedom, which has become the most envied counrty on earth. That is why millions of people are breaking our laws to get here.
This is no fun ride. This is how we live and damn right it’s fun. Time to pay you say. We are the most generous country in the world. The first to offer help when disaster strikes. We give billions away to countries around the global only to be spat upon. It makes me sick to think about it. We spill our blood around the world to help others gain their freedom and WE are the oppressors. I think not.
It is typical of Marxists like you that you want to force everyone into your mode of thinking. You can choose to suffer. We choose to live! I’m glad you left. God Bless America!! Freedom Freedom Feeeeeeeeedom!!
6. Eric Powers | 06.11.08
David Dresser wrote
“I worked as a flunky for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer in Hollywood, CA back in 1959. They entered the Mobilgas Economy Run every year and always won in the big car division.”
I would love to hear from some more of those Mobilgas Fuel Economy Run people.
I know they could teach us a thing or two!
If you still know any of them, feel free to have them give me a call or drop me an email. My contact information is on the Hybridfest web site.
8. Peter Robinson | 06.12.08
To Flag Waving Bob.
I have lived in the US for all of my 72 years. I feel sick to my stomach when I read what you say! America is in for really tough times. There will be starvation and people walking when they don’t have money for gas. I grow food on my small (58 acre) farm. My ancestors have lived in America since before 1776. You will see people walking with a sign that says, “Will work for food”.
The Freedom that you speak of will soon become the Freedom to die consuming.
We don’t spill our blood to give others “Freedom” (what a crock of what makes grass grow green). We spill others blood to line our pockets. America has become one of the least liked countries in the world! We are borrowing for our “good times”. We have transferred our production of products to China, where they know how to work. When China stops lending us money so we can buy their products, your WalMart will be empty and we will become a third world country.
Welcome to the future!
9. Paul Hanna | 06.12.08
Very interesting article. I evidently have a lot more techniques to learn before I get more than the current 36 mpg from my Scion XB.
What was really instructive was the attitude evinced in comments 2 and 5. One would think that, by now, most people recognize how intertwined their attitudes and habits are with the rest of the world. Everything each of us does has an effect throughout the world. Believing that our acts are without consequence is selfish and naive.
BTW, “for the first quarter of 2008, the average state gasoline tax is 28.6 cents per gallon, plus 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax making the total 47 cents per gallon.” (Wikipedia) When oil was $25 per barrel (2003), the tax was higher as a percentage of the price per gallon of gas. Now that oil is $125 per barrel, the percentage has actually decreased.
10. Kev | 06.12.08
I think Terry and Carlos could reach a happy medium. What is needed is commerce ( consumption ) that produces less hard waste.I don’t feel free when I know I’m paying for mostly packaging and marketing, and what I’m getting is mostly corn-syrup and artificial flavor with little to no nutritional value. I also don’t feel free when the price of oil is getting boosted so a few traders can line thier pockets at the expense of the world, no choice there, no freedom what so ever. Carlos, without consumption, wealth pools to the top..aka..third world countries. “Socialization” of energy just moves it from one monopoly (corporate) to another (state). Social/Commun-ism sounds great until you figure out that without competition, there is no way to control the leaders and the power they hold…and decide not to let go of. This is the problem with oil, to much consolidation of power and control, to little competition. Not going to change either, mostly because its a natural resource, like real estate, to have is to hold. If you don’t understand, let a Saudi prince ’splain it to you.
12. A. T. Palestini | 06.12.08
It’s not always better to drive w/o the AC on. As your speed increases, the drag on the car from the wind friction increases because cars are not designed to drive with the windows open. Not using the Ac will then increase you gas usage on highways.
I have no problem with people driving at the speed limit, just don’t do it in the passing lane of a two lane highway. Remember the rule, which is not always enforced, keep right! Blocking the left lane, especially when the are semis on the road, not only slows other drivers down, it makes for dangerous situations as semis try to take hills w/o downshifting but can’t move left to pass slower trucks. Nobody has the right to coast along in the passing lane, barely, if at all, passing anyone.
13. Kent | 06.12.08
Open windows vs. A/C impact on MPG
Here is a clip from Consumerreports.Org
Air conditioning vs. opening windows. Some people advise you not to run the air conditioner because it puts more of a load on the engine, which can decrease fuel economy. But others say that opening the windows at highway speeds can affect gas mileage even more by disrupting the vehicle’s aerodynamics. Our tests show that neither makes enough of a difference to worry about. Using air conditioning while driving at 65 mph reduced the Camry’s gas mileage by about 1 mpg. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph was not even measurable.
14. Majik Mike | 06.13.08
On the topic of windows vs. air conditioning. Based on a Mythbusters episode, my own observations, and reading things like Consumer Reports I have found that it is car dependent. Most cars on the road will notice little to no difference between air conditioning and windows… because they have the horsepower for it. I drive a 91 Ford Festiva. I think the rated horsepower is under 100, so when I turn on my air conditioner I can actually feel the car slow down and lose power. Tracking the difference is very easy math. Windows win for a Ford Festiva. But, then again, most cars on the road have more horsepower than a lawnmower. These cars also rarely have a listed 40+ mpg off the lot… without hypermiling or a hybrid engine, especially from ford. 
Yeah, I love my car.
15. Ben C. | 06.13.08
Does anyone know if driving at 55mph is the average speed for optimal gas mileage? While driving BMW’s and many other makes of cars, I have often times notices a little red notch at the 55 mph marker. While driving a BMW 525i I noticed a dramatic increase in Highway MPG by almost 10.
16. Ron-ron | 06.16.08
I drove 90 miles from LA area to Palm Springs yesterday around 70 MPH on Volvo S40 T5. My 2.5 5 cylinder turbo got 37.5 miles per gallon. Most people were actually driving at a reasonable speed. One Corvette 5.8 V8 was driving on the rightmost lane at around 60 MPH blocking a big Winnebago.
Anyway, with all the problems in the world, inflation, drought, global warming, pollution, man can not save the world and itself after millions of years (for evolutionists) and 7000 years (for creationists)of trying to manage the world.
We are all going down and not even delusioned flag waving Bob can save it with his patriotic red white and blue shirt.
17. Jerry McIntire | 06.17.08
Ben C., 55 mph nets more mpg than 60 or 65. 45 mph will get you even better mpg. Air resistance is significant over 45 mph.
Windows vs AC: Wayne Gerdes is famous for driving without AC and all the windows UP. His car doesn’t have a large engine, so the AC does have an appreciable effect. On a V8, not so much. 5% of 20 mpg is much less than 5% of 45 mpg.
18. David Laird | 06.17.08
I want to Hypermile BUT I have to be Practical.
I’m a Service Plumber who carries equipment and parts from job to job -sometimes up to 80 kilometers apart between calls.
I drive a 4.8 v8 Chev silverado (2008).I had a V6 to conserve gas but I blew the transmission 30000 miles after buying it because of overloading -so after $3400 in repairs -I had to be practical and buy a bigger truck with more torque.
My gas milage is averaging 17 MPG per gallon U.S. by using a Scanguage and employing hypermiling tecniques.This is a vast improvement over my previous driving habits.
I spent close to $1000 dollars a month on gas and now I spend about $700 -Thats $300 bucks a month in MY pocket -Not Big Oil’s Pocket or an Arab Prince’s Purse or a Wall Street Oil Futures’ Bank Account.
It feels good to screw the Greedy out of their profits,when I see so many needy people of lower income struggling in low paying jobs;who need a car to get to work or take the family out ;but have to pay for gas and sacrifice other necessities to pay The Greedy.
The Enviromental Elitists on the other hand can say “why can’t they walk or bike?” but aren’t we all entitled to the same opportunities regardless of financial status?
I hope The Greedy drown in surplus oil ,because I and many others are trying to reduce our consumption.
Thanks Dave Laird ;Toronto Canada
19. Dave Brown | 06.25.08
I applaud those who strive for maximum fuel efficiency from their vehicles. But the sad fact is, hypermilers may be (and probably are) wasting far more fuel than they save.
Automobiles rarely travel in solitude, and any scheme for saving fuel must take into account the other vehicles on the road. For the typical commute of say 15 miles, a hypermiler coaxing 45 mpg out of her 30 mpg car will save 0.17 gallons of gas. One tractor/trailer rig, slowed down by the hypermiler and then accelerating back to the speed limit will burn far more than an additional 0.17 gallons of diesel. Now factor in the total number of vehicles held up by the hypermiler, and hypermiling begins to look very selfish.
Now imagine a line of perhaps ten vehicles all using hypermiling techniques on a hilly stretch of road. As the first vehicle slows going uphill, the vehicle behind must brake; this results in a chain reaction where all vehicles in the chain must brake to varying degrees. Naturally, if following distances are maximized, this effect is minimized, but in the real world, those kinds of following distances aren’t practical.
Yes, some of the techniques are useful, but we need to look at the big picture. An individual saving a small amount of fuel at the expense of many others is no bargain.
20. uthor | 06.26.08
As long as the driver isn’t blocking my passage, I don’t care how they drive. However, I much rather be using more fuel and driving in between packs of cars than being stuck in a group. Biking has taught me to stay away from others on the road for my own safety and the cost in fuel to do so is worth it.
To save money on gas, I live 4 miles from work. Accelerating hard off every light means I burn a gallon of gas over 2.5 days of commuting; taking it easy stretches that to 4 days. $6 in gas a week to get to work and back isn’t bad.
1. David Dresser | 06.11.08
I worked as a flunky for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer in Hollywood, CA back in 1959. They entered the Mobilgas Economy Run every year and always won in the big car division. It was done by detuning the (huge) engine, inflating tires to maximum permitted level, driving with minimal braking, always accelerating as gently as possible, driving in stocking feet to assure minimal pressure on the accelerator, and the other techniques advised in this article. The mileage was quite admirable. Upon return from the run, the car would be re-tuned to show off the usual awesome power and mileage dropped from 33 MPG to 10 MPG when showing off to the affluent buyers of Beverly Hills. My point is that the techniques work and have been used for a long time. Sometimes hard to do in our impatient society and there are times and places to just get out of the way.