Brad Hicks' Blog

Having a stickshift helps greatly, I know that. Most people with automatics cant control their rpms too well so they just have to lay off the gas pedal when accelerating to prevent downshifting. Sometimes, you might have a button you can use to raise your shifting, or you CAN get your tranny reprogrammed/chipped to help you with economy. Most cars are chipped for 'sport' or 'regular' because people like performance.

Many cars now have a mpg meter. My cousin's BMW 325xi has one, and its pretty handy IMO. You can see how your driving behavior determines your efficiency. Truth is, most of the time your car gets great mpg... most likely 40+. But what kills it is how you accelerate from a stop. These times your mpg can drop to lower then 5mpg and this is what eats up the gas more than anything.

Keep your rpm's low... like under 3000rpm at all times, and try to keep your cruising rpm's below 2000, or under 1500 if you can. When you are going downhill or slowing down for a stoplight, put the car in neutral so your engine can idle until you need to accelerate again (when the light turns green again... even at a stop, many automatics still uses energy). That last bit about 'coasting in neutral' though... be careful. I think its against the driving rules.

Keep your tires at their highest possible inflation pressure as well. Many cars have multiple pressures possible, listed under the gas cap lid, and you can get the tire pressure all the way up to the maximum pressure. Just be sure to be aware of the possible side effects (less grip in the city or in rain maybe,

Beware, its also illegal, however, you might easily make up for the fine with the money you save. It has a different dye in it (red) to mark it. Personally, I dont see how this can be regulated or be legal to enforce, as once you buy it, I dont see how the government gets to tell you what you can and cant use it for. But beware. And then there is the whole 'corn oil' conversion you can do for a couple thousand dollars... then you can just use fryer fluid from McDonald's.

Also, watch your vehicle's weight. You may have things in your trunk that you dont need. If you have the option in a truck or minivan, remove those extra seats (I know all you SUV drivers only use one or two of those 7 seats anyways). The less weight you have to move, the less gas you will use. Take roof racks and other 'air dams' off the vehicle as well, making it as aerodynamic as possible. Some automotive places sell kits to improve the aerodynamics of your car as well... no, I dont mean spoilers and wheel flares... I mean deflectors that go under the car to control the air that goes under it... so there is less air resistance under the car. If it helps cars that go over 200mph, it will also help your car slip through the air better.

There are plenty of ways to do it... the people who made your car know how.

Otherwise, wait until the Honda Diesels come over later this year. They have been on sale in the UK for a long time, and are finally making their way over here. The Deisel Accord does about 150hp and 260 ft-lbs of torque, while still getting you about 52mpg! There will be a civi

While I'm loathe to cast aspersions on my friend Hicks, I'm skeptical about the 150 mpg Pewaukee car.

Even coasting on the hills, one would need:

1) a car that gets 50 mpg on flat land; and
2) a round-trip commute that was 2/3rds downhill.

So unless there's a grappling hook involved, or that "single tank of gas" was mounted on a Mo-ped, I ain't buyin' it...


-jjg
DailyScoff

Just keep it in Neutral and push.

But.......... I MIGHT JUST HAVE TO TUNE IN!

P.S. it was not done with the advanage of tail winds or downhills-- it was on a 32 mile course-- round and round and round.

jgravell,
You almost always make me laugh out loud in my office in the basement & the wife thinks I'm loosing it! Wel... maybe I am but your helping! :-)

i may see the report you are going to present on the sunday evening news at that time, brad. as always, great job on the posting of this blog. great job and keep up the great work.

Gosh, there were two huge things I remembered I forgot for that list above... and forgot again now. I remembered them as I was checking the air in the tires at the gas-station... hmm... cant remember now.

Oh, I know... Air Conditioning!!! Unless its just so hot you need it, open a window instead. AC can waste a good 20% of your fuel economy (depends on the size of the AC compressor compared to the engine).

Also your route... take roads with less stops, or try to avoid certain times when traffic jams and 'stop & go' traffic happen more often.

Hmmm... there was one other thing... cant remember it now though... anyone else have an idea? I suppose if you have certain Fords, Mercedes, etc... with 'flex fuel' engines, you could make your own ethanol (I wonder if thats legal in this state though... I forgot what the laws are on this). One could fill up 15% of their gas tank with regular gas though, and then the rest with ethanol, and have the same thing as E85 gas. Home-grown ethanol usually isnt as pure as industrial grade, so it may not be as efficient, but heck... its so much cheaper that it may not matter. There are plenty of online sources for making your own ethanol though.

So I caught the Extreme Hypermiler segment and it just seems like so much you have to do to save a whole bunch of gas and get hold down a lot of gas for a long road trips and so on.

It seems fun and pretty cool, but until then I'll just stick with the normal drive. That sounds like way too much work than driving a stick shift. I don't think that's something I can be able to handle.

I have been tracking my mpg since the segment and the best i did was 31mpg, and the worst was 25.5mpg. My car (94 grand prix) is rated at 22mpg. It can be a bit of a challenge at times though. I've gotten alot of "one finger salutes" on I-94 going to work because I never go over 50 mph (c'mon folks the speed limit through the m-change is 45). I am even starting to believe that Milwaukee even has the lights timed in such a way to make it almost impossible toNOT have to stop at every red light, but it could also be that some drivers just aren't very attentive. at any rate I'll take my improved mpg and laugh all the way to the pump.