As the prices of fuel continue to rise, drivers are trying their best to get the best miles per gallon out of their cars. If you aren’t trying to reduce your vehicle’s fuel consumption due to the high fuel prices, you should consider trying and lowering the number of natural resources you use.
Getting rid of your conventional vehicle and getting an electric vehicle (EV) might be the smartest move you can make, but not everyone can afford to purchase a new electric vehicle. EVs can be costly and can cost even more as insurance policies are more expensive. Another expense of buying an EV is installing a charging station in your home. These high costs associated with buying an EV have a majority of people driving conventional gas-powered vehicles.
Hypermiling comes in handy here as it helps you get the most out of every tiny drop of fuel to maximize your miles per gallon. We explore some methods to help maximize your fuel efficiency, save you money on fuel and minimize your impact on the environment. You don’t have to use all these tips but incorporating a few of these methods into your driving will boost your fuel efficiency.
Maintain Your Vehicle
Hypermiling starts with regularly maintaining your vehicle for maximum efficiency. Using various driving techniques will help save you fuel, but driving technique is only half the battle. You need to ensure your vehicle is running on maximum efficiency and is not wasting energy anywhere. It’s recommended to have your vehicle serviced regularly by getting your car’s oil changed and tire pressure checked regularly. Tires with low pressure or overinflated tires both negatively affect your fuel consumption.
Keep Idling At A Minimum
Many people don’t think about fuel consumption when their car is sitting still, but idling loses you a lot of fuel. Turn off your engine when stuck in traffic or when waiting for your food at a drive-through. One issue is that many people still think cars need to ‘warm up’ before they drive off and this is entirely wrong.
Modern cars do not need to warm up, and you shouldn’t waste time and fuel waiting for your car to warm up before you drive away. Your vehicle may not run at maximum efficiency until it has warmed up, but idling is just a waste of fuel.
Drive Consistently – Anticipate Your Route
The best way to maximize your fuel efficiency is by driving as smoothly as possible. This means accelerating smoothly and using your brakes as less as possible. All of this depends on the road and traffic but speeding up and slowing down constantly just result in using more fuel.
Try and drive your vehicle as smoothly as you can by looking far ahead and anticipating what’s coming your way. For example, when you see a red light from afar, instead of accelerating to it and braking right at the end by taking your foot off the gas pedal and coast to the light. People who use hypermiling techniques, or ‘hypermilers’ like to call this ‘gliding.’
Drop The Weight
The more weight your car has, the more fuel it will use. Try and strip your car of any extra weight you might be carrying like tools, child car seats, roof racks, cycle racks, and anything else that is of no use. Think of what can be removed to maximize your fuel efficiency. According to the United States Department of Energy, just 100 pounds of extra weight lowers your fuel efficiency by 2%.
Anything that disrupts your vehicle’s aerodynamics like roof racks or cycle racks lowers your fuel economy due to additional drag. If you have to carry something in your car it’s recommended to try and keep it inside. The best option is not to carry any extra weight at all!