Hypermiling Your Car Solar Power Energy Generation Guide
Hypermiling Your Car And Avoiding Extreme Risks
By James J Dixon
In the summer of 2008, local and national headlines
read "Pain at the Pump" every other week.
Drivers were curtailing their usual road trips and travel
plans. More and more people were looking into public
transit and car-pooling than ever before.
People buying new cars thought maybe it was finally
worth shelling out the extra cash for a hybrid vehicle.
Semi trucks, city transit and school buses began switching
to hybrid models.
While all of these changes are arguably better, you
may be wishing you could still review your options and
drive your own car, but improve your fuel economy somehow.
The answer is in hypermiling, a series of driving techniques
that use less fuel. Experts say that hypermiling your
car can save you hundreds, if not $1,000, per year.
Your Defense Against Rising Gas Prices
Hypermiling is your best defense against rising gas
prices and unemployment, says thirty-three-year-old
Scott Kosinski of Newfane, New York. This hypermiler
has several strategies he uses to increase gas mileage.
For instance, when he drove nineteen hours to Alabama’s
Talladega Speedway, he intentionally tailgated tractor
trailers the whole way to break his wind resistance,
which saved his Chevy Impala eight miles per gallon
(MPG), compared to Environmental Protection Agency standards.
Coasting To The Lights
Another trick he does to lighten his load is take the
extra seats out of his family mini-van. When he’s pulling
into gas stations or parking lots, he shuts off his
engine and coasts in. He’s also famous for trying to
time the lights just right, he says.
When he sees a red, he immediately takes his foot off
the gas and coasts to the light, rather than speeding
up and slamming on the breaks. "Some people don’t
like it, but hey, I’m gonna get there and save on gas,"
he explains.
Taking Precautions To Avoid Dangerous Risks
Kosinski adds that hypermiling your car does carry
some risks -- especially for the most extreme hypermilers.
"Some of the stuff, people are misleading each
other -- like shutting off the engine when going downhill,"
Kosinski admits.
"The safety liability just isn’t worth it. If
I deem it’s a situation that I can safely steer, I’ll
turn the engine off." Some fanatics of this strategy
recommend rolling through stop signs or red lights to
save gas or shutting off the engine when driving downhill,
which puts drivers in peril because they lose their
power steering ability.
Cruise Control On The Highway
Scott Kosinski doesn’t advocate any of these extreme
practices, especially when it jeopardizes the safety
of others, but one can potentially save a lot and improve
fuel efficiency by following some of the more basic
tactics, like coasting up to red lights, using cruise
control on the highway, or being careful not to accelerate
too fast.
When hypermiling your car, be aware that your savings
will not likely make you any new friends on the road.
Other drivers may feel agitated that you’re tailgating
them on the highways, coasting too slowly to stops or
taking your sweet time pulling away from the lights.
Safe Hypermiling Coasting
Drivers are more accustomed to adjusting to defensive
driving techniques to accommodate the speeders and reckless
drivers on the road, but they’re less used to encountering
slower drivers. In response, people are more likely
to begin driving offensively to speed around hypermilers.
They may also be unprepared or unable to recognize
just how slow a car is, causing them to react slower
and collide into fellow drivers. As long as you are
aware of your surroundings and do your best to practice
safe hypermiling coasting, yet are also sensitive to
the needs of others, you will be a successful hypermiler.
About the Author:
James J Dixon has written a number of articles on Hypermiling and Recycling including
Fuel Saving,
Hypermiling Hybrid,
Hypermiling To Save Gas,
Waste Water,
Disposal Of Plastics.
Look out for new articles as they become available on this site.
Little Known Electric Car Facts.....
How does green energy sources compare to non-green
resources?
Green energy sources are renewable
whereas non-green are not. A good example is oil. Oil
is not a renewable energy source. It takes millions
of years to make oil. It is a fossil fuel that people
have relied upon far too much and is now reaching critical
levels.
Another difference between green
and non-green resources is how much damage to the environment
they cause. Green resources are environmentally friendly
and do not produce large amounts of pollution. They
may produce some carbon footprints but it is very little.
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