When drivers set out to hypermile, there is a spectrum of techniques that they can use. These range from the good - don't blast away from a red light and don't speed up then slam on the brakes at the next red - to the risky. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. may be able to use hypermiling tricks like shutting down the engine at high speeds to win a race, but that doesn't mean you should try it during your commute.

The AAA thinks we need a reminder to not risk our lives - or endanger others - in order to save a little bit of gasoline. Drafting, coasting and "rolling through stop signs and driving at erratic and unsafe speeds" are specifically mentioned in the group's official statement on dangerous hypermiling (read it after the jump).

Who's performing these techniques? It's hard to say, but we can assume that the AAA knows a thing or two that we don't. After all, they're out there rescuing the increasing number of people who are running out of gas these days.

[Source: AAA]

After evaluating supercars to see which could go furthest on a gallon of gasoline, the crew of Top Gear decided to try again. What they apparently set out to do was demonstrate the impact of driving behavior on fuel economy. All hypermiling enthusiasts will gladly expound on how modifying your driving style can take you above and beyond the EPA mileage ratings. Of course, Jeremy Clarkson had to demonstrate this by taking the negative approach. He pitted a Toyota Prius against a new BMW M3. No one would ever expect the 414hp V8 powered M3 to get better mileage than a Prius. Unless, of course, you pushed a Prius around a test track as fast it would possibly go and then pacing the hybrid with the M3. Not surprisingly, thrashing a Prius around a track for ten laps provides less than stellar mileage results. Check out the video after the jump to see if the Prius or M3 won this HYPO-miling contest.

[Source: YouTube]

Photo by SoldiersMediaCenter. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Hypermiling techniques are nothing new for people who want to save fuel. Often, these techniques involve avoiding sudden acceleration and slamming on the brakes. So, what do you do if you want to conserve fuel while speeding up and slowing down as quickly as possible? Why not turn to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for some advice.

Dale, Jr. squeezed out a recent win at the Michigan International Speedway by, basically, race hypermiling. He drove his last 110 miles (55 times around the two-mile track) without refueling. At his last pit stop, his crew estimated he'd need to refuel with about six laps to go, but Earnhardt turned the engine off and coasted when the caution flag was out to stretch his distance. He was actually coasting when he crossed the finish line, and ran out of fuel almost immedieately after the win.

According to Earnhardt, hypermiling techniques are not his trick alone on the track: "Everybody's doing it," he told the AP/ESPN.

[Source: ESPN via EcoModder, h/t to Darin]

Hypermilers know this already, but What Car?, the British automotive media outlet, released the results of a study today that shows just how much money can be saved by some sensible - in this case slower - driving. The savings can be pretty dramatic: up to £1.20 ($2.34USD) every eight minutes. How? By driving the car at its most economical. What Car? asked fuel economy expert Peter de Nayer to test five cars - a Toyota Aygo, Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Passat, Citroen C4 Picasso and Land Rover Freelander - to find out at what speed they are the most efficient. De Nayer's test found that, on average, going 100mph uses five times as much fuel as going 50mph. Not sure why that matters, as not many people are cruising around at 100mph, but the advice to slow down is a good one. What Car? recommends a 70mph top speed on the highway, driving in the highest gear possible and not racing a way from stoplights or slamming on the brakes. What Car? also found that 62 percent of motorists in the UK don't know what the right speed is to save the most fuel while you're on the go. Their "Slow down, save fuel" project goes live today, and you can read more after the break.

Here in the U.S., hypermiling has largely been the province of hybrid drivers. That doesn't mean that only hybrid drivers can take advantage of those driving strategies. When last we heard from Helen and John Taylor, the British couple had just completed a run from Britain to Poland in a pair of diesel-powered Jeeps at 55-56mpg. After that jaunt they headed to Australia for another hypermiling adventure. This time around they used a Peugeot 308 HDi 110. The pair drove the C-class sized hatchback 9,000 miles around the coast of Australia over 25 days. On one stretch, they traveled 1,192 mile on a single 60L tank of diesel and they averaged 75.6mpg (U.S.) over the whole journey. That was enough to gain two slots in the Guinness book of World records for longest distance on a single tank and highest mileage for a journey. The 308 was completely stock with nothing added or removed and also carried the couple's luggage for the 25 day trip.

[Source: Peugeot UK]

Since the advent of the hybrid at the turn of this century, an increasingly large group of hardcore fanatics have taken up hypermiling. For the uninitiated, hypermiling is the practice of using modified driving techniques to get the maximum possible fuel efficiency. There are hypermilers who claim to get over 100mpg from their Priuses and Insights. The problem is that techniques like pulse and glide involve significant fluctuations in speed. By accelerating quickly and then coasting for long periods using regenerative braking to recharge the battery as much as possible and then repeating ad nauseum, they minimize the load on the engine. This is fine when a vehicle is driving in little or no traffic. Unfortunately, when there are other cars around, an extreme hypermiler can pose a real impediment. Differences in speed are often a source of accidents and people who aren't driving hybrids won't want to be stuck behind someone coasting along. There is nothing wrong with trying to maximize fuel efficiency and everyone should be trying to drive efficiently. However, even hypermilers need to be cognizant of other drivers around them and avoid being obstructive.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Photo by edkohler. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Two months ago, EcoTrekker released a list of 100 ways to green up your driving style. If you missed that list, or just wanted to see someone outdo EcoTrekker by four items, check out this new list on Ecomodder. Of course, most of the items on these kinds of lists are pretty much repeats, with a few new tips thrown in to keep us on our toes. My favorites from the Ecomodder list are:

• Drive like you ride a bike
• Don't let other drivers lead you astray from your driving style
• Key off, then Park
• Parking tactics: pick the periphery
• Make fuel economy a game/challenge
• Combining errands: do the longest leg first

Go ahead and poke around to see which ones you like and, more importantly, which tips you can add to your bag of tricks when you're behind the wheel. If you can't find at least 10 that will help you save fuel, well, then you must already be a hypermiler.

[Source: Ecomodder / Darin @ metrompg]

Even veteran hypermilers will probably find something worth remembering in this list of 100 ways to increase a vehicle's miles per gallon. Sure, the list starts with the basic, heard-em-before ways to get more distance out of the fuel in the tank of the car you already drive, but how many of you have considered an "ice vest" instead of air conditioning?

If you're just getting into the hypermiling game, EcoTrekker's 100 items (made up of tips, links to other articles to read, and online resources) should provide you with plenty to practice as you drive. Some of my faves are #9 (finding the route with the least amount of traffic and stop signs, even if it's slightly longer) and #77 (ridge riding to avoid puddles). Oh, and #53. :) Missteps in the list include #73 (the Lexus GS hybrid should not be on anyone's list of best cars to hypermile in) and #12 (only works if you already drive a hybrids).

[Source: EcoTrekker / Amy Q]

For Americans who have never driven in Europe, it might be hard to imagine driving through six countries on a single tank of fuel. In the U.S. it would be hard to drive through six states on a single fillup. British hypermiling enthusiasts John and Helen Taylor set out to see just how far they go in a pair of Jeeps, in this case a Compass and Patriot. The official range of those too models is 473.5 miles. Unlike the U.S. versions, these European Jeeps are equipped with 2.0L diesel engines rated at 36mpg (Compass) and 35mpg (Patriot) combined.

The couple set out from London and headed for the Channel Tunnel. Once they got off the train, they set off through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. They ended up in Slubice Poland, 698 miles from their starting point. Each vehicle used about 48L of diesel with the Compass achieving 55.6mpg (U.S.) and the Patriot doing slightly better at 56.2mpg. Pretty impressive numbers for crossovers (come on, these are not SUVs even if they are Jeeps, in name at least). Head over to the Chrysler Blog and check out the video.

[Source: Chrysler Blog]

Our favorite British automotive blow-hard, one Jeremy Clarkson, is usually out to prove just how fast cars can go. During one episode of Top Gear he changed direction to see just how economically he could make the round trip from London to Edinburgh in an Audi A8 TDI. The A8 is equipped with a 4.2L twin turbo diesel V-8 that puts out 326hp and pushes the big A8 to 60 mph in 6 seconds. Under normal conditions, Audi says, the A8 will get about 17.5 mpg (U.S.). In order to make the trip on a single tank Clarkson would have to average about 33.6 mpg for the 800 mile journey. He filled the tank in London with 23.8 US gallons of diesel and set off to try some hypermiling. If you enjoy seeing Jeremy Clarkson in discomfort as he tries to avoid unnecessary stops that would add to fuel consumption check out the video after the jump.

[Source: GermanCarBlog, thanks to Christian for the tip]

Ever since they started publishing EPA mileage ratings on new vehicle window stickers, those stickers have also carried the disclaimer that your mileage may vary. The official ratings are based on a standardized test sequence that all light duty vehicles are put through. In order to compare different vehicles you need to test them in the same way. The problem is that in the real world, not all drivers behave in the same way, and few, if any, duplicate the type of sequence modeled by the tests. The result is that almost no one matches the published numbers. The newly-revised procedures for 2008 get closer to what people can expect in the real world but variation still exists.

Hybrid vehicles are even more susceptible to driver behavior and operating conditions than conventional vehicles. Driven with a bit of a lead foot or mainly on the highway, hybrids often fall far short of expectations (just ask John True). On the other hand some behavioral changes can see you using far less gas than even optimistic sticker ratings. The latest post on the Toyota Open Road blog gives some tips on hypermiling that can be applied by drivers of any vehicle, whether in a hybrid or not. Obviously manually turning off the engine instead of idling doesn't apply to hybrids since they already do that. The other tips can help all drivers and most of them shouldn't be too obtrusive in everyday driving. If you haven't already tried them out, now is a good time to start.

[Source: Toyota Open Road blog]

Three grown men, a global positioning system satellite navigation screen, and a map with directions. Seems like shooting fish in a barrel, right? Wrong. These fish apparently are wearing kevlar vests, you have a slingshot, and do I see a chain gun in the flippers of that sturgeon homing in on me?

That's what it seemed like while attempting the MPG Challenge, the residential/rural course in Madison, WI where hypermilers tested their skills against one another. Except, it wasn't the full course - we were, for the sake of time, only doing 9 of the 22 miles laid out on the route.

Our vessel for the treacherous voyage was the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, equipped with the same Hybrid Synergy Drive as the Prius, but instead of combusting the more planet-friendly amounts of fossil-fuels with an electric-assisted, asthmatic, chain-smoker-on-the-patch 1.6 liter four-cylinder, there is a 3.3 liter V6 aided by two electric motors.

Thankfully, in spite of numerous failed attempts at navigation, once the actual course was located and followed, we achieved an average of 44.5 mpg over those 9 miles. Tell that to the EPA.

Glad to be back in the blogosphere. Two more Hybrid Fest videos coming up, so stay tuned!

Coming at you from Hybrid Fest 2007, here's an interview with Ryan Fulcher about his plug-in Prius. Interestingly, Ryan does not consider himself a hypermiler - he doesn't like to worry about his driving habits, and just drives safely. While that may make those of you in the forest green spectrum scoff, the fact that Ryan is a paler shade of green really only makes his Prius' mpg figure more impressive.

He uses a battery charger from Manzanita Micro to not only charge the batteries when plugged in at home, but to have the additional lead-acid batteries charge the stock battery, extending the range of the Prius' electric motor. A simple solution, but unfortunately a costly one. A conversion kit can cost $10-12,000, which would take years to return in fuel savings. However, the point is not to make a business out of this kit. Admirably, it's to show the major automakers that plug-in hybrids are easy to build and that there is a market for them. One would hope they already realize that, but as Ryan says, this "proof of concept" should be pretty good evidence in favor of production.

As mentioned by Insight owner and hypermiler Randall Burkhalter in the first Hybrid Fest video posted, the MIMA system is an electronic retrofit which allows the driver to manually control the Integrated Motor Assist in the Honda Insight. At Hybrid Fest 2007, I got to meet and interview Mike Dabrowski, who invented the system and is building and selling them to Insight owners.

The simplicity and the results of the system are remarkable, however, Mike is running out of the control boards that make it possible. He's working for cheap because he really wants to do the green thing (check out his personal Insight) and do what he can for the environment, but if people aren't going to order them any longer, her can't invest the money into having more boards made. So if you own an Insight and want to maximize its efficiency, call up this self-proclaimed "mad scientist" now, and thank me later.

Randall Burkhalter is the proud owner of a Honda Insight - the first exclusive hybrid model to the United States. It is not an ordinary Insight, however. Randall has fitted it with the MIMA system - a favorite tool of the hypermiler. It basically slaps an M in front of the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) Honda hybrid system, standing for 'Manual.' This gives the driver total manual control over how much motor assist or regeneration you are using at any given time with the use of a joystick. There is a small joystick in the cupholder in the center console, some control buttons on the stick shift, an LED display in the rear viewed through the rearview mirror, and the rest is all you. The system is actually quite reasonable at about $600 and consists of a few wiring harnesses that work around the factory system, a couple custom control boards, and that's basically it. The result, with practice and a change in "driver attitude" as Randall calls it, is an average of around 95 mpg. Remember, no mechanical modifications are being made, just some electronic add-ons.

Randall commutes 80 miles round trip each day, and goes to the gas station once a month. I'll just let that sink in for a second.... So that one-time $600 investment, for you lucky Insight owners, you can make back in savings probably in about six months. If your feet tend to go towards the "hot-rod performance" (which would likely mean you don't own an Insight anyway), make sure you adjust that driver attitude first - and quit complaining about not getting those EPA estimates - take a page from the books of these hypermilers.

More videos on the way. Keep watching ABG!