Hi again!
I've read several articles on Hypermiling, and read Tara's twice. I have to say there are a lot of advanced concepts in there and those can be hard to translate into driving advice for us newbies.

I was particularly disappointed with the large number of TLAs ( three letter acronyms ) minus the explanation of what they mean at the first citation.

All that aside, it would be nice to figure out what techniques yield the most improvement so that us newbies can get started and feel good about the results!

My contributions:
1) Tire pressure. Especially since my used car dealer put on non-LRR ( Low Rolling Resistance ) tires. I've been running at sidewall max pressure 44psi and that gave a fair improvement.

2) Speed. I've slowed down, I used to drive five mph over the limit, now I tend to drive five under.

3) Cruise control. I think this may be a dubious contributor for me. I've read that it helps, but I have some big hills on my drive and the Cruise control uses a lot of revs and assist to get up them. Works well on the flats and reduces workload.

So, can we come up with a definitive "top three" or "top five" techniques that will yield the greatest gains for newbies? Then we can adapt to that before tackling the more advanced techniques.

Peace!
Beez

Hi Christopher:

You definitely identified the perennial top 3 for sure. But those three is what we usual refer as the basic foundation for eco-driving. Hypermiling on the other hand, not only builds on those and other simpler knowledge points but also adds quite a few more of its own. What I am saying is that it wouldn't be hypermiling if only based on those three.

Furthermore, Tarabell's article does not describe ALL the hypermiling techniques, just the most basic. And even though the 3 letter abbreviations for some of the techniques may be a bit overwhelming for some of us at first, understanding the underlying concepts they represent is far more critical. For many, the abbreviations just happen to be the pieces to the puzzle that literally fall into place once the concepts are understood.

I suggest you read Tarabell's article as many times as you need and take notes as you read it. My wife read it more than a dozen times and each time she tackled a new concept. I would suggest you consider a similar approach in the absence of anything else better.

BTW: There are many more hypermiling techniques, many of them more complex and rewarding than what Tarabell's included in her first article.


Cheers;

MSantos

Yet another Canadian perspective on hybrids

Christopher, MSantos brings up a good point about reading and re-reading Tarabell's article. I, myself, had to read it over and over. I found it took a lot of back-and-forth between reading and understanding it and then trying to put it into practice.
There would be times when I would be driving and it would just click, "Oh that's what she was talking about!"

Just to add on to what you've already listed, I think one of the major things that this car can do to increase it's fuel efficiency is the ability to cut the fuel supply while coasting, otherwise known as the "EV Glide". This may be especially useful to you because of those hills. Once you get over the "crest" of the hill, get it into an EV Glide and zoom down the other side of the hill. This will help make up what you lost going up it.

fake shift often.
drive w/load up hills...you're driving up a hill, and your fe gauge is climbing. its a beautiful thing.
short trips not good for fe, nor is a cold engine, frequent stops and starts.
practise, practise, practise.

Note to Self: Stay out of assist!

Pretend You Brakes Have Failed!


There you go.
Hypermiling for Dummies.

Doing just that will result in 90% of what is possible.

This is my third hybrid. 1st was 2004 HCH1, then a 2006 HCH2.

If all the reading confuses you, imagine your brakes don't work. You'll leave plenty of room to the car ahead, you'll time lights, slow well before stopping etc.

Along with your brakes don't work, imagine you're riding a bicycle instead of driving a car. Others have made a good point about hills.

If riding a bicycle would you really rather keep a constant speed all the way up the hill, or allow yourself to slow down as you climb?
If your legs were set for cruise control, you'd be more tired at the top (Burn more calories, calories = fuel). The more you load applied to your engine (Harder you pedal) more fuel burned.

I would also suggest many/most times cruise control climbs hills, it uses Assist. One can usually climb those same hills without CC, saving both battery and fuel.

My best quick simple suggestions along with what's already posted is drive like the brakes don't work and keep minimum engine load.

-Steve

Efficient drivers do it better.
1003 miles a tank personal record. 74MPG calculated. HCH1 CVT

Speed up going down, slow down going up. Don't get run over.

Use the land, it can be your enemy but also your friend. It all depends on how you treat it.