Hypermiling isn't a term many people are familiar with, but the action itself is actually fairly common. Basically, hypermiling describes using a set of driving principles to maximize your car's fuel economy and get the most miles out of every gallon of gas. A hypermiler, or one who follows these principles, may save a good deal of money. The downside is that, while some of these principles are actually very sound ideas, some of them can be on the dangerous side. Who can make use of hypermiling? Anyone. Any make and model of a car, from a large truck to a small Volkswagen Beetle or even a Smart car, can make use of hypermiling. If you're a safe, responsible driver, you can make use of the less dangerous methods to help save money on gas. All it takes is a few changes to your driving habits. However, make absolutely certain you understand which methods are safe and avoid the more dangerous techniques.
Common Hypermiling Techniques Some basic techniques of hypermiling might surprise you because they sound like things you should do anyway. For example, keeping your eyes on the road so you know when to slow down or accelerate. Coming to a gradual stop or slowly accelerating helps you save a lot of gas. In fact, rapidly accelerating or sudden stops can lower your fuel efficiency by as much as 35%, which is huge! Watching the road will also help you avoid accidents. Another hypermiling technique that seems to be common sense is to plan your route to avoid any slow or standing traffic. This includes major highways and areas with construction. You want to plan your trip so you have the fewest stops while still having a fairly short route from the starting point to your destination. Sometimes, adding a little bit of extra time is okay if it eliminates a good number of stops. This method used to require a little bit of work, but with GPS, you can have it automatically calculate the best route, avoid construction, and more. It makes saving money a snap!
Advanced Hypermiling Some of the more advanced hypermiling techniques require a little study and maybe even a bit of practice before you can successfully pull them off. Before you start exploring the world of hypermiling, you might need a few of the terms defined. While some, like FE for Fuel Efficency, are pretty easy to figure out, some are a little more difficult. P&G is the shorthand term for Pulse and Glide. This technique involves accelerating to a certain speed and then letting your car coast until your forward speed drops to a certain point. What does this do? It helps you save a lot of gas, especially if you can coast down a hill and keep up your speed for a mile or more after reaching the bottom. Some advanced hypermilers will even turn off the car on the way down, but this can be dangerous if you need to speed up at any point. These are just a few hypermiling techniques. Remember, the more advanced methods can be dangerous and should not be attempted. While increasing your fuel efficiency is a great idea, it's not worth doing so if it puts your life at risk. Fore more information on this topic, just plug "hypermiling" into your favorite search engine.
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