http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/05/hypermiler-gets-997-mpg-at-green-grand-prix/
Mind you the hypermiling techniques used are barely legal and would definitely be annoying to others...but that's still an insane number 
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May 6, 2009 8:09 p.m. GameboyRMH SuperDork
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May 6, 2009 8:24 p.m. suprf1y Reader
Thats one of the heavier Metros, too. If he had one of my heads, he'd be well over 100mpg
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May 6, 2009 9:39 p.m. 2002maniac New Reader
That's actually pretty cool. I'd never heard of that technique.
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May 6, 2009 10:19 p.m. andrave New Reader
there was a guy on autoblog a while ago and he had a v6 accord and was getting something like 60 mpg using hyper miling... said he got honked at, flipped off, and cussed at every day. He admitted to very very slowly coasting through stop signs, and coasting way back from redlines to make it through when they were green...
just seems unsafe to me. and a total pain in the ass. If you care THAT much about getting mileage out of your car, convert it to electric and be done with it (or at least buy a prius.. imagine the mileage you could get hypermiling one of THOSE!)
believe it or not, this trend is headed towards trucks too. My brothers drive diesels and there are guys with 2wd cummins that lower them, install skirts and air dams, raise their rear gear ratio, and a number of other techniqes to maximize fuel economy. Some are getting 20 mph or better on freeway commutes in a 3/4 ton.
Walmart has pleged to increase its fuel economy of its heavy truck fleet and is starting to install side skirts on its trailers, 2nd axles on trailers that you can raise up off the road when they aren't loaded, auxialry power units in all their cabs, auto engine shutoff when idling more than a few minutes, super single wheels and tires with wheel caps for better aero, and even "bubbles" behind the trailer to smooth the airflow and increase MPG.
I've actually seen more trucks running around here on I-81 that are using super singles, wheel caps, and trailer side skirts. And most all fleets installed APU's during the diesel "crisis."
There are things you can do that are bearable, and then there are things you can do where you step back and realize its taken over your life and affected your decision making and safety. Modifications to increase mpg- good. being aware of driving habits that generally increase mpg- good. Running stoplights and worsening commuter traffic- probably bad.
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May 7, 2009 9:33 a.m. Rusty_Rabbit84 Reader
i put mine in neutral and coast down hills... does that count?
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May 7, 2009 9:46 a.m. Grtechguy UltraDork
my answer? switch to two wheels for better fuel economy
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May 7, 2009 9:51 a.m. Rusty_Rabbit84 Reader
Grtechguy wrote:
my answer? switch to two wheels for better fuel economy
you will love this then...
50cc 6 speed 2 stroke 100mph Derbi
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May 7, 2009 10:14 a.m. neon4891 SuperDork
If they hold it in Watkins Glen again next year, I might try it. Of course I would be a trickster and just see how fast i can do it in, milage be damned
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May 7, 2009 10:22 a.m. andrave New Reader
Rusty_Rabbit84 wrote:
i put mine in neutral and coast down hills... does that count?
According to hypermiling articles I have read, many modern cars (especially those with e throttle) shut off injectors when coasting downhill, essentially shooting mpg through the roof... while in neutral, the ECU switches to its idle program, which obviously cycles the injectors. So in vehicles like this, coasting in neutral actually hurts mileage compared to leaving it in gear. Something to think about (and one of the reasons some all too hyper hypermilers just shut off their cars entirely).
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May 7, 2009 10:24 a.m. aircooled SuperDork
I have wondered about the idea of using hypermiling on a motorcycle to see what kind of result can be had. Probably a bit of a death with traffic wise though...
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May 7, 2009 11:20 a.m. poopshovel SuperDork
IIRC, there are a lot more details about the car on ecomodder. Again, IIRC, he's got a kill switch for rolling downhill, approaching a recently-turned red light, then bump-starts, assuming the car is still rolling.
Related: I bought my 87 Civic Si for Hypermiling duty. For some reason, I had in my head that it'd be capable of 40 MPG. Wrong. Coasting in neutral for an average of over 10 miles to and from work, the best I got was 33 and change.
I drove the car HARD during the VIP laps at the Mitty this weekend...then the alternator died on the way home. It would charge a little over 3,500 RPM, so I drove home (~60-70 miles) spinning along in 3rd gear @ 4k RPM.
I filled up yesterday, and expected to see 20-25 MPG. Wrong again. 31.9 MPG! Needless to say, I'm not driving myself nuts with the hypermiling thing anymore.
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May 7, 2009 11:35 a.m. neon4891 SuperDork
poopshovel wrote:
I drove the car HARD during the VIP laps at the Mitty this weekend...then the alternator died on the way home. It would charge a little over 3,500 RPM, so I drove home (~60-70 miles) spinning along in 3rd gear @ 4k RPM.
I filled up yesterday, and expected to see 20-25 MPG. Wrong again. 31.9 MPG! Needless to say, I'm not driving myself nuts with the hypermiling thing anymore.
That is close to the RPMs My can ran with the original transmision, 3k at 60, 4k 75-80 on the interstate and it still gave me 40 on my trip to buffalo. Unfortunatly I have noticed an MPG hit with my new wider, grippier tires.
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May 7, 2009 11:54 a.m. skruffy Dork
Poopshovel, my p5 has similar traits. Driven like an old lady it'll get about 31mpg average. With me driving the balls off it it gets 29 average. Hell, the last autocross that we ran it as a two driver car only dropped my tank average to like 25.
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May 7, 2009 11:56 a.m. MrJoshua SuperDork
My SC400 got 18 babying it, 17 driving like an ass. Ass it was!
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May 7, 2009 11:59 a.m. Jensenman MegaDork
My old '83 GTi got 21 mpg whether in town, on the highway, uphill, downhill, loaded, empty, featherfoot, trim my toenail in the fan.... so I just drove the crap out of it.
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May 7, 2009 12:06 p.m. mistanfo Dork
I haven't tried to Hypermile my bike, but using a modified "drive to load", where I lose some speed going up hills, and gain some going down, I can see 60-65 MPG, where I normally only see 50. So, it's worth something. Nice for heading the back roads to Summit Point from Charlottesville, as they tend to be up and down.
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May 7, 2009 12:22 p.m. Rusty_Rabbit84 Reader
Ive got a 84 Rabbit L, carbed with a 4 speed, broken odo and speedo, so im guessing im gettin 20-25 mpg on the streets... if i take it on the highway, that gas needle drops faster than a pair of underwear on prom night...
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May 7, 2009 12:38 p.m. poopshovel SuperDork
PS: Remember those $4,000 metros when gas was $4/gallon? They're back to $1k now, and there's an abundance in ATL. (Yes, there are still some cracksmokers, but they seem to be the exception:)
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=geo+metro&minAsk=min&maxAsk...
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May 7, 2009 1:38 p.m. speedblind New Reader
I drove a Ford Aspire in high school. 8 bucks for 300 miles was a deal even back then.
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May 7, 2009 4:57 p.m. daytonaer Reader
andrave wrote:
Rusty_Rabbit84 wrote:
i put mine in neutral and coast down hills... does that count?
According to hypermiling articles I have read, many modern cars (especially those with e throttle) shut off injectors when coasting downhill, essentially shooting mpg through the roof... while in neutral, the ECU switches to its idle program, which obviously cycles the injectors. So in vehicles like this, coasting in neutral actually hurts mileage compared to leaving it in gear. Something to think about (and one of the reasons some all too hyper hypermilers just shut off their cars entirely).
From what I have seen while modifying code for pre-obdII computers (that's new right??) the "fuel cut on decel" doesn't happen below 3000 rpm.
If I'm spinning higher than 3000 rpm, the engine friction/compression is going to slow me down. I have actually noticed real time mpg improvements idling (Neutral) down hills that would normally see less than 2k rpm if left in gear. My theory is fuel is injected at decel at "lower" rpm's to keep stuff from getting too hot and spewing NOX's. Less pollution at idle than decel also gives me worse mpg at decel than neutral.
My PR MPG is 48mpg. I thought I had a blown head gasket. The car would over heat instantly on any incline or any hint of acceleration. Being 400+ miles beyond AAA's first free 100, I babied it home. I could not believe it when I calculated the mileage next fill up.
My friend put it best when he summed up my "cheapness" (not really enviro green motivated). Driving home 55mph with the cruise on he told me he would be willing to pay me an extra $5 for gas to get there 5 minutes quicker. I would GLADLY pay $20 extra for gas to avoid that terrible trip blasting the heater on a 90^ day, feathering the throttle and riding the shoulder even though it netted my best recorded mileage.
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May 7, 2009 5:08 p.m. RexSeven HalfDork
My Subaru seems to hover around 27mpg, regardless of if I drive it like an ass or a saint.
I have no idea how many mpg my FC gets, but it ain't much!
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May 7, 2009 5:26 p.m. SVreX UberDork
Rusty_Rabbit84 wrote:
Ive got a 84 Rabbit L, carbed with a 4 speed, broken odo and speedo, so im guessing im gettin 20-25 mpg on the streets... if i take it on the highway, that gas needle drops faster than a pair of underwear on prom night...
Are you sure? That's terrible. I get 22 mpg consistently out of my F-250 extended cab diesel, regardless of my driving style (seats 6, tows 12,000 lbs). The only mods are oversized tires and a Predator re-tune (economy- which also gave me about 60 extra ponies).
I can haul my tools, my entire family, burn rubber at will and still snatch your Rabbit and 4 of it's bunny brothers out of a ditch and get that kind of economy.
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May 7, 2009 7:53 p.m. maroon92 UltraDork
speedblind said:
I drove a Ford Aspire in high school. 8 bucks for 300 miles was a deal even back then.
Its about 16 bucks for that now. I get about 35 driving like a douche, but close to 42 on the highway....I love that car...thanks John and Joey...runnin' like a top.
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May 7, 2009 8:41 p.m. 2002maniac New Reader
I bought a '91 festiva for $100 last november. It lasted until 2 days before christmas before the motor popped.
and It was totally worth it...
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May 7, 2009 8:54 p.m. Stealthtercel New Reader
Weird factoid: Judging from the plate, the Metro in the original post above was just (re)licensed within the last month or so. (Ontario is issuing the plates in sequence, and the very newest I have seen is BFYJ-*.) So I'm wondering what the backstory is there -- not that it matters in the slightest.
