astraboy

i've got a new hobby.
Its called hypermiling, the art of extracting as many miles as possible from a tank of fuel
I've done it before and physically ran out of fuel in the past at a not too shabby 385 miles. But with a trip to manchester necessitating a 400 mile round trip, i decided to see if i could do it on one tank.
Slipstreaming mercedes sprinters (whilst maintaining a two second gap before you safety ***** start) as they tank along, letting them punch a hole through the air, reducing wind resistance proved surprisingly effective. Every sprinter driver seems determined to drive flat out and i took full advantage all the way home.
So despite driving round town looking for batteries for my camera, i managed to make it home, feeling rather smug and with fuel to spare
Running total up from 385 to 405 any ideas how i can get more?
Astraboy.

astraboy

thats the best bit, i'm getting near diesel mileage from an m3 engined e36 bmw. I've cheated a little by fitting a six speed gearbox, but its still impressive!

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

I've done the same and sat behind lorries on the motorway. One way to increase milage is to use a grappling hook - the only problem then it they decide where YOU go! lol

My best is 36mpg in my 6 speed classic/46mpg in our 1.6 petrol Golf Mk4 and about 20,000,000mpg in my old astra tdi (ok the last bit's a lie)

Leslie

I do the same sort of thing too these days, too much traffic to open your shouldrs on the road these days anyway. Saves a lot of cash.

Les

PaulC72

Does hypermiling work on the 2 second gap or does the air flow back to normal in the gap? Personally I think the increase is in the fact that you are travelling at a more suitable speed without overtaking thus increasing the usage with acceleration, although with the 2 second gap it may work.

One way to increase the mpg is reduce the 2 second gap to almonst as tight as you can on the assumption the vehicle in front will take longer to stop than you will.

I am not one for doing it myself I just drive and fill it up when I need too plus I can never find a van going my way

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

you guys have too much time on your hands lol .

SWRTWannabe

Flatulence

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

rac van

dpb

push it uphills

Suresh

I don't get it. If you want to drive Miss Daisy rather than drive like you stole it, then why not buy a car that's fit for purpose in the first place? VW Polo Bluemotion would suit Sir perfectly.

windyboy

petrol station roulette is good fun too but can be dangerous if your fuel needle is dodgy.

Geezer

I managed 580 miles out of one tank in my Mazda 6 Estate 2.0 petrol, which amazed me to be honest. The best I had got before was about 440, but I just drove sedately on a recent trip to Scotland and back. As it was company related, it was v nice to get £25 more petrol money back than I used!

Was a bloody dull journey though.......

Geezer

Markus

Mythbusters had an episode on Hypermiling. They were driving behind lorries rather than sprinter vans, and varied the distance from something like 100ft to 2ft from the back of the truck. I believe they did see an increase in fuel efficiency, which I think was attributed to the slipstream effect, but you had to be very, very close to the truck, certainly closer than allowing a 2 second gap, which makes the "risk vs reward" question come up.

Have a read of this for other hypermiling options.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Mythbusters did do the slipstreaming experiment and saw significant gains in fuel economy. They got the car to within inches of the back of the lorry and saw something like a 40% increase in fuel economy.

The most I ever got was 530 miles out of a 13 gallon tank in my old Cav SRi. I somehow managed to put 64 litres into the tank which was a tad confusing....

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

In other words, they invented the train...

Snazy

lol I done a trip to wales and back, came to 485 miles inc commuting while there, and all on one tank in the 1.8 Mundano petrol with the dog in the back.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

cant you just take the seats out to make the car lighter?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I reckon I am getting about 861 MPG, there are about 31,000 calories in a Gallon of petrol, the online calculators reckon to cycle the 14 miles I do uses about 500 calories, so 36 calories per mile, 31,000 / 36 = 861 MPG, thats an improvement of about 840 MPG better than a Saab 9-3 Aero.

Performance isn't much to write home about though, but then, I was born in 1970 so qualify as a classic now

wagrain

686 miles (plus some left) for a full tank driving to Germany via Luxembourg.
Mind you, it is an 80 litre tank!

astraboy

IIRC, they saw a significant increase from quite a way back which increased as they got closer, then for some reason, economy decreased when they got under two foot away from the car in front.
There is no way I'm going to get even near two feet away, but I maintained a 2 second gap and got an extra 20 miles from a tank, so it must be doing something.

you probably filled it up all the way up the filler pipe as well as the tank, that would definitely account for the extra.
astraboy.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Have aword AB, its got an M3 engine you spent loads on, use it !

astraboy

oh believe me there is plenty of use going on!

and I'm also at the end of this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvBv03Z9EKI

astraboy.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

That was great !

GC8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKJxjkBtclA

...and all over this one

dpb

ill bet its owner loves him ..!

GC8

Dont worry, they were ravers...

MiniShaz

I've had my Honda CRV for a year and a half and have recently realised that when you turn off the blowers then put them on again the air-con comes on automatically - but it doesn't indicate that anywhere. You have to physically turn it off every time you put the blowers on. Since this discovery, I'm getting an extra 50 miles out of a tank

On occasions that I have the dog in the back, my mpg goes down cos she cries unless the window is open!

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

The best way to get the best mileage: dont drive!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Not so great that one....

Now where did all the Omega's go ?