're a fuel economy freak when... 1. At 1am in the morning you're inflatting tires 2. You check tire pressure more often than you fill up. 3. When red lights, stop signs and pedestrians are suggestions to yield. ...
 

you know you're a fuel economy freak when...

1. At 1am in the morning you're inflatting tires
2. You check tire pressure more often than you fill up.
3. When red lights, stop signs and pedestrians are suggestions to yield.
4. You make a turn without braking first.
5. you post at 3:53am on a gas saving website
6. your relatives ask you what you're doing at 10pm in the garage with a tire gauge.
7. people calling you stupid for aero stuff under the car then give you a dumb look that your gas guzzler gets 10mpg more than their civic.
8. you know you can't change to a lane to your left without looking in the mirror because you know people are passing you.
9. you start to coast half a mile from a red light when there's no cars behind you.
10. you going to a toyota dealer and you ask to drive the prius
11. When you call every toyota dealer in the city asking if they have a available prius for a test drive.
12. your parents watch HBO and see a 113mpg prius in the program and drool.
13. you bang your keyboard when gassavers.org website is down.
14. You get in the car, put on the seatbelt, turn on the cruise control, turn on the lights and THEN you start your car.
15. you drive with windows closed and never turn on the AC
16. your passenger accidently farts and you don't open the windows because you'll lose mpg on the freeway.
17. you removed the spare, jack, and tools.
18. you think the sidewall max psi is just a suggestion.
19. gasprices.com is your homepage

you guys number off and continue

20. When you your tires are
 

20. When your tires are at 40psi you think they are getting low.
21. More time is spent looking at your rearview mirror/ scangauge then looking at the road.
22. You wax your car to make it more areo.
23. you only drive when the temp is over 50
24. you only drive with a tailwind.
25. you plan your trip so you drive up the least amount of hills possible.
26. you draft in the rain
27. you draft in the snow

...
 

28. You drive way under the speed limit
29. You install an EBH in a climate that gets into the 100's in August
30. You shift the automatic in N at lights or,
31. Shut off the car, and Coast!

32. You push your car out
 

32. You push your car out of the garage and position it such that it is pointing toward the driveway before getting in and starting it up.

33. You manage 25% over the
 

33. You manage 25% over the EPA estimate for your car and drive yourself mad because it "isn't really that good."

34. when getting ready to
 

ha! i do # 32 if i'm just moving the car in the driveway.

34. when getting ready to leave a parking lot, you don't start the engine until you've timed the next traffic light you can see 1 and a half blocks away.
35. you strategically use your neighbour's up-sloped driveway across the road from yours when arriving home: you coast (engine off, of course) into his, then roll backwards across the street into yours so you can drive straight out the next time you go.
36. wheel skirts. 'nuff said.

#21 made me laugh too. that's me.

Re: 34. when getting ready to
 

OMG... that's hilarious :)

Re: 34. when getting ready to
 

Roger that! :D I could coast probably about a half-mile all the way into my garage if the driveway wasn't sloped up -- I could dangerously keep the momentum going without touching the brake in corners and have enough to make it in, but there's a semi-blind 90-degree turn with kids usually playing in the cul-de-sac, so I don't risk it -- emergency maneuvers with engine-off would compound the danger even further.

#21 fits me down to the letter too. I don't even look at the car's speedo anymore, why should I? The vital info's up in the SG (and the speed's much more accurate too).

RH77

37) You spend more time with
 

37) You spend more time with your foot on the clutch than on the gas
38) You upgrade your engine for less horsepower
39) You drive like you're stoned
40) At every stop you come mere inches from rear ending another car
41) It takes you 1 minute to accelerate to 60 mph from stop
42) If the motorist in front of you is doing 40-45 mph in a 60, you continue to ride behind them, AND draft them, as opposed to passing them
43) You build or are building an electric or biodiesel car
44) Duct tape, plastic, and caulk are everywhere on your vehicle

Re: 37) You spend more time with
 

Guilty!

kak at 39, but what happens
 

kak at 39, but what happens if you get better mileage :O

45 when you get paranoid when a car is behind you, damn no more hypermiling techniques for now :(

46 you piss off a lot of people who drives behind you

47 you try to convince everyone to drive like you, boasting your mileage figures as if its something to be proud of (i just tell people i get 1000km a tank in the city and i get all the eyes :D)

48 you get blinded a lot at night

49 you yell DAMN when that light turns red

50 you feel pain when you touch the brakes and the weight shifts forward

51 when your stuck in a traffic jam, you frown.

52 when you lean forward (yup) hoping it will increase your coasting ability.

53 you get excited over the average mpg meter when a long FAS is expected.

54 you jump for joy when your prediction for a traffic light is dead on.

55 when a good day is 50 mpg, a average day is 40 mpg, and an awesome day is 60 mpg all city of course.

56) When you drive 30 mph in
 

56) When you drive 30 mph in 5th gear

Re: 56) When you drive 30 mph in
 

57} When you drive 25 mph in 5th gear

58) When you drive 20 mph in
 

58) When you drive 20 mph in 5th gear (at idle) because you're in creep-n-beep traffic and you can pace yourself.
59) You continually choose between coasting out of gear (longer glide) and coasting in gear (decelerates faster down AND shuts off fuel flow).
60) You read all 60 items. ;)

Quote:52 when you lean
 

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

haha. I do the same thing when i am climbing hills. I do this when i am hoping the auto tranny will stay in 4th gear and not go to 3rd gear.

61) Your car is geared to go
 

61) Your car is geared to go over 300mph but you have never gone over 65mph in it.

62. You no longer mind
 

62. You no longer mind getting honked at by faster traffic. Of course this is dangerously similar to #39 ;)

63. You give friends & family preposterous driving suggestions like "maybe... er ah... I don't know, slow down?"

64. You consider jetisoning that full-sized spare to save weight.

65. You look at Hummers and feel sardonically superior.

66. You think duct taped body prosthetics are bling.

67. you're conflicted over
 

67. you're conflicted over not stopping to let a pedestrian cross the road: you want to be courteous, but damn, courtesy kills coasting and forces an early re-start

68. you wonder what the guy behind you must be thinking as he watches you poke along just below the limit, then take the next corner without even touching the brakes (ok, that's pretty close to #4)

69. you're reluctant to lend the car to friends/family because you don't want them killing your tank average

Re: 67. you're conflicted over
 

#69 is so me!:jawdrop: Do you have a camera or something hidden in my car? :D

Re 2: 67. you're conflicted over
 

LOL. Oh man, I'm guilty of all three of those. }:)

Hate to say it, but I'm sure
 

Hate to say it, but I'm sure it's true for some people:

70. Consume more alcohol by volume than gas.

71. You put off going
 

71. You put off going somewhere because the direction of your destination will force you to drive into a headwind.
I'm hoping for winds out of the West next Friday when I go to Pennsyvania for my head swap. :lol:

72. you tap your horn more
 

72. you tap your horn more than usual... to alert pedestrians/cyclists you're there when in stealth mode (engine-off coasting).

73. If rain is forecast,
 

73. If rain is forecast, you check the weather radar before leaving the house so you can try to time your trip to avoid having to drive through the mileage-sapping rain.

Re: Hate to say it, but I'm sure
 

GUILTY!!!!!

#9 edit #9: you start to
 

#9 edit
#9: you start to coast half a mile from a red light even when there's cars behind you. (middle finger optional if they blow their horn)

#74: you stare at all the gas station price signs like god is sending you his message for the day (pre 2004)

#75: you stare at all the gas station price signs like the devil is sending you his message for the day (post 2005)

76) you no longer pick the
 

76) you no longer pick the shortest route to your destination... you'll drive out of your way for a more efficient path

Re: 76) you no longer pick the
 

guilty.

77 you fill the oil to
 

77 you fill the oil to between the MAX and MIN lines.

78 you check your tire pressure every few days instead of weekly

79 you disable power steering and ac for more FE (i'm still debating on that one, although i wonder if disabling power steering alone was worth it)

80 you tape up any holes in your wheels to smooth out airflow

81 you throw a towel for your rear window so that when you come back to it, the rear is not wet or frosted and you do not need to use the rear defroster.

82 if you position your car in a way so that you can bump start instead of keying on so that you can abuse warm up FAS Pulse and glide.

83 you tried to bump start in reverse but failed miserably

84 if you use cardboard to build some wheel covers

85 instead of waiting at a red light with the foot on the brake, you pull your ebrake up either because a) you don't want to drain your battery because your engine is off or b) your trying to reserve the alternator to charge more of the battery for your next FAS

86 running red and yellow lights, but hey you can't help it... your engine is off hehe. Better than going through it at a very high speed. Although I do debate sometimes, and if I take longer than a second to decide I just hit the brakes as painful as it sounds. And I pray that the key will start my engine again...

Quote:83 you tried to bump
 

I hope you didn't try that. If you did, you are a fuel economy freak.

#83 and #85 is just crazy.
 

#83 and #85 is just crazy.

Re: 77 you fill the oil to
 

hehe... I've done this. When I get stuck by a train (ARGH!) and have to wait I turn the car off and then use the e-brake. no point in wasting the battery on the brake lights :P

Re: Quote:83 you tried to bump
 

lol i got the look when i did, it was very embarrasing!

every quote i put there and many others that has mentioned iam all guilty of! I'm a bad *** when it comes to fuel economy even if I have to do the most outrageous things for it.

That's what happened when your dad not to agreed to get you a hybrid in the first place, this is my way of fighting back albiet a lot more work boo ;(

oh and since my driveway is some messed up hill turning left... i've managed to somehow try to reverse into my driveway without not trying to burn too much clutch although when climbing the hill you can feel the RUMBLE of the engine really wanting to stall but it still climbs! at least in the morning i can roll down and pop it into gear and bump start away! without keying on since a cold bump start is so much smoother than a cold key start.

Just got to master that bump starting some more, reviving the engine without too much revs is the hardest part. Oh and wheel covers are not a reality yet with too much rain around here.

Re: 77 you fill the oil to
 

Guily here too.

87. you just held up a guy
 

87. you just held up a guy driving a moped.

88. you can navigate your scangauge's menus and switch screens without taking your eyes off the road.

Re: 87. you just held up a guy
 

Hahaha, that's very funny.

89. You ride your bicycle
 

89. You ride your bicycle more miles then you ride in your car.

90. You specifically looked to buy a car that was a stickshift, had no AC, no PS, no power windows, and stock 13" wheels.

91. You obviously track your fuel economy like crazy.

#92: Scangauge
 

#92: You ride in someone else's car, and you ask them "do you mind if I ask you to plug this into the port under the dash...thanks" then report the data.
#93: You turn down the free updrade at the rental counter and opt for the Hyundai Accent instead of the Cadillac CTS Sedan because it gets better mileage.

#92 is just plain
 

#92 is just plain creepy.

#94 you put less oil in the engine to gain fuel economy
#95 you are so focused on fuel economy you know every inch of your engine bay and you know what parts need to be taken out to gain some more mpg.
#96 you modify your hubcaps.

94, and 96 i'm trying to do
 

94, and 96 i'm trying to do if i had some more instructions.
92 if its my buddies car's just for fun to show them how wasteful they are! and then bet i can beat it and that's an excuse to drive their cars and find out :D