Long Trip Hypermiling tips.

[goofy1]

i got back from the trip. we drove my wifes Vibe. we got 33.7mpg going down. but i have several things i notice. the cars top speed @2000rpm i just 50mph, i won't go any faster then that staying at 2000rpm. and the speed limit is 70mph the whole way. so if i went just 50mph. 1.we would've gotten then really late and 2. my wife wouldn't have been happy with me.

[bodhi_tree777]

Originally Posted by goofy1

i got back from the trip. we drove my wifes Vibe. we got 33.7mpg going down. but i have several things i notice. the cars top speed @2000rpm i just 50mph, i won't go any faster then that staying at 2000rpm. and the speed limit is 70mph the whole way. so if i went just 50mph. 1.we would've gotten then really late and 2. my wife wouldn't have been happy with me.

Also just took a long (1200 miles or so) trip to upstate NY in our 03 Vibe GT (not sure which type you have, but the GT gets the worst mileage of the bunch). Two people, car full of luggage and tattoo gear, lots of AC but we still averaged 33-34 mpgs for the trip (best tank was 35.1). Here's what we did:

- maintained a constant 62-65 mph
- safely drafted semi's a bunch
- used cruse control most of the way
- dropped some Techron in the tank somewhere near Buffalo
- coasted down hills

We also jumped off the highway quite a bit and toured around w. NY wine country. Lots of stops, lots of traffic on the way back (this was after 4th of july weekend) so lots of idling. Also went to Canada for an afternoon around Niagara, so lots of waiting in lines at the border .

My Vibe idles rather high. at 65 mph or so i'm at about 2800 rpms. If i do 70, i hit 3000. just the way the 2zz engine is, i suppose.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by bodhi_tree777

My Vibe idles rather high. at 65 mph or so i'm at about 2800 rpms. If i do 70, i hit 3000. just the way the 2zz engine is, i suppose.

That's not idle, that's cruising; and blame the transmission...but yes, I agree it's high, that's the same unnecessarily low gearing as my VW.

[Snax]

Drafting semis definately makes a significant difference on the highway - even without doing it at an unsafe distance. 2.5-3 seconds back can provide up to a 20% boost in MPG. Doing little more than this, we managed to get 38 mpg out of our 5 on a trip that normally gives us a little over 32 mpg. It's a pretty safe distance and none of the truckers seemed to mind.