I give up, It's not worth my time...

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by JoeBob

For me, changing to a smaller car and driving as if there were an egg under the foot feed has saved me, in the past year, something over $2000. That includes the cost of the car, all the parts that needed replacing, a little paint to make it look a little less (but only a little) bizarre, and maintanence. But then, I drive 100+ miles a day. I could move closer to work, but I'd probably lose more money doing that (but dear, if we paid just a little more per month we could get this much nicer house...!).

Egg under the foot doesn't always work. In my truck even "egg under foot" in 1st or 2nd gear results in about 2MPG being reported by SG. I usually give it about 20 - 25% throttle until I can get at least into 3rd gear then play the egg under foot game. My mileage ends up much better.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Egg under the foot doesn't always work. In my truck even "egg under foot" in 1st or 2nd gear results in about 2MPG being reported by SG. I usually give it about 20 - 25% throttle until I can get at least into 3rd gear then play the egg under foot game. My mileage ends up much better.

Depends on the car...with the Geo it does work. With my Cad, what with overdrive transaxle and lockup torque converter, your method seems to work better.

[Kuripot]

FYI, I already doubled my FE when I parked my F150 3 months ago and bought a new Hyundai Accent. I went from 18 mpg to 36 mpg.

I honestly get 35+ MPG driving this 08 manual trans. Accent pretty hard. Shifting @ 3000 + RPM and cruising at 75 mph. Don't ask me why it's rated so low for highway mileage. I don't see it. I honestly don't know how I could get much less mileage on the highway with it.

Kevin

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Kuripot

I don't see it. I honestly don't know how I could get much less mileage on the highway with it.

Same with my VW. EPA highway estimate is 28mpg. A non-hypermiler who owns the same car reports 33mpg from highway driving at 70mph, and that seems to match what I've observed (but I haven't done a single tank of mostly highway driving on this car).

[azraelswrd]

Turn on your A/C to max, all lights on, open all windows, blast your stereo system and drive with underinflated tires while driving on the highway at 80mph with a loaded bike rack on top and carrying 4 complete golfbags in the back.... I bet you'll get those EPA numbers now with no problem.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by azraelswrd

Turn on your A/C to max, all lights on, open all windows, blast your stereo system and drive with underinflated tires while driving on the highway at 80mph with a loaded bike rack on top and carrying 4 complete golfbags in the back.... I bet you'll get those EPA numbers now with no problem.

that's more or less what i meant by over-aggressive, thank you for clarifying. i would add: speeding to red lights and slamming the brakes.

[Ford Man]

I think part of it is also being able to prove those SMART people at the EPA wrong about their mileage estimates too.

[1cheap1]

I do it because in a past life i must have been a Scot. I think i am thrifty, frugal or whatever other terms people have come up with to describe what i do. I get a kick out of getting the mpg out of a 13 year old car that beats most cars out there that are being sold today. Most of my driving is up to my customers, so it varies all the time. This gives me something to do to break up the boredom and save a few dollars. Just used my 89 240 sx automatic for a trip and got 33 mpg with it 50/50 street and highway. The best i got before with it was 24 mpg. It has an outrageous overdrive, 65 mph at 2300 rpm. No a/c however. I like to think with what i have learned i could get better mpg on just about any vehicle out there.

[67 Satellite]

With me it's partially an obsessive/compulsive efficiency thing,saving money is just a side benefit. It's not just hypermiling either,it's going faster with fewer/cheaper performance parts(67 Plymouth Satellite),getting more result from any given situation with less effort.More for less,whether it's for bragging rights or saving money, is a great motivator for me.

[GasSavers_Randy]

There were two things that convinced me slowing down was worth it.

The first was that I measured the time the commute took. It's about half an hour each way. I found that a quick trip going slow was faster than aggressive driving on a slow day. The issue isn't traffic (unless you want to go faster than 80)... it's mainly light timing, with only 2 lights and 3 stop signs. If there's no guarantee of saving time, why bother?

The second was that I was way less wound up at the end of the trip. Adding in the time until I was focused and productive made the 'fast' trip slower than the slow one.

I think measuring the actual time repeatedly is important. Just dividing miles per hour only works on very long trips.