To What Extent?

[brucepick]

I've been taking curves and corners pretty fast but I will have to cut back on that. Rain + fast curve = broken side glass, just this morning. Definitely not the way to go. This will set me back a couple hundred $$ or so.

I stopped doing EOC with my auto tranny - just too ridiculous restarting it, having headlights go out for a moment, etc.

I often drive slower than most (all??) of the traffic but I stay above the minimum of 45 that's on our interstates. I keep an eye out for traffic approaching from behind and I make an effort to stay out of their way by using "slow vehicle" lanes etc. Now and then I'll actually speed up a bit to avoid ticking someone off.

When I P&G on hills I sometimes get up to 75 mph on the downhill. If I coast down to 50 or even only to 55 it confuses the heck out of other drivers. They can't figure out what I'm doing and why I "can't" keep a steady speed. I have to pay lots of attention to where they are and what they're doing.

[baddog671]

Whenever I'm alone on the road I will drive more conservativly than whenerver others are around. I pick my speeds up alittle when people are behind me. I dont compromise safety for FE though.

[Hockey4mnhs]

its kinda hard to slow people down out in the country but when im in they city i go 52 in a 60 and up to 65 in a P&g so it up and down all the time. It depends on how hard i want to try on a tank also if im going for a goal its all out. My friends dont even to bother to get in the car anymore when going for a goal because they cant handle no windows radio or a/c. High g turns are a must because lots of times i have to keep my speed because there hills right after the turn. Eoc i do but the only thing is its bad for the tranny not because it isnt safe. I consider hypermileing Really Really safe compared to not. I have never come close to an accedent when hypermileing but almost died two times when not so that where im coming from on that.

[unstable bob]

I'm to the point where I'm gonna follow Paul Anka's advice and do it "MY WAY!" [I think Paul Anka wrote "My Way...?" ] There are sooooo many azz clown drivers in these parts that I'm saying "Fook 'em" if they can't handle one 'lil car doing the speed limit or a 'lil under, while staying to the right. I wish most of the idiots on the roads here would speed off into eternity, while killing each other on the way out. Don't compromise what you have to do because of others. Try not to give a dayum about them, 'cause brother, THEY DON'T GIVE A DAYUM ABOUT YOU!!!

[psyshack]

I think my sig sums it up....

[SVOboy]

fuel economy forum
vegan recipes
green home improvement
honda gas mileage

[Jim Dunlop]

I had to re-instate my throttle control. There was too much of a slam when shifting back into gear from neutral, and it takes too much work/fine-tuning to double-clutch and get the engine up to the right RPM before easing off the clutch.

Darn computers -- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. This car was designed to run with the assistance of the computer, so it's very difficult to control the RPM's precisely with the accelerator pedal.

[skewbe]

I unplugged mine at at 1000 rpm, no problems. 600 seems a little low (And I bet you have a 0506 - low idle code).

[phantomcow2]

I go to a moderate extent.
I don't turn on my vehicle until my seatbelt is fastened and I am actually ready to go. I don't use AC, ever. On the highway I drive about 63, which is acceptable. That puts me just under 2500rpm in 5th. I use engine braking and coast to every red light as slowly as possible to avoid having to come to a full stop. Drivers behind me often seem confused when I do this. It seems like it's the woman driving the mini van that actually gets irritated, I've been honked and screamed at by mini van drivers.
I've begun coasting down hills where appropriate. I never take turns at high speeds, it's just not worth it. Plus, there's no way to do that here in winter with snow and ice. Basically, I don't do anything that puts more wear and tear on the car.
My accord is rated 21 in town, 29 highway. I am getting between 36-38 in town, and I've never done a long enough highway trip with this car to get an accurate highway rating.

[DracoFelis]

I started out slow, by simply trying to make my car run better. I spent special attention on anything that could result in additional drag. My theory was that anything putting drag on the car, had to be robbing some FE in the car, as that drag had to be making more work for the engine to overcome. So anything that I did that lowered drag, had to be improving my FE at least a little bit.

So I started off with things like good synthetic oils (less friction in the engine), and lowering electrical usage in the car (because electrical power in the car is produced by mechanical load on the engine, therefore lowering electrical usage lowers car drag). That's where I started, and I did notice some gains doing nothing more than that.

I then started working up from there. For example, I raised my tire pressure based upon these forums. And I had my mechanic put good synthetic grease in my rear wheel barrings, as a result of some posts over on the BITOG forums. And I started experimenting with "safe" but more FE driving (such as coasting to a red light, vs just driving normally than using the brakes).

And at one point, I converted most of my car lights (except for the headlights themselves) over to energy efficient LED modules. Not only did that greatly lower the power (and therefore alternator drag) when the lights are on, but IMHO it also resulted in lights that were easier for others to see as well. And with luck, the lights themselves should last for YEARS, as LEDs don't burn out light normal car bulbs. And it also made my feel "less guilty" when I turned my secondary lights (everything except for the headlights) on in marginal light conditions, solely to allow other drivers to see me better. Yes, the LEDs still put a noticeable increase in drag on the engine when they are on, but that drag is a fraction as much as the drag was with the incandescent lights. So at this point, I will use the LEDs when I think they will improve safety, even if they aren't technically "required" (as it's technically light enough out that I could leave them all off).

And at this point, I consider any needed car work as an opportunity to see if I can get the work done with BETTER THAN STOCK parts and fluids (that hopefully are a little better from a FE standpoint, as well as hopefully lasting longer than stock parts). For example, when my mechanic replaced a worn out axle, he took the opportunity to shoot some high-tech grease I had into the front wheel barrings. The wheel barrings where supposedly "sealed", but since he was in that car area anyway (to replace the axle), he used a hypodermic needle to shoot my grease into the front wheels themselves (thereby allowing the wheels to spin easier, i.e. less drag). And when the stock radiator finally started corroding out (after 15+ years of service), I asked for advice on a new radiator here on these forums. And what we eventually went with was an aluminum radiator to replace the (heaver) brass stock radiator that was worn out. And one of my most recent mods (also related to the radiator) was an adjustable/variable radiator fan sensor, that allows me to just adjust a dial when I want to change what temp the radiator fans come on at. And higher fan temps have two key FE advantages (as long as you don't go so high of a temp that the engine melts, and that in turn is controlled by other engine factors related to how well you have your engine maintained): 1) Higher temps are generally more FE, as the engine can run more efficiently _IF_ it doesn't get "too hot" (how hot is "too hot" depends upon how well you maintain your engine). and 2) The radiator fan uses a lot of electric, so running it less saves alternator drag on the engine. Therefore a higher temp for fan turn on will save on alternator drag.

The point is, I consider this a journey (keep making "improvements"), vs something I jump into all at once. And I don't do some of the more "radical" things here either. For example I don't do "engine off coast" yet, and I won't until I find some way to "safely" do so. For example, if I had a good "injector kill switch" (which I might add at some point), I might consider engine off coasting if/when I wasn't in traffic. But IMHO the "traditional" turn the key approach (to engine off coasting) just isn't "safe", and I don't do it. IMHO if I ever do start doing engine off coasting (I do already do neutral coasting if/when appropriate), I'll have to first modify the car so that starting/stopping the engine (while still moving down the road) is easier and safer first.

But in the mean time I continue to learn FE driving techniques, and continue to take all "required maintenance" as an opportunity to see if I can "do better". So I talk to my mechanic, and when we see an opportunity to put something in that not only "repairs" the immediate problem but also is more FE (or otherwise "better quality"), we do so. And over time those mods have added up (and should continue to do so in the future).