Hybrid vehicle fuel economy tips: Hypermiling Tools and Tricks

Turning it off helps

Hypermiling. It's a favorite word of many hybrid owners striving to best past fuel economy records. Plus, the various energy monitors on many hybrid cars essentially force hypermiling.

Pulse and glide. Drafting. B Gear. Different driving conditions require different hypermiling techniques.

My favorite congestion technique, especially on short trips, is hitting the gas pedal. Yeah, that's right. After a cold start, a little extra gas seems to optimize engine performance, probably because of the Atkinson cycle.

Likewise, in these conditions, shutting off your console screen and AC can also have big effects on fuel economy.

What are your favorite hybrid hypermiling tools and tricks?

Zen and the Art of Hypermiling

Hypermiling isn't for wimps

I don't drive much thanks to the Goldline and the rest of LA's light rail and subway system. When I do drive it's mostly through dense urban traffic, so hypermiling is an art I find little time to practice and experiment.

OK, that's not totally true since I've been hypermiling through LA traffic long before hybrid cars first hit the road. In my old manual Nissan Sentra from my old Pasadena neighborhood, I would try to coast through Arroyo Parkway traffic touching the breaks as little as possible.

Thus, when I became a hybrid driver, my city driving changed little. In fact, either in a Toyota Prius or a Camry hybrid, I can coast in EV mode through much of LA's commuting congestion achieving unbelievable - at least to non-hybrid drivers - fuel economy.

Highway hypermiling, however, is a whole different story. Finish: Zen and the Art of Hypermiling

Interested in hypermiling?

Motorcycle club? Whatever.

Forget vintage car clubs and motorcycle rider's groups, it's time for a hypermiler's group. That's the thought I had watching this YouTube video on hypermiling.

Can't you see Brad Pitt and his Hollywood Hybrid Hypermiler's crew cruising from LA up PCH to Monterey? O.K. maybe not.

Anybody already in a hypermiling club?