Yesterday I was talking to a pal who asked me how much could he save from gas with hypermiling techniques; after I told him, he was pretty shocked and realized how wrong he had been driving all this time. Many people – like my pal - equal hypermiler techniques with car modifications, and although these mods can help you save gas, you can start with easy to use techniques in your everyday driving.

These are the hypermiler techniques I suggested he started using:

Drive the Speed Limit. We always want to go fast everywhere, always in a rush, it’s crazy! And did you know that going slow can save you some gas? Yes! Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Tweak Your Route. This is a basic technique: avoid traffic. Again, find a joy in what you do, start seeking for alternative routes that may be longer but will save you gas.

Drive Without Using The Brakes When Safe. If there’s a lot of traffic, it is better to go at the same slow speed than starting and stopping continually as you flush fuel into the engine you will not use.

Change your Oil. Use a thinner oil for these, as the car ages, the oil makes it harder to push the engine, consuming more fuel.

Like my friend, you too can start implementing these techniques into your everyday driving. They are not at all complicated. Here’s how you can start: Print or take note of these tips and have the sheet of paper on your car, take a look at it until you make these tips a habit.

To put it simply, you just need to take it slow. Don’t accelerate or stop abruptly, as these are two of the things that make you waste gas. This simple advice, according to a CNN report, helped a Land Rover cut its fuel consumption by 35.4 percent and a Ford Mustang by 27.1 percent!

This happens because as you push down fast the pedal, a lot of fuel gets flushed into the engine. When you approach a red light, it is also a good idea to lift your feet of the pedal as soon as safely possible to keep form sending fuel to the engine.

Observe how you drive, you can be surprised of how used are you to accelerate suddenly instead of gradually. Relax, enjoy the ride and and trust that gas will be saved!

Having said that, there is also a part of interested folks who think this is too complicated, but the truth is that you can start by learning and adding a few tips and techniques into your everyday driving – as many as you feel comfortable learning! These recommendations below will help you hypermiling your car in an easy way!

1. Keep the tire pressure right. The higher the pressure, the less rolling resistance, this is very easy to check in the gas station – just make sure you read oyur car’s manual to determine the recommended pressure.
2. Smooth your acceleration and braking. This is a win-win situation for the car and the passengers.
3. Minimize the weight on your car. This will mean for most people keeping the trunk empty, but it will also mean getting rid of the car accessories that contribute nothing to your driving.
4. Relax. A very simple yet effective trick to smooth your driving and take your time. Some people say that listening to relaxing music helps a lot! I recommend bossa nova – beautiful Brazilian music.
5. Avoid coming to a full stop WHEN IT IS SAFE AND LEGAL. If you just use this simple technique without responsibility you could end up with a ticket or in jail for risking other people lives.

As you see hypermiling your car can be very, very simple. It is like gaining a new habit – you repeat it until it is hardwired in your mind. Remember the last tip needs caution, if you think you can’t do it, better stay off of it.

One of the questions that easily arise in people interested in hypermiling is whether hypermilling is illegal or not. As you may know, this activity involves many tweaks and techniques that will help you save gas, though not all of them can be put in the same basket when judging how viable are them in terms of legality and danger.

This is an excerpt from a report on CBS called “Cops: “Hypermiling” Often Risky, Illegal”, in it they talk about how some drivers take hypermiling to the extreme, risking the integrity of them and other people on the road:

“The AAA and Connecticut State Police are warning against extreme measures in “hypermiling,” a practice in which unusual techniques are used to boost vehicles’ mileage.

They include rolling through stop signs to avoid braking, turning off a car’s engine or shifting into neutral to coast down hills, over-inflating tires to decrease rolling resistance against pavement, and other techniques.

One action that authorities say is particularly dangerous is called “drafting,” tailgating big rigs in hopes of cutting wind resistance and being pulled along in a truck’s wake.

“Every one of them is illegal,” Connecticut State Police spokesman Trooper William Tate said of the “hypermiling” techniques.” Click here to read the whole article.

Well, it is true that there are certain techniques generating quite some controversy, specially the mentioned tailgating technique. Why? Simply put, tailgating is illegal and dangerous (and the risk is higher with trucks!) Hypermiling experts (at least responsible ones) are recommending you do not use this method.

Another controversial method is coasting. This technique can save you some gas but you have to do it with responsibility – this is not a game. Some people coast as they see traffic lights ahead, but let’s keep it real, we are not the only ones in the road and this technique could make some folks angry.

It seems that common consensus gives credit to Wayne Gerdes, also known as “Wayne 100 MPG”. This name refers to the average of more than 100 MPG he got from a Ford pickup truck for three months.

He’s what could be seen as a “hypermiling pioneer”, obsessed with these techniques and trying always to break his own records. And well, let’s hope he keeps him that way, as he can teach us a lot about new hypermiling techniques.

People like you and I can greatly benefit by just applying few of the techniques he found out. Here are a couple of them:

Inflate your tires to max pressure. This will help you accelerate consuming less gas and coast farther, it also adds more time to your tire’s life.

Change the air filter once a year, your car needs more effort (gas) to pull air from a dirty air filter.

There is a great slideshow over at forbesautos.com where you can check out other tips from the man himself. Check it out here.

Are you ready to start in the world of hypermiling and start saving gas –and bucks? Well, then all you need to do is take your first steps with hypermiling driving. In this article I’ll try to put them in an easy way for you. So, start taking notes!

1. Take out all the excess weight from your car. Are you the kind of people that like to keep a whole supply in case of nuclear attacks? Well, then this tip right here will serve you good. You see, there no thing as a “free ride”, every ounce of excess weight your car is carrying, takes away energy from it. The solution is pretty obvious – keep your trunk empty, just put NECESSARY things in there.
2. Keep your tires in good condition. Be sure to check your tire pressure regularly, if you don’t know what the pressure should be, grab your car manual - it should be in there. If the tire pressure is set correctly, your car will experience less rolling resistance and spend less fuel. Did you know that decreases in temperature also lower your tire pressure?
3. Keep close track of your fuel consumption. This is a major step for hypermiling driving; it works just like when you are in a diet, keeping a journal of all the food you eat. This will not only make you conscious about your spending, but will also give you a good measure of your progress.
4. Close Your Sun-Roof. This is specially important when you are cruising at high speeds. When you leave it open, you are creating more aerodynamic drag, so your car needs more effort to keep going at the same speed. More effort = more fuel. Save the sun-roof for when you really need it, like…on a date.
5. Avoid complete stops. A good rule in hypermiling driving is to keep the car going, do not bringing it to a complete stop. Of course, you should be smart and do it only when it is safe for you and others. It takes less fuel to keep a car going than taking it out of a stop.

I hope these tips right here about hypermiling driving have served you. Put them into practice, master them, and you’ll be ready for more advanced stuff. Don’t forget to keep checking the blog often for more tips!

As you can see, my favorite is on the left side of the blog. Personally I have used it with success and inspired me to build this blog, but there are other guides that may not have heard about.

Ultimate Gas Saver Guide

This guide is more than just a hypermiling manual. I really like it because it has also lots of information about Water2Gas conversion, alternative fuels, gas calculation, hybrid cars, energy saving and government fuel-saving guides. I have yet to see another product that tops this one in terms of quality and quantity. –> Click here to learn more.

Hypermiling and Other Gas Saving Secrets

This is a shorter book, easy to follow step-by-step instructions focused just on hypermiling. The author promises a saving of up to 40%, that’s a really high number. If you want a short guide, this may be for you. You’ll learn about gas saving and the good about this guide is that it is cheaper, so it can get you started in the world of hypermiling and see if you like it. –> Click here to learn more.

The Hypermiling Tutorial

To tell you the truth, I haven’t read this guide yet, but I mention it here because I have read some decent reviews about it. Plus, it comes with some bonus ebooks on gas saving devices, living green, vehicles and renewable energy. –> Click here to learn more about it!

So, what is hypermiling?

Hypermiling refers to these techniques that will help you increase gas mileage and fuel efficiency and save you your hard-earned money.

To first start with hypermiling, it is good to check and make sure your car is in excellent condition. Any flaw in alignment, a low tire pressure, etc; can lead to small increases of fuel consumption; a car in great conditions will be a 100% effective machine.

Other aspects that cover hypermiling are:

How fast should you drive to increase efficiency

How weather conditions affect your driving

What lifestyle changes can help you save gas

How to start your car, and learning how to reduce acceleration and braking.

Reducing the weight of the vehicle

Does Hypermiling Work?

Yes it does, the techniques have been put in practice by people from all over the World and are always perfected as feedback is received from individuals who want to make the most out of their fuel.

The world of hypermiling is an exciting one and well, it is only full of benefits, sparkling the creativity of thousands of individuals. I invite you to learn more about the World of hypermiling by exploring this blog pages and categories.