[theMAG]

We actually have a new TBhpian from Delhi, in whose introduction I remember reading he's a hypermiler in his Alto with close to 18 kmpl in city. I forget his handle.

most of the techniques in that link are stupid and will get us killed. but i have been using the practical ones, and the preliminary results are quite encouraging.

been limiting myself to 90kmph. shifting early. avoiding sudden acceleration and late braking. turning off the AC while idling in traffic(i turn it back on if it gets hot)
generally- have stopped driving like a maniac. it helps

will put up the results after I fill up again and am sure of the numbers.
but dont know how long I can stay decent on the highway, its so hard not to just floor it!

[srijit]

I wish that we had American roads on which to test our hypermiling

[svsantosh]

my rule #1 on Indian roads is never tail gate any other vehicle no matter what it is. As long as you cannot see the Distance upfront equivalent to that specific moments braking requirement of your vehicle, Do not follow another vehicle. After 8 years on Indian Roads I can be proud that I have never been involved in any accident of any sort.

PS
(Scratches in parking, dents by drivers, Excluded)

[aravindwarrier]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

After 8 years on Indian Roads I can be proud that I have never been involved in any accident of any sort.

PS
(Scratches in parking, dents by drivers, Excluded)

No reason to be proud of .This is someplace where skill do not matter at all(pls dont take it personal). To me, its just a matter of probablity.
ON a serious note, Just a bit of sedate and sane driving can save you good amount of fuel, why take unwanted risks in the name of FE.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Among Thomas’ techniques is “pulse and glide” in which he accelerates and then coasts with the engine off until around 24 kph when he kicks the engine back on and accelerates again. “It’s the automotive equivalent of skateboarding,” he said.

Sounds scary to me... what about the Power steering and vaccum assisted braking when the engine's off and the vehicle is still rolling at high speeds!!

Originally Posted by svsantosh

After 8 years on Indian Roads I can be proud that I have never been involved in any accident of any sort.

You can just consider yourself lucky, and thats it. Out of my 11 years driving experience in India spanning few lakhs of kms, I've been involved in three crashes so far... and none of them was due to my fault.

[srijit]

104 hypermiling / ecodriving tips - Unfotunately none of them are practical in India. I wonder why Americans dont use lower specced car engines and drive normally as we do. Maruti 800's and Alto's are no great performance cars, but they do have good mileage. Why do Americans go for more powerful cars and then drive them worse than beggars

[Woods]

Filling more air than whats necessary? I guess it works:

My regular Diesel bunk had a bad-bad air gauge. It always use to fill more points of air in the Tyres. I realized this when I checked my air at other Bunks (which showed 40 psi instead of regular 36 in the front). Only when I started filling air from other bunks I realized a slight drop of FE and noticeable drag in acceleration (The torque of swift everyone is crazy about).

> the controversial practice of drafting behind other vehicles..
Ah! This is especially true for Bangalore traffic with less than an inch of space between vehicles. I guess we all have been hypermilling In cities (atleast)

[coolkurt]

I thought I'd bump this old thread. Honda cars are pretty good at hypermiling and I've been trying to extract the maximum from my Honda Civic.

The tricks that I employ:

1. Take a longer but less travelled route. Lesser traffic, lesser braking, more energy conserved.

2. Fill up fuel more frequently than topping up the tank. I fill fuel worth Rs 1000 ie around 14.5 litres. More fuel = more weight, more drag on economy.

3. Civic has Automatic climate control and I set the temperature to 27 degrees. Even in delhi's heat, it manages to cool things down and keep the cabin pleasant. Higher temperature results in fuel savings, without compromising on comfort.

4. Optimal throttle control. I press the accelerator down to attain the desired speed and when I reach that speed, I stop gunning the throttle, with my foot just touching the accelerator ( rather than pressing it down), which works amazingly well and the car continues to maintain the desired speed and engine rpm. Of course this is only safe on open stretches of road.
The more you gun the throttle, the higher the fuel consumed, so a simple feather touch on the accelerator gives you brilliant gains in fuel efficiency.

5. Maintain optimal tyre pressure reduces rolling resistance thereby making your car more efficient.

By employing all the above techniques, I am able to extract 13 kmpl in the city and 17kmpl on the highway from my 6+ year old civic. The civic is more efficient than my 1.4 Punto, which isn't that hypermiling friendly.

[EagleEye]

@coolkurt -

All the points you have mentioned fall under the common recommended procedures for saving fuel and not under 'hypermiling' which was discussed in this thread.

[Amogh Barakol]

Originally Posted by condor

"Pulse & Glide" is not an option with cars that have a PS & power brakes. Even when it can be done, it is definitely not safe - what does one do if during a "pulse & glide', one has to suddenly dodge another vehicle? He will not get the time to start his engine, steer away & brake to safety.

That's true . What that guy did was use his Civics Auto-Start-&-Stop feature with which he can switch the engine off by taking his foot off and switch it back on by pressing down on the accelerator , all the while never touching the keys !

[gautamkhadse]

Honestly , they should be using more fuel efficient vehicles , rather than trying to double the figures of vehicles like Ford Ranger and F 150s . These vehicles are designated gas guzzlers , what the point trying to extract mileage from them . Cant they adopt the hatchback model like we have . Use CNG ,I dont understand why isnt CNG very popular .

[saket77]

[quote=gautamkhadse;3326916 Use CNG ,I dont understand why isnt CNG very popular .[/QUOTE]

Gautam, I would squarely blame the Govt. policies for it's stand on CNG & other petroleum products.

As for your question that why CNG is not popular then almost equaling the price of diesel & petrol, why would I:

1. Pay additional hefty amount to get a CNG kit installed in my car?

2. What's the assurance that the CNG, if all owners opt for it, the Govt. won't price it for Rs. 100/- a kg or even beyond it?

3. Why would I make the already smaller boot of my car even smaller by plonking a CNG tank there?

4. Un-availability of CNG in many places. Though, I understand that it has to do with the basic nature of your question: the popularity of the fuel.

5. Compromise on performance of my car by using CNG.

CNG was introduced as a cheaper & cleaner fuel, which would discourage the use of petrol due to it's economic pricing. At current pricing, at least the economical part goes down the drain.

[Rahul Rao]

This hypermiling seems to be a extremely dangerous practice, and such risks should not be taken.
I have a VW Polo TDI and follow the practice of up shifting early and not flooring the throttle in low gears, and it does help, on plain surfaces I go into 5th at just above 50 kph, but on gradients I up shift much later depending on the grade, the shift recommendation on the dash almost never recommends a up shift or down shift, other than that I follow the practice of getting the shift stick to neutral as soon as I stop at a traffic light. Keep the Ac on max, but switch off the compressor switch to maintain a comfortable temperature, keep it on while coasting in gear on down slopes, and if temperature is comfortable enough switching it off on gradients.
I coast in neutral only at extreme low speeds in heavy traffic. When vehicle ahead moves shift to first, and release clutch gently without touching accelerator, and as soon as the vehicle moves back to Neutral. My efficiency has jumped to 17-18 kmpl in city during winter and 15-16 kmpl in city in summer, but highway efficiency is same at 20-21 with speeds upto 100.
Tyre pressure is exactly what is recommended, 29-29 with upto 3 people, but as soon as I have a 4th person and luggage on board I fill up 30-34 as recommended at the first fuel station, and back to normal as soon as the vehicle is unladen.

Rahul

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Wayne Gerdes, a former nuclear plant operator from Wadsworth, Illinois, and the originator of hypermiling, said he gets 40-70-mpg (almost 20km a litre) out of his Ford Ranger pickup truck, about doubling its official fuel consumption.

Being an American he couldn't think of dumping the pickup and getting a small (perhaps hybrid) car first if he really wanted to lower his fuel costs.

I recall reading a research paper which highlighted that most of these large vehicles are single occupied most of the times (only the driver), and that most of the people buy such large vehicles NOT because they have large families or require for large haulage - but because they have been sold the idea of improved safety of these large guzzlers