Nerd Word of the Day: Hypermiling
In honor of today being Earth Day… today’s Nerd Word of the Day is:
Hypermiling: the attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques.
These adjustments include things like:
• driving without shoes (to increase the foot’s sensitivity on the pedals)
• parking so that you don’t have to back up to exit the space
• “ridge-riding” or driving with your tires lined up with the white line at the edge of the road to avoid driving through water-filled ruts in the road when it’s raining
“Hypermiling” was coined in 2004 by Wayne Gerdes and he even runs a website devoted to the practice.
They mention my favorite car on his website. (In pink please:-) )
Click here for more nerd words.
How about the nerd word of the day “twatted” – the past tense of the verb “to twitter.”
Example:
“Do you twitter?”
“Well, I don’t normally twitter, but I have twatted.”
“Hypermiling” was coined in 2004 by Wayne Gerdes ***)$(***”Humpermiling” was coined by horse rider, falling for the tempest and caught twittling his thumbs. “last at last”-leonard…free lettuce
ok; *****(+)10…the kinks lol
I do (did) that (this) (when I had (borrowed) a (my dad’s) car.
..or..**)&(**The Little Rascals in Color trailer – Legend Films
***#***[mill] or [miller] or [milling]
Another tactic to save gas is to plan you routes where you only make right turns. Instead of keeping your vehicle idle, to wait and make those left turns, you can easily yield on right turns. This method have been observed and used by one or all major postal carriers.
So that’s what I have been doing for years? Hypermiling? I a big fan of doing that in my old cars. I’ve always used a stick shift for years. I don’t know how to drive an automatic. I’m always trying to step on the clutch and end up hitting the brake. I’m always resting my hand on the shifter. I suck at cornering an automatic. I like to visit GameWorks in Seattle and play this game called Ferrari F-355 Challenge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F355_Challenge
Anyways I love the arcade style game. You little boys can play it on your little xboxes and playstations while us big boys drop $100 buck in the game with nothing to show for it. 
I always choose Manual transmission and full realism. I think the track I use is called Monaco or something. I played Long Beach and that track is the hardest. The game used to be set up for 4 lap races but now they are doing 9 lap races. Takes me about 18 minutes to complete the race. I come out sweating from the game when I play for about an hour. I don’t use the shift paddles.
I guess I’m old school.
WIND power…
The Pirate Song (colour) George Harrison 
What, no magnets around the fuel line?
What does a 4.0 magnitude earthquake feel like? Is it mellow or shocking?
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/ci10399889.php
Any time you can feel the ground shake and there’s no freight train passing by it’s going to be somewhat of a shock. I have felt a lot of small quakes, and I used to think they were cool, until just after 5pm on October 17, 1989. After the Loma Prieta quake it took months for the aftershocks to completely stop, and every time one occurred, it was impossible to tell whether or not it was going to stop or get bigger, louder, more intense, etc.
You just couldn’t tell whether this was the big one or not until it was all over. The uncertainty clearly stressed a lot of people to their limits. Once in the middle of the night, I woke up startled and pulled my girlfriend out of bed and onto the floor because we’d be safer under the bed if the ceiling caved in. I didn’t even think about it, I just reacted instantaneously.
People became pretty battle-weary by about the third or fourth week, even from some fairly gentle shaking events. Since then it’s hard for me to describe anything that can actually be felt as “mellow.” That’s why they’re called aftershocks. People were so edgy they’d jump a mile when they felt the first bump regardless of the Richter scale rating.
My friend was really into hypermiling. He took the doors off to save some weight and cut the roof off so there would be less wind resistance. He’d run stop signs to save on gas (and brakes) and even started dating shorter and lighter girlfriends. I think he was way ahead of his time. Last time I saw him he was riding his bicycle with a nice looking woman sitting on his handlebars.
Next thing you know he’ll drop the the bicycle and hit the road walking barefoot with the nice looking woman in his arms.
I’ll try to watch for this… thanks!
WORD REQUEST: [ No Shit Sherlock ]
Years ago, when most cars still had carburetors, I bought a special carburetor guaranteed to save 5 miles per gallon. Then I got these special spark plugs and saved another 4 mpg. I kept looking around and got other special parts and before long I no longer needed gasoline at all. It was a real pain however, since every 100 miles or so I would need to siphon extra gas out of my tank.
You should make a trailer with an overflow gas tank. Then you can sell all that extra gas to pay off some of those extra parts.
Hybermiling is so cool and hip! In honor of Earth Day my Wife and I are going to commute by walking. Walking cuts down on fuel emissions and keeps us both in shape as well. When we do drive we drive a Toyota Prius Hybrid, great car.
Oooo-hhh!! I’m sorry, but that is not quite correct. Breathing emits CO2(a big NO-NO
) and that is going to be a taxable asset before long. 
Therefore, if you breath harder, they’ll find a way to “generate revenue” from your “investment”. I believe they are doing the same with obese people. And no, I’m not kidding! 
TEST
sign in is being an asshole again
No brag, just fact…..
Earth Day, celebrated in the US on April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere….I ate dinner more than once with old Gaylord…. 
Run On Wisconsin !…love is free and so is air 
Tax love Now!
Tax air immediately! Every molecule.
Tax tax too!
LOL! Marina, it looks like a modern Velorex!
I recently took a 356 mile(one way)road trip from the west coast to Phoenix AZ. On the way home I averaged 27.4 mpg and an average speed of 84.7 mph.
Not too shabby for a 3.0L strait six. Just set the cruise control at 90 and go!
Gosh! I would be impressed, but you kept it under 100 MPH on a public road. !?
How much is your insurance? LOL!
I am not concerned for your safety – if you kill yourself doing this someday; that’s on you.
I am concerned for the risk you put upon others who use the roads safely.
I can’t help it – I’m a racetrack safety guy, and even with emergency medical on the scene, they can’t do much. I’ve picked up the pieces after some bad ones, and I can tell you – there are no good accidents, only lucky ones. Charlie crashed in my corner last year. He doesn’t walk so good these days.
Cars are worse – body parts/fluids on the track – yuck! I won’t show you any videos of those – but you might look for some to see what happens when luck runs out.
Drive friendly!
I understand. Believe me, I’m not one of those morons that weaves in and out of traffic. Rarely do I drive faster than the speed of the fast lane flow. Which, in San Diego county, is around 73-80mph depending on volume and time of day. Although, there are stretches of I15 in northern SD where if you’re not going 85mph in the fast lane you will be getting bump-drafted to get the heck out of the way.
I10 east of palm springs, and until you get to Phoenix, is a wasteland. The farther east you go the more the speed limit increases, as high as 80mph. I was just running with the majority.
What I have noticed, is when folks don’t want to go with the flow in 1, 2, or 3 lanes it creates a much bigger hazard. Cars will back up behind the slower car(s) which in turn makes for a far more dangerous driving condition. I would feel much safer traveling at 80mph with a 8 car lengths in-between cars rather than 65mph with 2 car lengths between us.
I can’t remember the last time I got a speeding ticket and my insurance is 69. bucks a month…and thats with Farmers! Not too bad for one of those “european jobbys”.
Must be the “good driver” discount.
Of all these outstanding methods and systems designed to maximize gas mileage, barefoot driving seems to be the most interesting one to me. I am far from being a fuel efficiency guru, but I am convinced that by the simple fact of educating people on the subject of hypermiling, showing them how to ridge-ride, smart-park and shoeless-drive, saving a drop of fuel here and there where needed, a great and significant amount of polluants would be prevented from being unleashed into the atmosphere, slowing down and perhaps stopping further damages to the ozone layer. Being gentle on the pedal is also, I suppose, quite a good way to save fuel. The faster you run, the more calories you burn. Erm.. The more fuel you burn I mean.
Just some info for ya…
Fact:
Under President George Bush, the cleanest air ever measured was recorded!
Funny, there is no mention of that here!
I guess for people who hate George Bush, the truth can be ignored, huh?
Oh yes, the American Lung Association
.
Never has the world seen such a group of pinko, lefty, commy, concpiratorialishtismisters
{best Sybil Fawlty}
“I know!” LOL!
Haven’t seen those before. Fuuuuuuny.
snort dirt…Wisconsin
nelson
Run, Doug, run. S’cuse me. I mean, think, Doug, think.
“How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”
– Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
“How many wheels does a SUV have if you call the steering wheel a wheel? Four; calling a steering wheel a wheel doesn’t make it a wheel.”
Ha!
Gosh, you use a lot of words, for one who has nothing to contribute.
So, let’s examine what you did say here:
“I think I speak plain english, but I’m not quite sure on that, since I’m not an outstanding authority on the subject.”
OK… as it relates to dog tails being dog legs;
no, that was not plain english – refering to the topic of clean air. You are correct in not being sure, as stated; in this instance, you are not an authority, much less an outstanding authority.
“I’m sayin’ what I’m sayin’, and I’m sayin’ Abraham Lincoln is the one who said anythin’ about dog tails being legs.”
OK – what does this have to do with what I said about the clean air measured during the Bush years? You’re quoting Abraham Lincoln? So what?
“I reckon you’re right, and you didn’t say anything about it anywhere. But I could be wrong on that, don’t believe me blindly like this without verifying by yourself of course.”
OK – I can verify, again, that I didn’t say anything about dog tails – res ipsa loquitor. The thing speaks for itself and doesn’t require me to believe you blindly at all.
“I have no arguments with what you said, chief! I say heck, the cleanest air was recorded somewhere somehow under president George Bush, and there’s no mention of that there. If Doug says so that must be true I tell you.
No, the truth can’t be ignored, huhn’t.”
Ok – here, you are confusing, so I’m going to offer one possible scenario. Either you have no arguement, and agree with what I said, or you are being sarcastic and do not agree with what I said. If you were to agree, you would simply say so – but you didn’t. This leads me to believe you are being sarcastic, and choose not to believe the facts I reported. When you say there is “no mention of it here”, you are being too vague and unclear as to what you are refering. I believe this is due to you being overly sarcastic, but you fail to be clear – just more gibberish. Are you suggesting that the truth can be ignored?
If so, then you agree with me in that the data was ignored by the American Lung Association as shown by the failure to report the data anywhere in their critcism suggesting Bush was deficient in meeting air index standards. What the ALA did was raise the standard for air quality, after the facts showed air quality exceeded the targeted requirement.
I would suggest, rather than spending all this energy in sarcastic opposition to the facts, and casting vague and innocuous aspersions on me, you should do your own homework and glean the truth for yourself; since you want to present me with an arguement not supported by any data. To support your arguement, you need to find a study (which you will not be able to find – because it doesn’t exist) showing that air quality measured was not the highest ever recorded, under George Bush.
Good luck!
@Doug
That’s a long answer for sure! We were first talking about ridge-ride, smart park and shoeless drive, then we jumped to George Bush and the cleanest air measured, took a detour through the American lung association (aka ALA), Abraham Lincoln and dogs, tails and legs, then finally to SUVs, wheels and steering wheels.
How did we do that? How could this happen? I say we went too far! Let’s rollback the thread!
“How many wheels does a SUV have if you call the steering wheel a wheel? Four; calling a steering wheel a wheel doesn’t make it a wheel.”
More illogical gibberish contributing nothing to the topic of discussion – clean air. You engage in very stupid, irrational arguements; only proving you don’t do your homework, and don’t even know what you’re talking about.
Here’s one for your next stupid arguement:
Q.”How many sides does a coin have?”
A. 5
(Front side, back side, edge side, inside and outside)
What color is the sky, on your planet?
You don’t know which way is up, do you?
You may want to practice putting together a sentence.
You are a stupid. LOL!
(feels like I’m beating a dead horse)
@ neuroway – “WE” didn’t go too far
You went too far – to the whacko left?
You don’t even know what you are talking about!
“…a great and significant amount of polluants would be prevented from being unleashed into the atmosphere…”
Don’t do drugs, they’re bad for you; hm’kay?
@Doug
Feels like nothing except a brain tatoo of yours pal.
Beating the crap out of a dead horse? This would be quite stupid. Dead horses don’t run and they don’t go nowhere. Don’t you know? Do I really look like someone who does his homework?
But where are we at now? Dead horses? George Bush? Abraham Lincoln? ALA? Stupid arguments? Politicians? Politics? Whither is this discussion going? Whither are we going? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire topic, which was hypermiling (if my memory serves me well)?
@Doug
You’re not the one who decides how far I go or how far I wanna go, dude. Or how far anybody else want to go. Seems to me that this is something you’ve never realized before. Strange…
What? Speak plain english!
What are you saying???
Where did I say anything about dog tails being legs?
(nowhere)
If you have an arguement with what I said, say
what it is, please. This gibberish doesn’t help.
I think I speak plain english, but I’m not quite sure on that, since I’m not an outstanding authority on the subject.
I’m sayin’ what I’m sayin’, and I’m sayin’ Abraham Lincoln is the one who said anythin’ about dog tails being legs. I reckon you’re right, and you didn’t say anything about it anywhere. But I could be wrong on that, don’t believe me blindly like this without verifying by yourself of course.
I have no arguments with what you said, chief! I say heck, the cleanest air was recorded somewhere somehow under president George Bush, and there’s no mention of that there. If Doug says so that must be true I tell you.
No, the truth can’t be ignored, huhn’t.
I Can’t Drive 55
Baby You Can Drive My Car
Hey Marina, have u checked out you tweetvalue lately. 4 figs… invest now everyone.
My used (recycled) Corolla is about as cheap as I could go. I’m not too worried about buying foreign because this one was made in America AND I didn’t buy it new anyway. Someone else already paid off the Japanese businessmen. Nothing I can do about that now, so I’ll just make sure it gets used to its full potential while it’s running. No power amenities to fail on me when I need them most, no AC, no sunroof, no remote keyless entry, no alarm, no CD player, no automatic transmission, no extra bullsh!ft, and the best part– it’ll be legal this year (ha! 18 years old) but still sips the fuel with its little 5-speed 1600 cc power plant. I have other things to afford besides gas these days. Gets me there. Hauls my canoe. I’m happy!
You must have done some work to keep that old thingrunning. You’ve had it as long as I’ve known you… and heck, it even out-lived you.
Well, sure enough. Since I owned it I have replaced the brakes, clutch, battery, timing belt and water pump, as well as some door and window handle hardware and the obligatory couple of tires here and light bulbs there, etc. But enough about that.
Ask any dead person, we all concur: longevity is overrated! Unless you’re talking about cars, that is. Which we weren’t.
Were we? I forget.
I guess that’s why they have a parachute to provide lots of drag, so they don’t shoot straight on into the barrier. That would be a drag.
So THAT’s what those oversize brassieres are for! Well I’ll be a dog bone. I thought they were some sort of trophy they would wave as they crossed the finish line.
ORdered..I Would Walk A Mile For A Camel***play 4 pay***Recordingdate : Thu 3 Oct. 1929, Vi V38611, Victor Label
Note : Gus Cannon And His Jug Stompers are perhaps the best ,BUT there are others too.
Mott The Hoople – Keep A Knockin’ – 1970…drive on…chill out
Mott the Hoople, that was a real gem you dug up, and I dug it
.
)(*****)(Johnny Cash – Drive On…it don’t mean nothing
Dear Marina,
The best way to “hypermile” is not to drive at all, except when you must. I used to take trips to San Diego, LA, Ojai, Riverside, etc. two to three times per year. Lately, my most recent trip South was to Anaheim in 2007 for the IPMS Convention. I plan to try the Blu Jam Cafe, someday, but it’s a long drive just for a meal.
Here, I plan shopping trips to multiple locations in one outing. Today, it was the gasoline station, Target Store and Safeway. I make through shopping lists so I won’t need to make extra trips for an item I forgot. I drive my 1992 Metro most of the time. It still gets 40 mpg in City drivine and over 50 mpg on the highway. I use my 2007 Aveo with A/T, A/C, and power options when I need impress a date!
I hope one of your fabulously wealthy boyfriends will buy you the new Aptera car you want!
Seesixcm6
Try blowing on the windshield to save gas
Speaking of blowing
Garretts- Double AD 60 Class with Coal Trains near Newcastle
…old school NERD; hype
Nice old heavy iron in that vid… cool, thanks. This is old school.
Older school…Little Eva The Locomotion
[piggy-back]
…
Sunset Boulevard / International Feel
- Todd Rundgren
I guess I shouldn’t have driven my truck today
, it maximizes fuel usage (stupid gas pig), hope everbody else was driving carefully. I rarely drive it anymore, I drive this… uses less gas in a week than my truck does in a day.
This technology works using water to boost gas mileage.
It should have been a Detroit standard for all cars
years ago. Huh, I wonder why it isn’t?
($8.0000/sec. gas tax revenue to US govt. is why!)
You can convert your truck to do better mileage than
the Barbie Dream Car! Innat sumpin’?
I burn gas obtained from crush cars, sweetened by acetone & white gas to get the right burn rate, mixed according to how skunky the old gas is. The mix is good for both of my vehicles… except of course the Race car. Putting small chamber heads on her for this weekend & we do bye pump gas for her. We ‘ll have to see what kind of magic our chemist can work for this weekends mix. Moth balls are part of our witches brew sometimes too. Will have to look into the water idea for the 350 small block race motor. We’ve toyed with the idea of having a driver controlled air bleed into the manifold for a little extra airflow on the straightaways… but alas we’re still primarily budget oriented weekend warriors. Keepin’ it cheep
Oh yeah! Crush-car gas…
I remember – you clued me in on that some time ago.
Moth balls bump the octane – sweet!
Don’t blow the head gasket (or throw a rod)!
I guess I’ve been “hypermiling” since ‘72
Driving without shoes is illegal, by the way, and won’t
save any gas, This would be like jumping up in the air
at the last second, if the elevator cable breaks!
Ridge riding when it rains does give better traction,
so it’s more about control, and avoiding potholes
concealed underwater. I doubt if any gas savings is
noticed from this, but your undercarriage will last
longer over the life of your car. The painted line has
nothing to do with it. Riding the high ridge, or smooth
edge is what it’s all about.
Backing into a parking space is safer than backing out.
Again, I doubt you can prove any significant gas savings.
Steering to avoid, or straddle manhole covers is another
way to avoid cutting your tires, or getting suspension
bounce.
If you drive a manual, you can tach the RPM’s higher in
first, and drop it in third (bypassing second) and this will
save gas. This doesn’t work if you’re a “jackrabbit” driver.
So. Florida is flat (no hills) and that saves gas.
Over/under inflated tires are dangerous. Under inflated
tires roll around corners on the sidewall more than normal
grinding rubber down faster, rounding the rite. Over inflation builds heat, doesn’t flex as it should in turns,
and can lose traction easier while turning.
What really saves gas is smooth acceleration up to speed,
and anticipating stops so you can decelerate smoothly as
well. If you learn to drive as though Mama was riding on
the hood, and you don’t want to sling her around, you’ll
save gas, have no accidents, and be the kind of driver
people won’t be skurred to ride with.
I don’t highly recommend being out of gear (neutral) to
try to save fuel as this robs you of control and stability
if you need to maneuver or brake quickly because of a
change in road conditions. While it is true, the motor
drops down to idle speed, the acceleration when going
back into gear negates any savings. Acceleration sucks
more gas than traveling at a velocity.
When I asked the GREAT GOOMBAH IN THE SKY for a
word lesson, I had no idea I would be teaching more than
I’ve learned…! Hypermiling? What’s next? Hyperwalking?
Hypereating? I’ve got an idea! Let’s do like on Planet Marklar
where every person, place and thing is marklar. Like this:
I wish marklar would put a marklar up instead of this marklar marklar. This is just a marklar way to not give
us a marklar today. What a marklar waste…
How does this marklar help marklar’s marklar ratings?
A better way to save gas, is to get that rusting Mountain bike (or racer) out and start pedaling. Just park the car at the top of the hill though
South Florida has no hills.
Besides, petroleum is mother’s milk from Mother Earth
The last significant improvement made to car engines
was made to reduce emissions into the air, right?
Instead of doing a reasonable method of depleting the
contaminants, a solution is in place which DOUBLES the
amount of oil a car requires! Instead of changing oil at
six monthes or 6,000 miles, oil MUST be changed every
three monthes, or 3,000 miles. You could stretch using
the old method without risking permanent damage to
your car – not any more! The higher operating temperatures will break down lubricant and start to
machine (wear out) the engine if you try to stretch
an oil change duration.
This change doubled oil consumed by every car made!
Nobody said a word about it, either – no “experts” even
pointed this out. Why? Because this doubled the profits
made by the oil companies – who pay taxes at the rate
of $8,000.00/second to the governament! Cha-ching!!
Now, they’re trying to say CO2 (a natural gas) is a
pollutant (except the rainforests need it to stay alive)
and want to tax that, as well. No plans to reduce or
eliminate CO2, just tax it. Soda pop prices, beer and
champagne – all will go up, right? Dry ice? Cha-ching!
If they can get away with this, what’s to stop them from
going after dihydrogen oxide (H2O)? CHA-CHING!
Mutha-marklar Marklar’s!
Don’t worry too much. Soon, we’ll be like Cuba.
They drive cars built in the ’50’s! Their cars will
outlast ours, because their cars were American
made, and built to last – unlike cars in America
today. GM is shutting down in July, and can’t pay
the billion they owe. When do you think they’re going
to be able to go back to making cars (people want to
buy)? My guess is – not this year. Don’t be surprised
when they stay shut down…
Gosh, I wish we had a lesson on word origins today.
Oh well… maybe tomorrow?
Marklar?
At least you have a car industry. Our car manufacturers are disappearing or owned abroad.
MG Rover owned by China,
Rolls Royce & Bently, even the mini is owned by BMW,
Jaguar & Land Rover, owned by India.
The list goes on.
Maybe Marina has something special lined up. Or…
She could also be concerned about us “HFW” addicts. Cold Turkey anyone?
“What about termites? They produce more methane than all other bovines, etc. combined!”
Tax each and every termite immediately!!!!
Oh yeah, that’s right ! The United Kingdom has a socialist-regimist problem, too.
I saw a clip from a conservative in Parliament who
gave a very good voice to the problem, but I can’t
find it now. Can you help me?
Conservatives shut down Canada’s Parliament!
This is what we need, but there are no Conservatives
left in US government. Republicans have no balls at all.
“I saw a clip from a conservative in Parliament who
gave a very good voice to the problem, but I can’t
find it now. Can you help me?”
The only viral one I remember was a European Parliament speech. Daniel Hannan giving the prime minister a flea in the ear.
Daniel Hannan MEP
The world is mad! They’re even trying to tax methane emissions from ruminant animals like cattle. Some call it fart tax! F.A.R.T. stands for Fight Against Ridiculous Taxes. People should raise a stink about this.
What about termites? They produce more methane than all other bovines, etc. combined!
Daniel Hannan – I really like him!
He has big hairy balls…
You are so lucky to have him.
Thanks! (marked it as a favorite)
Its been 3,000 for at least 20 years. Before that, it was 2,500. My dad said he was younger, it was 2,000. I guess improved machine tolerances…
I’ve never heard 6,000. Seems high. 
Nope, your Dad needs to go look at the old owner’s manuals – he got it wrong.
6 mos. / 6,000 mi. was the standard.
I concur with Chacha, that the recommended distance between oil changes used to be further than it is today, although the standard I was taught by my dad and my driver’s ed teacher was 6 months or 5,000 miles, whichever came first. That was the early seventies.
I remember reading that the way to save the most gas is to accelerate quickly in each gear to the point when the next highest gear can pull without labouring the engine, and to change up to and remain in the highest gear you can.
Also, when cruising, select the highest gear and maintain the speed at which the engine produces the maximum torque.
Of course, looking well ahead and avoiding heavy braking has a huge effect too.
That doesn’t quite sound right. Here’s why.
Drive train characteristics are 1) motor speed (RPM’s), 2) torque: which is speed and gear ratio combined
(power transfer); and 3) gear speed ratio.
When the engine is laboring, the condition is that
torque is high (high gear ratio, low RPM’s).
When you go up a hill, you want RPM’s high, so when
work is applied, and pulls RPM’s low, the engine doesn’t bog; due to too low gear speed ratio (gear is
too high).
When cruising, the higher the gear, the better.
The optimal fuel efficient mode is when your gear is
high, the motor speed (RPM’s) is low, and torque is not
laboring the motor. Accelerating quickly, builds speed
(RPM’s high) and torque is high (low gear ratio, high RPM’s). This condition is not fuel efficient. Accelerating
smoothly, keeps torque low, allowing RPM’s to go high – so you can shift to a higher gear and drop RPM’s
without losing torque.
The condition of low RPM’s and low torque, is the most
fuel efficient, in any gear speed.
Are you confused, yet? LOL!
It may take a couple read throughs to understand the
subtle difference between motor speed, and gear speed
so take your time,
The bottom line is that when you accelerate quickly,
while you get high torque, fuel [efficiency] is low;
when you accelerate smoothly, torque remains low,
RPM’s build slower as gear speed increases; allowing
for higher fuel [efficacy].
(efficiency and efficacy are the same thing).
Neat! huh?
I think we might be torquing (
) at cross purposes here. You are thinking about torque at the wheels whereas I presumed that they were talking about the engine characteristic quoted by the manufacturer, e.g. 210 ft·lbf (285 N·m) of torque @ 2600 rpm on 10.5:1 compression.
I believe the idea was that, at that speed, the engine is producing the greatest turning effect / unit of fuel.
As far as the acceleration is concerned, I’m sure that they didn’t mean pedal-to-metal drag-racing acceleration but smooth, rapid acceleration to get into the highest gear as quickly as reasonably possible, without smoking the tyres or using maximum revs.
It would be interesting to see the results of a test comparing acceleration at different throttle settings against time taken to reach the next gear-change speed and fuel used to get from rest to cruising speed.
Yeah, I see what you’re saying
The engine manufacturer spec wouldn’t account for
the drivetrain torque characteristics, because it is
different depending upon if you have an automatic
(hydraulic actuated) or manual transmission.
I have seen tests performed comparing throttle
settings (under full race conditions) at the track.
With those guys, fuel economy isn’t their primary
concern – but there may be some relevant data in
their findings. I know they do it to keep the amount
of fuel they carry down to a minimum amount, plus
a small reserve, to get through a run. When they
cut it too close, they just run out of gas!
I’ll have to ask around and see what I can find out about the data they collect.
maintain the speed at which the engine produces the maximum torque.
We call that drag racing here!
I dont know if they’re worried about MPG or not 
Drag racing is all about acceleration, not about maintaining a steady speed.
Hi Bob,
MPG? Liters per KM? Nope. You are correct, as ever. It’s about meters of forward motion per second per second. Also, it might be kinda nice if the thing can stop before the end of the track, too. On second thought…Nah. Too complicated!
I can’t imagine that any of these practices significantly lessens fuel consumption.
Sure you can!
“Just close your eyes and
think lovely thoughts”
- Peter Pan
If it were only that easy, or if too many people did not believe just that.
I am glad that there is now more being said about what a scam the climate change debate is.
Scientists agree:
The biggest factor contributing to global warming
(believe it or not) is…. is… THE SUN! Doh!
Man’s total contribution in all of history amounts to less than 3%
(trapped heat rise from carbon monoxide gas)
Mount St. Helen’s contribution was 6% !
(global cooling loss to reflection)
Good thing for man’s contribution, we could have had a chilly summer – LOL!
Scientist (REAL scientists) all agree the data doesn’t support alarmists’ (politicians) claims of a “global crisis”.
Nancy Pelosi is a stupid c*nt bitch…
*Cannot Understand Normal Thinking!
Marina, Some dude said he got my information from your HFW site and he sent me this vid. The guy seems to be pretty much of a dick. I know that you said you do not sell our info, so I figure he must have been trolling in here. Problem is, he sent it to my YT account, which he must have gotten from inside
. I do not mind stuff like product placement, ads, etc. I realize that you need to get payed. Please reassure us that you are not selling our info. 
I went back and took out the link, so this guy does not get more hits from other folks here. I can forward the YT message to you, if you like.
He simply clicked on your name to get to your Y/T Channel… I did too. Would you like me to leave you a nice message there.
Change you profile, so no one can hyperlink from the HFW website. You were the one who set the perimeters. Marina wouldn’t sell your soul, don’t worry. peace bro.
Oh BTW, saw Brian Doerksen when he came to Victoria. My wife especially loved him… well his music, so much so that I think she may have bought all his albums.
He didn’t click on your name from hfw.com
I got the same message, and my YT account isn’t registered here.
He probably sent it to all of Marina’s subscribers. Some people do that, and apparently it works.
I didn’t even open his video though, I thought to myself, “nice try”.
If someone has to click on my profile to hit me, then that’s cool. The net-casting spammers are who scare me. If he got chemikal, too, then how did he get chemikal’s YT account? Something smells like red snapper?
since being on twitter I get a bunch more spam in my special “I don’t care if I get spam” email account. I haven’t checked my Y/T account yet tho. I’ve got nothing bad on my website email yet (knock on wood). I’ll go check my two Youtube accounts now.
No my Youtube channels look clean. If Marina wanted to sell my info I wouldn’t mind, I’ll negotiate percentages with her, but I know she could command a better dollar anyhow.
I hope you don’t feel threatened by your intruder.
I ran through some of the pics in the pic forum a while ago, & it looks like you’re going to have some kinda fun as your little tribe grows. hoping all are well.
Me as well, did check out his site, was not impress.
I used to hypermile in my 1965 Volkswagen Beetle. I would push start it to save on gas…
I had had to do the same with my ‘75. I think it had more to do with the starter being out, though
Parking so you don’t have to back out is good, unless you have to back in to the spot. No shoes driving may not be allowed in some places. Riding any lines won’t help here after this Winter, dodging potholes is a full time job. Wish I could be more positive. Guess a lot depends on where you live. California and Arizona look good right now.
In sharp contrast to being on the bleeding edge, on the cutting edge or at the state of the art, hypermiling would be on the dull edge!.
As a result of this post, I now have a “mental note to self” to think about inventing an enjoyable activity that could properly be termed ridge-riding! Since I am looking for an enjoyable activity, if it turns out that anything that might be termed ridge-riding would be unpleasant then such an activity would not exist; but then again, maybe there is such an enjoyable activity waiting to be discovered!
The Chinese invented ridge-riding more than two thousand years ago.
“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Sup…a car?”
Ever seen an underwater car before? sQuba car is supposidly the first of it’s kind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwStjAS9xTY
I want one
You forgot the most common. Over inflation of tires. I do that and put my 5-speed in neutral as much as possible. (its hilly here)
I’ve heard this word before. Funny.
What is funny?
That you hearded before. Shake a spear and ride on down up. 
PEACE 
I heard the word Déjà vu before, but not this one