Hypermile much?

Going through the backlog of articles my Mom's sent me this semester, I discovered one called, "Get 50 mpg--in your own car" that introduced me to an interesting concept.

Have you ever heard of hypermiling? I hadn't until I read this MSN Money article, which was actually published last year.

Apparently, there is a group of people who use outrageous means to drastically improve the gas mileage their cars get. The main hypermiler cited in the article, Wayne Gerdes, got 165 mpg in a car the EPA gave a 60 city/66 highway rating.

While people like Gerdes do some illegal things (like super-tailgating on the Interstate, obscuring the proper flow of engine emissions and speeding around curves and turns), the article gave rudimentary hypermiling tips that are supposedly translatable to everyone else.

The tips are pretty much common sense, though I don't know anyone (except the elderly) who would willingly follow most of them.

1. Brake sparingly. As in, time your travel through red lights so you don't have to stop. I do attempt this at times, but the lights are usually longer than the road before me, and I'm forced to stop. I guess this also includes staying far enough behind people so that you don't have to slam on the brakes when they suddenly stop in front of you.

2. No idling for more than 10 seconds. Apparently, if you're going to sit in the car for more than 10 seconds, you need to turn it off. Now in Arizona, I can't see many people doing this in the summer. I'd rather waste gas than melt for three minutes--heck, I even sit in the car for half an hour before class sometimes and listen to the radio with the engine running. But I guess that exemplifies how disciplined we want to be if saving money on gas is important to us.

3. Don't speed. Yes, we all know this, but who actually does it? I don't even pay attention to the speed limit half the time--I stay somewhere between 35 and 45 at all times in Tucson, and between 70 and 90 on the Interstate. But the faster we go, the faster we burn gas. The hypermilers suggest driving at around 50, 55 mph on the Interstate, and staying close to the far right line so the 90-mile-an-hour people don't destroy you.

4. Warm up. In our busy world, I don't know many people who take the time to allow the engine to properly heat up before driving. I used to do this in high school, but can't bring myself to do it now. I tried over the winter, as a means of trying to warm the car so I didn't freeze to death in the mornings, but I could never allow myself to let the car warm up for more than 30 seconds. The hypermilers say it's important to let the engine warm up, because your gas mileage will be more efficient when the engine is warmest.

5. Loose thy appendages. If you've got things hanging off your car, like flags, spoilers, bells and whistles, they're slowing you down and wasting gas. The hypermilers suggest streamlining your car as much as possible so it glides along with out any gas-wasting resistance.

6. Slim down. Take heavy things out of your car, and it will get better gas mileage. While this makes perfect sense, I just hadn't thought of it before. What a concept.

7. Steady incline. When going uphill, accelerate and then lock your foot so the speed stays consistent. The hypermilers say this will get you the best uphill gas mileage.

8. No tire squealing. According to the hypermilers, easing into a start is more efficient than slamming on the gas so you can race all the other cars to the next light (which is impossible in Tucson, anyway, because the first person at the light usually sits and ponders the meaning of green for 15 minutes before pressing on the gas). This tactic is supposed to go in hand with rule No. 1, because if you haven't stopped yet, you don't need to waste gas by accelerating from zero to 20--you can just keep on driving.

9. Pressure and lube. Make sure your tires are filled to maximum capacity and use synthetic oil. Not sure how I feel about the synthetic oil, but the tires part sounds valid. Which reminds me that one of my tires is a bit low...

So yes, a lot of these rules are common sense. But in combination, they're supposed to raise your gas mileage at least 50 percent and save you a ton of money on gas. Not sure if I'd want to become a professional hypermiler, though...