The Hypermiling Driving Craze
Well, used to be our food and fuel didn't eat us out of house and home. But things have changed. The current fuel crisis is affecting the lifestyles of drivers in every imaginable way. People are rethinking simple trips we used to make without thought - trips to the drug store, grocery store, movie theatre, the mall or even friends. The gas "crisis" is also causing independent truckers to sell or abandon their businesses and airlines to ground large portions of their planes as well as lay off employees - with seniority or not.
And the most disturbing part of all this is there is no relief in sight. No one seems to have the definitive answer and reassurances are not plentiful. That said, there ARE some simple techniques, affectionately referred to as hypermiling driving that anyone can put into use to make their vehicle more energy friendly. What is hypermiling and who "discovered" it?
Hypermiling is a word thought to have originated by an Illinois man named Wayne Gerdes, who is referred to by many as the "father of hypermiling". But this is not a new phenomenon. Bleeps of it first began appearing online several years ago when gas prices first began their skyrocket climb. In fact, gas saving tips and car engine efficiency improvements have around since the Model T.
Some of the hypermiling driving tricks involve free or low cost things that you can do to or with your car, some of it involves more expensive modifications which cost money up front but which save a fortune in the long run, and some of it involves common sense driving techniques - don't worry you'll have no trouble comprehending the methods.
All of these little tricks and techniques remarkably translate into gas and money savings.
Fuel Type
It is commonly believed that efficiency of a gasoline engine is related to the fuel's octane level; however, this is not true in typical situations as octane ratings only measure a fuel's ability to help an engine "ping" from precombustion which happens when the fuel burns too quickly. Higher octane fuels burn more slowly at high pressures so with the majority of vehicles on the road today, standard octane fuels work quite well and do not cause pinging.
Using higher octane fuels in a vehicle that does not need it is really an unnecessary expense.Vehicles equipped with emissions systems have sensors that will automatically adjust the timing if and when ping is detected. And if an engine is designed for high octane fuel this may provide the user with higher performance but not necessarily fuel conservation.Basic maintenance is a must as cylinder carbon buildup, using spark plugs with improper heat range or ignition timing problems result in poor fuel economy.
In those cases, higher octane fuel MAY help but this is an expensive fix for a much more manageable situation. Pings are detrimental to a car's engine and will decrease fuel savings over time.
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