Templar: Bypassing pain at the pump

Some people have shot me dirty looks as they passed me on the freeway. Some have honked their horns when I didn't pull out fast enough after a stop light turned green. And a few have driven around me illegally.

My new driving techniques seem to annoy a fair number of Valley motorists. But I saved $103.50 in July. So I'm not going back to the old, gas-guzzling style. Instead, I'll just do my best to stay out of everyone else's way.

I'm a hypermiler, or at least I aspire to be. I am working to reform a lifetime of bad habits behind the steering wheel. I'm pushing myself and my 2003 Honda Civic to squeeze every possible mile out of my gas tank.

I drive slower. I pick my routes more carefully to avoid waiting at red lights. I park by looking for a spot close to the exit instead of next to the front door.

I'm also trying some techniques that a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety warned me to avoid, such as turning off my engine and gliding for several hundred feet before I come to a stop.

My primary motivation is saving money. But with energy independence at the forefront of the national agenda this year, I think those who follow hypermiling techniques aren't going to be considered extreme hobbyists for much longer.

"We could reduce our fuel consumption by 50 percent in this country if everyone knew how to do it and was willing," said Louis Hudgin of Gilbert, who frequently gets 100 miles per gallon in his 2000 Honda Insight.

Everyone's driving less

High gas prices have done what years of conservation lectures failed to accomplish - Americans are cutting back on their auto trips. The Federal Highway Administration recently estimated that Arizonans drove 170 million fewer miles in May than in the same month of 2007. The Associated Press reported in late July that U.S. residents have reduced car travel by 40.5 billion miles since November.

But canceling vacation plans and riding the transit bus aren't the only ways to spend less on gasoline. Motorists who can improve their gas mileage accomplish the same thing without relinquishing the freedom of the road.

Hypermiling is an umbrella term for various practices intended to greatly extend driving distances. The word's origin is generally traced back to 2001 and the launch of a Web site called cleanmpg.com by Wayne Gerdes of Milwaukee. But some of the techniques touted by hypermilers have been around as far as back as when the nation heavily rationed civilian use of gasoline in World War II.

I first heard about hypermiling on National Public Radio in June. A little Internet research revealed dozens of news stories have been written about it since gas prices skyrocketed in late 2007. The approach in each story was similar: interview a few hypermilers and relay their nearly unbelievable claims of travel far exceeding a vehicle's official MPG rating. The hypermilers' tales were carefully balanced with quotes from experts who question either the supposed results or the safety of some of the recommended techniques.

No story I read made any real attempt to prove true or false the claims of a hypermiler. I decided the only way to get some real answers would be to test it myself.

TRAINING IN GILBERT

Gerdes referred me to Hudgin for a one-on-one clinic. We met at his south Gilbert home on a Saturday in late June. Coincidentally, USA Today had featured Hudgin just a day earlier with a banner headline about triple-digit miles per gallon.

An airplane pilot for the Arizona Department of Transportation, Hudgin said he has used gas-saving techniques all of his life. But he learned only a couple of years ago about the word hypermiling and an associated collection of gas-electric hybrid car owners who engage in friendly competitions to drive the farthest on a single tank of gas.

In 2006, Hudgin was part of a team that drove a Honda Insight a total of 2,254 miles on 13.7 gallons (that's 164.5 miles per gallon).

However, Hudgin didn't break through my skepticism until he let me flip through a detailed log book that he keeps in the glove box of his own Insight hybrid.

My Civic used to generally clock in at 38 miles per gallon, which meant I was happy when I could wait more than seven days to pull into a gas station. Hudgin's log book shows he fills up just once each month. That's when I knew he had something to teach me.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DRIVING

Some hypermiling techniques could come right out of AAA. Drive slower, keep your vehicle maintenance up-to-date, accelerate slowly, avoid needless engine idling, combine errands into one trip.

Most hypermilers say speed is a critical factor in building gas mileage. They like to drive up to 10 mph below the posted speed limit, and many would go even slower if they didn't have to worry about road rage from other motorists.

A more advanced technique is to focus on a consistent flow of gasoline and to ignore fluctuations in a vehicle's speed. Both acceleration and deceleration can eat heavily into gas mileage, so Hudgin urged me to practice holding the gas pedal in one position and avoiding use of the brakes by keeping farther away from other vehicles on the road.

"A steady throttle is more important than a steady speed," he said.

I learned just how wise that comment is after I followed another of Hudgin's suggestions and borrowed a device called a Scangauge from its Mesa-based manufacturer, Linear Logic. The little box plugs directly into the modern automobile's on-board computer.

For hypermilers. the Scangauge provides a moment-by-moment estimate of gas mileage, just like the built-in MPG gauges for most hybrids.

The Scangauge shows me clearly that acceleration even at higher speeds rapidly drops my Civic's gas mileage. Slow and steady on the pedal sends miles per gallon climbing higher.

THE IGNITION SWITCH

One of the most controversial technique used by hypermilers is called the "forced auto stop." Hybrid vehicles automatically switch from gasoline to electric power while coasting or decelerating. It's a reason why hybrids get so much better gas mileage that conventional vehicle.

But drivers of other vehicles can mimic hybrids by slipping the transmission into neutral, turning the ignition key off and, after waiting long enough for the engine to die, pushing the key to the "No. 2" position.

The basic idea, as Hudgin coached me, is to use forced auto stops whenever a driver expects to slow and bring the vehicle to a complete halt. Young drivers used to be taught that stopping and restarting the engine at stop lights wasted more gas than idling. But that rule of thumb applies more to older, less efficient engines.

Besides, hypermilers start forced auto stops several hundred feet from a stop light or parking spot, using their momentum to cover the final distance.

A lot of people hate the idea of forced auto stops because a driver also loses power steering and power brakes. DPS spokesman Harold Sanders said in a June e-mail exchange that he considers the technique too dangerous.

"If the driver needs to take evasive action to avoid a collision or avoid a hazardous object in the travel lane, they are going to be working with a vehicle that is not prepared to provide the safety response needed because of the stiff steering and stiff breaking," Sanders said. "The few dollars that may be saved cannot compare to the high dollar loss of being involved in a collision or other incident because the inability to have control of the vehicle."

As part of our June clinic, Hudgin tested my Civic's responsiveness and we found the brakes can be pumped up to four times after the engine is off. Over six weeks, I have found I almost never push the brake more than once. And while the steering wheel is harder to turn, it does retain control of the car.

I have used a forced auto stop at least a dozen times right in front of police on patrol. Not one officer gave me a second look.

IMMEDIATE SAVINGS

Throughout July, I kept close track of my car's trip odometer and matched my miles traveled with each tank of gasoline. My miles per gallon have steadily improved from an average of 40.97 miles seven days after Hudgin's clinic to 45.44 miles on my last July fill-up.

Based on the pump prices I paid at each fill-up and my previous standard of 38 miles per gallon, I saved $103.50 in just four weeks.

Hudgin believes I can do better, saying I should reach 50 miles per gallon as these new habits become second nature. If I don't get there, I am still making permanent changes in my driving routine. And I think other motorists are going to join me - sooner or later.

"Pain causes change, and change causes pain," Hudgin said. "The pain at the pump is definitely causing change. But it's a slow go."