Hypermiling can help reduce your car’s fuel usage so you can save on gas and curb emissions
Photo: The News Wheel
If you’re not familiar with hypermiling, it’s the practice of driving a vehicle while using the least amount of fuel. Per HowStuffWorks contributor Cherise Threewitt, drivers who observe this habit usually do so for frugal or environmental reasons — or both.
Interested in trying out hypermiling? Some techniques are safer on your vehicle than others. Here are a handful of strategies to follow as you experiment with this unique driving habit.
Go Green: Meet the environmentally-conscious Bolt EV
1. Use minimal electricity
In-vehicle phone charging can lower your vehicle’s mileage
Photo: The News Wheel
It might seem drastic, but serious hypermilers will often turn off the air-conditioning system and refrain from tapping into their vehicle’s electricity to boost mileage. Even using your car to charge your smartphone can take a toll on efficiency. This practice lowers your car’s MPG by 0.03 miles, as Jalopnik’s Jason Torchinsky claims.
When driving long distances, use cruise control, as Threewhitt recommends. It’s a convenient way to accelerate and decelerate smoothly, which in turn, saves fuel.
3. Minimize pit stops and idling
Before a road trip, map out the route with the fewest stops to improve mileage
Photo: Pexels
Map out a road-trip route well in advance of your planned departure date and pick the one with the fewest stops. Per Threewitt, stopping your car is a big waste of fuel. And when possible, avoid idling in parking lots, as Threewitt suggests.
4. Keep your car clean and light
Remove any clutter from your vehicle’s interior, since every object you eliminate will help reduce your ride’s overall weight, as Threewhitt confirms. If your car has roof racks or any other exterior accessories that you don’t use every day, consider removing these gadgets and storing them in your garage. This will further reduce the vehicle’s drag and improve efficiency.
Eco-Friendly Options: Learn more about future Cadillac EV models
By applying these simple tips, you’re well on your way to reducing your vehicle’s fuel consumption, so you can save some cash and feel good about helping out Mother Earth. Learn more about how smart car tech reduces a vehicle’s annual gas usage. Then check out these nifty apps that help track mileage and expenses as you learn the ropes of hypermiling.
Whitney Russell is a current resident of Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming in Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not adventuring through the exciting world of car news, she can be found hiking with her husband and their two dogs, motorcycling, visiting nephews and nieces, discovering new memes, thrifting, decorating, crafting, woodburning, researching random things, and escaping into a great movie. See more articles by Whitney.
