How I Save Gas - Advanced Techniques?

First off, let me allay any suspicions of so-called hyper-miling. I use techniques that "normal" people can use. I do NOT remove any of my car seats, I do NOT hole-saw any sheet metal, and I certainly do not draft behind larger vehicles! Not only are some of those techniques dangerous but, in the case of drafting (tailgating a vehicle such as a truck to drastically reduce wind drag), it is illegal and can cause your engine to overheat.

So, what do I do? Simple things, really. I use techniques that have been around for decades and longer. Here they are:

1. Accelerate gradually, shifting into the next gear as soon as I safely can without lugging the engine. You know you're lugging when the motor starts groaning and you're not accelerating. Don't block traffic, but don't race other drivers, either. Stay close to the speed limit -- most cars get their best fuel economy between 40 and 60 miles per hour, give or take a few.

2. Keep your eyes open for people slowing down/hitting their brakes (good for spotting traffic cops, too), traffic lights that have been green for a long time (meaning they'll probably turn red by the time I get near them), and red lights (of course!).

3. Coasting. This is the one technique I could say is "advanced" in the sense that it requires greater awareness of traffic and road conditions than most people exhibit, but this is actually a technique so simple and so known that when I mention it to people they can't believe they hadn't thought of it. I only recommend this to folks driving vehicles with a clutch for mechanical reasons. Think back to when you road a bicycle. When you were at the speed you wanted, and especially when going downhill, did you keep frantically pedaling, or did you coast and let momentum and gravity do the work for you? Unless you were racing I hope you coasted, yet what do we do with our cars? Maybe we let up on the gas pedal, but here's the bad news on that: it's NOT a GAS PEDAL! It controls the throttle, which means it actually controls the amount of AIR going into the engine. So what happens when you're going downhill? You let up on the "gas" pedal, but the engine is running at the same speed, and it still uses a lot more gas than if you were idling. Yes, it may be a leaner fuel mixture, but it's still more gas! So, when going downhill at a proper speed I shift into neutral. Ironically I find that I have to tap on the brake to avoid tailgating, showing how much MORE gas I would have been wasting just to go slower if I'd left the car in gear!

SO there you have it, folks: the deep, dark, mysterious techniques that I use to get 41 miles to the gallon on a normal gasoline-powered car.

My next move will be to try out Water Hybrid Engine Technology. You may want to look into it, too. Now that the warmer weather is back I have more of an inclination to attack extra projects!