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Personally I have no interest in "hypermiling", and in some circles I might be described as an aggressive driver. I absolutely adore smokey, full-throttle acceleration, when traffic and road-conditions permit. But I have an almost religious insistence on always shifting into neutral downhill (manual transmission) or when braking. Instinctively when I wish to brake, my left foot flies into the clutch pedal and I flick the shifter into neutral, before my right foot touches the brakes. Panic stops and occasional turning-maneuvers are an exception, but in routine conditions I have a ritual of shifting into neutral whenever engine-power is not required. It's just a habit that I acquired, likely when I was taught to drive a manual transmission, in the 1980s.
Personally I have no interest in "hypermiling", and in some circles I might be described as an aggressive driver. I absolutely adore smokey, full-throttle acceleration, when traffic and road-conditions permit. But I have an almost religious insistence on always shifting into neutral downhill (manual transmission) or when braking. Instinctively when I wish to brake, my left foot flies into the clutch pedal and I flick the shifter into neutral, before my right foot touches the brakes. Panic stops and occasional turning-maneuvers are an exception, but in routine conditions I have a ritual of shifting into neutral whenever engine-power is not required. It's just a habit that I acquired, likely when I was taught to drive a manual transmission, in the 1980s.
I prefer to minimize my use of the brake by not using it and leaving the car in gear as much as possible when driving a manual.
The best way to save gas is to keep a steady pace and stay off the brakes.
Braking wastes gas that you have already burned. It's like running your furnace to get your house to 80°, then shutting it off and turning your air conditioner on to cool it down to 70° because it's too hot.
Also, if you're going up a hill and need to speed up, it's far better if you just hold steady on the uphill side, and let gravity speed you up for free on the downhill side.
The other techniques that hypermilers use are too dangerous, illegal, or fall into what I believe to be penny wise, pound foolish category.
I do a few things to maximize mileage, but probably fall short of the true hypermilers.
Mostly I coast to stops, sometimes for a LONG distance if traffic conditions warrant it. By that, I won't coast forever if I am in heavy traffic. If traffic is light, I do.
Beyond that, I generally use cruise control on the highway too. I have tried not using it, and slowing down on hills, speeding up on down hills, but find the cruise is still better at higher MPG than I am in that environment. (Our highways/area is fairly flat too so there is not a ton to be gained).
When I drive like this I can boost my mileage about 15% give or take a little.
I drive a sensible, fuel efficient car and drive with common sense to save gas which to me means easy on the gas (during acceleration) and easy on the brakes. Mostly I coast to stops if traffic conditions warrant it. If I see a red light or stop sign ahead, I do not over-accelerate just to have to use my brakes to come to a stop. And I normally do no more than 5 to 8 miles over the posted speed limit.
Other than that, I find all the other techniques that stereotypical hypermilers do annoying, illegal and intolerable. It's always VERY frustrating getting stuck behind one of these yahoos on a two lane road during the morning rush hour doing 10 miles under the speed limit. It's ridiculous and unnecessary.
Personally I have no interest in "hypermiling", and in some circles I might be described as an aggressive driver.
In other circles it might be called reckless driving.
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