NEW Hypermiling thread

[ProfessorX5]

LOL

[bcredliner]

I've been watching football and trying to think of a reason that I would try this hypermiling in anything worthy to be on the road. The score is 13-7.

[motordavid]

My best range on our '01 3.0, as I have posted a few times...wasn't really 'hypermiling', though conditions were very good: coolish temps for much of the ride, good humidity, traffic unusually light for this regular trip from NC to NJ to see DaKidz.

Filled up just across the NC/TN line, on cheap azz regular, and rolled into Magnolia, NJ on fumes ~9 hrs later: 568 miles.

I have done a dozen plus runs in the 550s/low 560s, and I don't set out to run that far without refilling, but this trip it just worked out.

Maybe the dead batt in my bird dog helped, as I was driving closer to the posted limit for the 5+ hour run north in the CopVille VA section.

Car was loaded as usual, but no extraordinary measures, and our 5 spd manual runs at high rpms at cruise speeds.
GL, mD

[ExpensiveTaste]

I averaged 25mpg on an all highway trip during the summer but it was very boring and cars passed me the entire time...I've found it gets the best gas mileage going 60-65mph in 5th gear at absolute minimum throttle. Don't try and keep your speed on the uphill and just let it go on the downhill. Unfortunately, in the city, I've found that you can't just drive like a granny and get good gas mileage...the stall is too high and it will just waste gas. Give it a good amount gas until you get up to speed and put it in 5th at all speeds above 30mph to maintain speed. I wish I got good gas mileage again, but I'm plagued with a check engine light as usual.

[J.Belknap]

Highest gear with least throttle and Bob's your uncle.

Nice stats, mD. The lower speed helped a ton.

[campy82]

Factory highway mpg ratings for the E53 is what, 20mpg? Seeing a 25% increase of that is impressive ET- well played!

[JCL]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

I've been watching football and trying to think of a reason that I would try this hypermiling in anything worthy to be on the road. The score is 13-7.

Even though our fuel costs more than in the US, there isn't a big financial prize in trying to improve mileage. But I consider it a personal challenge to drive smoothly and efficiently, especially on a long trip where I have a quantifiable indicator of that efficiency, and a so I always see what I can get on a tankful. The X3 has a 67 litre tank instead of the 92 litre tank on the E53. The engine is a 3.0, 265 hp. The vehicle is lighter than an X5 but has the same drivetrain. I try for 800 km (500 miles) per tank on the highway, and can nearly always get 760+. We just came back 1000 km today in snow, through the Rockies, temps ranging to -16. 780 km on the first tank. Should have used midgrade since there isn't a reason for using the premium in the lower ambients, but I used premium to minimize the ethanol contamination.

My quick calculations show that as 8.4 litre/100 km, 34 mpg Imperial, 28 mpg US. Not great driving conditions, and some traffic, heavily loaded with 3 people and luggage, so that didn't seem bad.

[racingbmwm3]

Running higher tire pressures increases tire wear in the center. I'm not sure the 1-2mpg increase would ever pay for the shorter lived tires, unless someone knows of some $50 tires I can fit on my Style 87's?

All my hypermiling is done in my Mini, or other previous commuters, and I could consistently achieve 3-4mpg better when I try to get better mileage than when I don't care and drive hastier.
Light foot, higher tire pressure (set to max load sticker on the door, not the tire), remove excess weight, change all fluids (brake fluid doesn't affect gas mileage though). Allow the car to slow down a little going up hills and speed up a little going down, trying to stay within a +-5mph range of the ideal mileage limit. Ideal mileage limit is generally different than the speed limit, depends on the engine and gearing of the car. The speed limit on my commute is mostly 55, but the gearing of my cars has proven that I get better mileage at 45-50 or around 60-62. 55 must be the ideal gearing for american cars?
And tailgating has always* proved to get better gas mileage because drafting means less HP is getting wasted on pushing the car through the air. Unfortunately, its somewhat dangerous, illegal, discourteous, and causes more rock chips and sand blasting of the front end of the car and windshield. So I reluctantly give up that extra 3-5mpg from drafting to protect my car...*always meaning when driving longer distances at a constant speed. If driving in stop and go traffic, tailgating will result in lower gas mileage. But trying to hypermile in heavy traffic is kinda pointless in the first place.

Once cars become fully automated (self-driving), we'll see tailgating taken to the extreme at highway speeds for the greatest efficiency. This also benefits the car in the front of the pack as they have less tail drag, although the cars in the middle of the pack still see the greatest benefit.

If we can end the forced ethanol 'enhancement' of our fuel, everyone's mileage will go up...I understand we can't just stop the subsidies, but we can stop wasting food to make crappy fuel.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by racingbmwm3

Running higher tire pressures increases tire wear in the center. I'm not sure the 1-2mpg increase would ever pay for the shorter lived tires, unless someone knows of some $50 tires I can fit on my Style 87's?

All my hypermiling is done in my Mini, or other previous commuters, and I could consistently achieve 3-4mpg better when I try to get better mileage than when I don't care and drive hastier.
Light foot, higher tire pressure (set to max load sticker on the door, not the tire), remove excess weight, change all fluids (brake fluid doesn't affect gas mileage though). Allow the car to slow down a little going up hills and speed up a little going down, trying to stay within a +-5mph range of the ideal mileage limit. Ideal mileage limit is generally different than the speed limit, depends on the engine and gearing of the car. The speed limit on my commute is mostly 55, but the gearing of my cars has proven that I get better mileage at 45-50 or around 60-62. 55 must be the ideal gearing for american cars?
And tailgating has always* proved to get better gas mileage because drafting means less HP is getting wasted on pushing the car through the air. Unfortunately, its somewhat dangerous, illegal, discourteous, and causes more rock chips and sand blasting of the front end of the car and windshield. So I reluctantly give up that extra 3-5mpg from drafting to protect my car...*always meaning when driving longer distances at a constant speed. If driving in stop and go traffic, tailgating will result in lower gas mileage. But trying to hypermile in heavy traffic is kinda pointless in the first place.

Once cars become fully automated (self-driving), we'll see tailgating taken to the extreme at highway speeds for the greatest efficiency. This also benefits the car in the front of the pack as they have less tail drag, although the cars in the middle of the pack still see the greatest benefit.

If we can end the forced ethanol 'enhancement' of our fuel, everyone's mileage will go up...I understand we can't just stop the subsidies, but we can stop wasting food to make crappy fuel.

So, to do this 'hypermile' thing, I need to invest in all new fluids, leave my family, spare tire and backseat home, have other vehicles up my a%s going up hill and be up theirs going down, tailgate incessantly like someone is towing me, break the law, chip up the front of my X, sandblast it where it isn't chipped, drive 55 on the freeway, quickly find two others going 55 and get between them--all so I might get 3-4 more mpg. Even my dog is not going to like this.

I don't mind ethanol. Though, getting rid of ethanol would be good, not for better mileage, using more Texas oil would increase the state budget for new roads like the new one with a 85mph speed limit--yeeeee-haa!

Since self-driving cars are on the horizon which means so is my suicide, what I am going to do is drive as fast and hard as I dare, hit the nitrous button as often as I can and not do any of that other depressing stuff. I will have lots of fun, keep my X nice and experience the best my X can deliver.

I do have a plan to save a wad of bills more than 2 or 3 'hypermilers' that I have to swerve around because they are going 55 when everyone else on 5 lanes of busy Dallas tollway is running along at 80 or more.

I will just drive, say, 200 less miles next year.

[racingbmwm3]

The best gas mileage I ever achieved in my 318i, back before ethanol was year round, was across Washington state over 2 passes and many hills, albeit with a tailwind, 38mpg @ 80mph. Seemed like the best gas mileage was around 75mph in that car. Of course, I don't think I ever drove it below 60...so who knows.

One more tip, don't slow down for corners, ever. that's wasting gas. in fact, I think going faster through corners may* actually increase gas mileage.

*gets you closer to the people in front of you for better drafting...