Advanced Fuel-Efficient Driving Strategies To Consider Before Driving: 1) Plan Your Route - When running errands, drive the

longest leg first; this warms the engine up most quickly. - The route that will give you the best mpg reading may not be the most fuel-efficient route. If driving through a city returns 26 mpg and taking the bypass gives 30 mpg but is 15 miles longer, go through the city. 2) Reduce Weight - Moving extra mass requires additional fuel, so clear your car of any unnecessary clutter. 3) Leave Early; Dont Rush - Leaving early allows you to drive the speed limit (or just below) so that you can save gas. For example, if your commute is 15 miles, averaging 50 mph will take 18 minutes whereas averaging 60 mph will take 15 minutes. That extra three minutes can easily lead to a couple mpg increase. 4) Avoid Driving In Inclement Weather - Heavy amounts of rain or snow increasing rolling resistance, so if you must drive during these times, try to drive in the tracks of the vehicle ahead of you.

While Driving: 5) Accelerate Slowly - If traffic allows, take 20-30 seconds to accelerate up to highway speed after stops. 6) Practice Throttle Lock - Although cruise control is useful on completely level roads, most roads have elevation change. Rather, aim for throttle lockholding the gas petal at the same point, letting speed naturally fluctuate with hills. More advanced drivers slightly decrease throttle (and significantly decrease speed) on inclines and vice-versa on declines. 7) Drive the Racing Line - When executing a corner, take the widest radius corner possible in order to conserve speed. However, if you drive the corner like you are actually racing, any money saved in gas will quickly be consumed through increased tire wear. (I will shamelessly drop in another reminder here to keep tire pressure up, which both increases mileage and handling while simultaneously decreasing tire wear.)

8) Encourage Passing - When driving the speed limit or just below, if another driver wants to pass, help them. Drive in the center of the lane and intentionally move over to the far right side when a passing opportunity arises so that they know they can (or will soon be able to) pass you. 9) Clear Up Traffic Jams and Waves - As cars accelerate and decelerate in an accordion style during traffic jams, drive the average speed. This will cause the cars behind you to drive a constant speed as well and can eventually clear up at least one lane of a traffic jam. A great example of this is Traffic Waves on YouTube by wbeaty. 10) Minimize Braking, Time Stoplights - Each time you press the brake, you effectively convert gas into brake dust and heat. There are rare times, however, when braking hard can actually save fuel. This "damage control" technique can be used when faced with unexpected stops such as a sudden red light or car stopping ahead of you (just another reason to keep a large following distance). - In the example of the traffic light, many times a red light can be predicted by a stale green light, a flashing red pedestrian signal, or a large amount of cars waiting on the cross street. If, despite these indicators, the light unexpectedly turns red, braking moderately would still force you to come to a complete stop once you reached the stoplight. On the other hand, if you brake hard initially, you can potentially drop enough speed to buy time so that you can coast the rest of the way to the intersection and on through when it turns green. With some practice, you'll almost always arrive at a fresh green light and avoid a full stop. - A few notes about this technique: always check your rear-view mirror before hitting the brakes to avoid a rear-end collision; never risk an accident for better mileage. Its also better to error on the side of cutting more speed than necessary. If you try to get it exactly right every time, you may misjudge and have to come to a complete stop every once in a while. Erring on the side of too slow on average will produce better results. - Some lights have red light sensors. If the light is currently red, allow the car ahead of you to trigger the sensor while you follow behind at a distance, never having to come to a complete stop. - Know the length of traffic lights in your area. If you know its a long light, often times it is better to coast all the way up to the light and then shut your car off while you wait. If possible, look at the lights for the cross street to see when yours is about to turn green in order to keep from holding up traffic behind you. 11) Engine-Off Coast - Driving on the highway with the engine off is illegal. If the key is not turned to the final notch before the engine starts, the steering wheel can also lock up. For this reason, I do

not advocate turning off the engine while coasting on the highway. However, coasting into your parking spot or down your drive with the engine off is relatively safe when done correctly. Note that since your car is turned off, these miles will not register on your cars mpg computer. 12) Know Your Cars Shift Points - If the speed limit is 45 mph and your car shifts into 5th gear at 48 mph, you may be able to achieve the gear shift then reduce your speed and hold 45 without causing a downshift. - Automatic transmissions can often be coaxed into upshifting sooner by briefly reducing throttle then re-applying after the shift. 13) Memorize Transition Points - If you regularly travel the same roads, make a conscious effort to memorize the points at which to initiate a coast or at what speed you should crest a hill so that you're traveling just fast enough for the next transition after the descent. 14) Avoid Drive-Throughs - Drive-throughs involve unnecessary idling. Park the car and actually put some effort into getting your food. 15) Handling Temporary Stops - Turn the car off if you will be sitting for greater than 10 seconds. - When idling, sit in neutral rather than drive. - Avoid stop and crawls at stop signs. Rather, time your arrival so that you reach the stop sign right after the last car has departed. - If it is legal and you are safely able to do so, avoid complete stops. Saving even two or three mph is much more efficient than coming to a complete stop then starting again. If you must come to a complete stop, allow the natural torque of drive to start the movement of the car; dont touch the accelerator until the car is already moving forward on its own. - If you have to come to a stop, avoid stopping on an incline. Sometimes this means stopping a few feet behind a stop sign so that acceleration may take place on a level surface. Best-case scenario is to stop on a decline.

After Driving: 16) Parking Strategies - Avoid parallel parking if possible. - If you cannot pull through two spots so that you can simply drive out when you leave, reverse into your parking spot. This allows you to do the less fuel-efficient driving while

your car is still up to temperature so that when the engine has cooled and you have to leave, you can simply drive straight out. - Park on a downhill slope. - Park in the shade during the summer to keep the inside of your vehicle cool to later minimize the use of air conditioning. - In cars with automatic transmissions, turn the car off then shift to park to save idle time. 17) Track Fuel Consumption - When filling up, divide the number of miles you traveled by the number of gallons you used. Do this by resetting your odometer each time you leave the pump and always filling the tank completely, allowing the pump to cut off by itself without putting in any extra. Newer vehicles often have built-in mpg computers, though it is still useful to track each tank yourself.

Lastly: An analogy I found online that I like: drive your car like you ride your bike. If you think about spending energy as wisely in your car as you do when you ride, you will quickly become aware of several of the main driving strategies, such as: - Ensuring your tires are properly inflated and that your vehicle is in good mechanical condition for reduced rolling and mechanical resistance. - Smart braking: you'll coast up to stopsyou don't ever pedal madly towards stop signs and then slam on the brakes when you ride your bike. - You'll throttle-lock or decrease throttle on hills. When riding bicycle, you don't usually power up hills trying to maintain your previous cruising speed. - You'll reduce speed, because cyclists are highly attuned to the relationship between aerodynamic drag and the energy consumed when traveling at high speeds. Always drive safely and legally. Its easy to get caught up in the challenge and forget general safety. A car accident or hospital bill is far more expensive than the money you will save by driving fuel-efficiently. Do not endanger yourself, and never endanger others on the road. Keep a large following distance, look ahead, accelerate and brake slowly, and maneuver carefully. Fuel-efficient drivers are safe drivers. Hypermiling is what we do. Dont ruin the name.