Routine Order

Wayne Gerdes seems to have invented the term “hyper miling”. This article left me wondering how safe it is, though. Wayne defines, and makes up, terms that define the best practices to push your fuel economy ever higher. This includes taking turns at twice the speed limit, tailing trucks at less than a car’s length, driving as slow as you want on roads, even if people behind you honk, and coasting with your ignition turned off. Needless to say, each of those things are potentially harmful, very harmful.

I learned some practical tips that everyone can use from the article, so it is not so bad. It also offers a peek into the lives of hypermilers who can’t seem to get enough out of a gallon of gas. I also found a list of practical tips to improve your fuel mileage at another site. Go, read.

Idling: Myths Versus Reality
Contrary to popular belief, idling isn’t an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to warm it up is to drive it.

The article also says that you can save a lot of fuel by turning it off if you are going to be idling for more than 10 seconds. 10 seconds is the time below which restarting your car will consume more fuel that letting it idle.

I have always known, in the depths of my brain that idling a car immediately after starting it in the morning does nothing to help prolong the life of the engine. With modern electronic computer-controlled engines, you would think the engineers thought of the cold starting problem - and they have!