
”Hyper-miling” is the practice of maximizing your car’s fuel economy (miles per gallon) by paying close attention to the physical realities of your car, the road, and the traffic you face. Hyper-milers use various techniques, such as avoiding engine idling (turn off the car if it’s going to be more than 30 seconds) and jack-rabbit starts, shifting up promptly (for manual transmissions), driving more slowly (each mph beyond 60 penalizes fuel economy by about 2%), and most importantly, “reading” the traffic, signs, and lights in order to minimize the wasted energy in braking. Other helpful hyper-miling tips regard maintenance (e.g., each 2.5 psi of tire inflation improves fuel economy by 1%), repair and replacement practices (“low rolling resistance” tires improve fuel economy close to 3% relative to standard replacement tires), and minimizing excess weight (1-2% mpg improvement per 100 lbs. of reduced weight).