The new series of Top Gear started on Sunday on BBC2. They did a tongue-in-cheek look at fuel-economy and declared the Audi R8 the most fuel efficient supercar money can buy. I just thank god the hypermiling craze has not caught on in Europe yet. It’s probably due to the fact we haven’t relied on gas guzzling, huge displacement engines. I don’t necessarily agree with hypermilers, but as long as you do it safely and don’t present a hazzard to others I don’t see why you shouldn’t be allowed to eek out every last mile out of your tank. Just don’t do what Wired Magazine tell you…
They don’t call Wayne Gerdes the king of the hypermilers for nothing. Not only can he pull 200 mpg in a Honda Insight but he can coax 59 miles per from a garden-variety Accord. Gerdes says no single technique will max your mileage. You need the whole toolbox: No brakes! In traffic, maintain a slow creep instead of accelerating and braking. Ignore the horns. Drive with the engine off. Shift into neutral, turn your key back a notch so the engine shuts down, then forward a click, so you can still have lights. Draft. Gerdes urged us not to reveal this (dangerous) move. But we trust you: Inch up behind, say, an 18-wheeler, and kill the engine as you enter its slipstream (you’ll feel it). You’re drafting now, getting pulled along by the truck’s gas instead of your own.
Yeah Gerdes sort of urged you not to reveal the last technique because he knew you’d misinform the reader and endanger lives, good going Wired! You will gain an increase in gas milage from as far back as 100 feet from the trailer (as much as 10% in some cases), but what Wired don’t tell you is that to perform such a manouver, many seasoned hypermilers communicate to the truck via CB radio. Remember if you can’t see the truck’s wing mirrors he can’t see you.
