Hypermiling Techniques: How to Get 95 MPG Out of Your Everyday Car

Several days ago we reported that your not-so-average green citizen Mike Turner improved his 15 year old car to get 95 MPG. As seen in the article, he’s made some pretty radical improvements to his car. Besides his upgrades, Mr. Turner is a ‘hypermiler’, meaning that he gets the most miles per gallon out of his car that he physically can. Today we thought we’d take a look at some of these hypermiling techniques.


1. Car maintenance
Key parameters to maintain are tire pressure, tire balance and wheel alignment, and proper motor oil weight and level. Equally important is the proper maintenance of the Engine Control Module and all sensors it relies on to control engine operation such as oxygen sensors.

2. Minimizing mass
Don’t haul around unnecessary luggage in your car.

3. Speed
Maintain an efficient speed (varies by car).

4. Acceleration (including braking)
Accelerate gently. Brakes should be avoided whenever possible.

5. Pulse and glide (Warning: can be dangerous)
Pulse and glide is a method where the driver accelerates to a given speed, and then glides. This is best accomplished with a manual transmission.


Of course, this is just the basics. For more, you might need a special trainer as some of the techniques can be dangerous.