Hypermiling anyone?
 

Has anyone heard of this? IT's the practice of inflating tires to the maximum listed on tires (not car manufacturer). I heard a story on Howard Stern yesterday that some guy was pushing over 50 mpg in a Ranger doing this. Do you guys see any danger to doing this? Maybe early wear on tires? What says you?

You mean besides hitting a pothole and jumping in to the other lane and killing people?;)

I would think you'd wear the center of your tires out way early doing that.

I'd hardly consider the Howard Stern Show a credible source. Over inflating tires will reduce friction losses but at the cost of traction. I'd imagine you'd gain a couple of MPG but is it worth taking the chance of wrapping your car around a telephone pole?

http://media.apn.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/21crash.jpg

I think not!

Well, gas IS getting expensive!

Yeah. I'm not really calling it a credible source. That's just where I heard it. Do you guys think that it would be THAT dangerous? What's the rating on most tires? Like 45#?

This is more credible:

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2952637420080429

Around 60 PSI. The idea is that you have as little rubber as possible contacting the road.. Sound safe to you? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_patch

I went through a hyper mileage stage (more out of the process and theories than actually trying to save money) a few years back but grew bored with it. Check out this site for lots of info. and tips: http://www.gassavers.org/

"Wayne Gerdes, a former nuclear plant operator from Wadsworth, Illinois, and the originator of hypermiling, said he gets 40-70 mpg out of his Ford Ranger pickup truck, about doubling its official fuel consumption of 25 mpg."

:bsflag:

Yeah, no wonder his "former" job canned him. His numbers are all off. He's probably the guy responsible for Chernobyl.:D

I like how the article suggests drafting... :D:D While were at it, why not ignore traffic lights and stop signs. Any time you have to stop and accelerate it's a massive waste of fuel. Oh, and drifting around turns! Now we're saving some gas! :D

Drafting is the key, but I don't feel safe drafting semi trailers.

I run the tires on the S-10 at max. pressure (41 p.s.i. - cold) as stated on the sidewall. I get about 1-2 mpg more than the slightly (It's a frickin' PU truck for God's sakes!) more "cushy" ride at 36 p.s.i..

Most of my driving is Interstate...65-75 mph...and I do "snuggle in" behind the semis - I let them know I'm behind them ... some don't like it so I'll back off ... others don't mind (probably company drivers) so if that's OK, I'll find that one spot that's just ahead of the closing vortex and ride that little rift...I MIGHT gain about an additional mile or two/gallon, but that's usually tempered to the lower side due to all the construction that's starting to pop up and around the area...

In the 8+ years I've been driving that thing, I've ALMOST cracked the 20 m.p.g. barrier, twice...and the way the prices are going ($3.59-$3.75/GUR/87-89 octane at this time), it's becoming a bit more of a practice...

Back on the tire front (or tread), the max./41 p.s.i. inflation technique works for me and I end up with even treadwear...on new skins, I've gotten to over 80K on two sets and had over 74K on the first...the current set is running at 22K right now...no noticable wear on them yet...and the traction is fine...I drive as the weather dictates, not despite it...

And the other thing that keeps the tires in the round and flat across the tread? I'm ROTATING them every 6k-7k miles...helps in evening out the loads on all the tires...

Now, on the Benz? Won't go there...I like that ride too much to screw around with that...

No getting 50mpg doing that alone is BS. You will increase the mileage a bit, but stiffen the ride and wear out the center of the tire.

After playing with it a bit I run about 32psi in the SDL's and that seems to work pretty well.

.

If you are thinking in this direction there is a specification for tires
called rolling resistance that you may find interesting.

Basically it is a measurement of how hard it is to get the tire rolling.

Here is a link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-rolling_resistance_tires

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/05/low_rolling_res.php

Kinda wish they would add this spec to the sidewall of tires.

Have Fun !
RichC
:jester:

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