Hypermiling - is anyone trying it?

[arojay]

Something that few of us think about is airflow.  Over 50 mph, rpm has less effect than aerodynamics. 
Some things you can do about it are grill covers, take off roof racks when they aren't needed, even open windows can make a difference.  I'm sure there are others.  I have been driving as conservatively as I can remember to be, for quite a few years now.  I put on lots of personal miles and I've been trucking on and off for about 30 years.  It does make a difference to find the optimum speed for a given application.  Progressive shifting makes a big difference with manual transmissions too.

[shinnlinger]

Hi,

I, like a few of you, thought this was a hyperMILLING link and passed it by, but now this is interesting.

In NH there are plenty of hills to coast down so what they hey, slide the powerjoke into neutral.  I did shut the moter off once, but the ol one ton is a bear w/out power breaks and steering.  Maybe if I get the old Toyato on the road again....

NOw about this European Diesel thing.  I was in England a few years ago for a wedding and remarked at all the Diesels running around, particularly from Ford, and wondered WHY NOT IN THE US?  I mean if the have Diesel focuses there, why not here?  Its the same company and they already developed it. The Diesel jetta is a hot item here and has no competition.  I was also astonished to see the Maxi, Fords version of the Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner sprinter (another hot US seller) was running on a frickin 2 liter Diesel (ok it may have been 4 liters, but way smaller than my 7.3).  Now this thing can go on the freeway just fine and haul as much as my F-350(If not more), but why isnt the small efficient diesel available here?  Shove that in an F-150 and away you go.  It is even ULSD compliant as that is what they have had over there for a while, so the bugs might even be worked out.

I dont think it is an EPA thing at all.  I recently read in FARM SHOW that the late '70's/early 80's chevy diesel 350 was such a POS that it turned Americans off from Diesels...gave them a bad name, but I think the real reason is this....You may have heard that Ford, in light of the recent slump in the truck and SUV are now going to import these European gems and start making them here in an effort to appeal to consumers.  I think this is a good idea, but a finacial analyst said even if they sell like hotcakes, the company may still be in trouble as the PROFIT margin is not as good as on an F-150 or SUV.

SO there you have it.  Those companies haven't been selling us these more efficient rigs because they are inferior, but rather because the dont make AS MUCH $$$ as the junk that we are now stuck with.

Rant over.

[Gary_C]

SO there you have it.  Those companies haven't been selling us these more efficient rigs because they are inferior, but rather because the dont make AS MUCH $$$ as the junk that we are now stuck with.

Unfortunately, there is more to it than that. In the US, we now have clean burn regulations (soot and particulate) on diesels that the EU has not adopted and which those European diesels cannot pass. In the US, the VW diesel just barely passed this last year and has had some reliability problems with that diesel engine.

This is also why both Ford and Dodge have had to come out with new versions of diesels in their light trucks. The old 7.3 diesel could not pass any soot emission regulations.

The heavy truck engines in the US, Cummins, Cat, Detroit and others have also had to comply and are having some problems with that clean burn technology. Unfortunately that latest technology clean burn engine gets worse fuel economy than its previous version.

So you have to blame the cleaner air you breathe as the real culprit.

[Toolman]

I love my scan guage. It saved me alot on fuel consumption by pointing out my bad driving habits. It is worth every penny!!

[shinnlinger]

Gary,

I appreciate that the NEW (2008) clean burn regulations complicate things a bit, but these diesels have been rolling around Europe for DECADES.

If They can make the big rig engines pass emmisions, they can make the small ones pass too.....

IF they wanted to

Yes there were problems with most of the Diesels making compliance this year, but like you said the VW engine PASSED.....barely, but it passed.