More Cold Weather Hypermiling Do’s and Don’ts
Things not to do in cold/wet weather (which includes snow and rain):
1. Do not over inflate tires. I know this is an important thing to do for most Hypermilers, but in bad weather, you need the most contact/friction to the road as possible to stop when needed.
2. Do not draft. Drafting requires you to be pretty close to the vehicle in front of you. It’s dangerous even in good weather, but in bad weather you’d just be asking for an accident.
3. Do not turn off engine while driving. Again, this is dangerous even in good weather. Many hypermilers use this technique when going down hill, or when coming up to a stop sign or stop light. This is definitely not good in rain or snow as you loose power brake and power steering control.
Possible things to do for the Cold Weather Hypermiler:
1. Plan your route for less stop signs and stop lights. The more time you have to sit at a light, the more gas you burn and probably since it’s cold outside you will want to keep the heat on in the car
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2. Maintanence. Continue to maintain your car just like all Hypermilers try to do (oil’s, fluids, tires, etc).
3. Get an engine heater. I’ve even had one even though I lived in Texas and it worked great on cold days. You’re engine works more efficiently at warmer temperatures, so when your car starts up with an engine heater, it’s already working at an efficient level. Plus, the heats works pretty much immediately
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4. Coast Stop. You can continue to use neutral when stopping as mentioned in the other Hypermiling Techniques article in this forum, but since it’s bad weather, you want to be more cautious and anticipate traffic.
5. Use a lower oil weight. You probably already do if you’re in a cold climate area, but if you don’t, this will help your engine to be more efficient since it’s much easier to push lighter weight oil through the engine than heavy weight oil
6. Thermostat. Use a thermostat that opens at a higher temperature. As mentioned before, the warmer your engine gets (without overheating), the more efficient the engine. I wouldn’t go too much over the temperature of your manufacturers recommended thermostat temperature, but 5 or maybe even 10 degrees higher might help your engine to run more efficient.
7. Cardboard. This is a technique I just learned about, and is not my own, but thought it was interesting. Cover the front of your radiator with silver cardboard so that the temperature of your car stays warm. Again, this is only recommended in cold weather. I believe this type of card board can be purchase at Office Depot, or other office supply locations.
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Thanks so much for providing us with all this great info about hypermiling. Too Shy to Stop writer Isabel Adams just did an article for our magazine about hypermiling. You can read the full article here.