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PrintThe Lords of Efficiency
Meet the hypermilers—getting 40 to 72 mpg
Tina Wheeler
(page 1 of 4)
Seventy-two miles per gallon?! It sounds like a beautiful fantasy. Or a hybrid car. But there are people across the country getting this mileage and even more from average cars, by modifying their cars or adjusting their driving style. Meet a few of Missouri’s hypermilers and see how they drive and modify cars to boost fuel efficiency.
1994 Honda Civic, 72 mpg
When asked to pull his car up a few feet for the photo above, instead of starting the car, Andrew Johnmeyer opens his door, and with one hand on the steering wheel and a foot on the pavement, he “walks” the car into position. The Fred Flintstone method is one of many driving techniques that helped Andrew get as much as seventy-two miles per gallon in his manual 1994 Honda Civic while living in California, before he moved back to Fayette this year.
Andrew, an avid cyclist who had been living car-free, began hypermiling when his job required him to have his own vehicle. Instead of getting on a waiting list for a new fuel-efficient hybrid in the thirty-thousand-dollar range, Andrew found a used car on Craigslist for one thousand dollars and spent another fifteen hundred dollars on materials for modifications. He also spent time on the internet learning about hypermiling. He is now a moderator at www.ecomodder.com, a web site devoted to both driving technique and vehicle modification. The online community has fueled passion and friendly competition among mileage enthusiasts. Andrew placed fourth in a mileage competition in Lacey, Washington, organized by another online hypermiler.
“The first step to saving gas is to drive less,” Andrew says. Carpool, combine trips, and bike or walk as much as possible. “Next, drive smarter. Anticipate changes in traffic. Be aware of traffic lights ahead, and if you see a red light ahead, lift your foot off the gas. The idea is to maintain a constant speed and to minimize abrupt stops and starts.”
After he learned to control his lead foot, he began making modifications. One of the most useful was an air dam that covers the front of his car, which diverts air away from the front wheels. Modifications don’t have to be complicated or expensive, Andrew says. He used materials like old election signs to make a grille block and pizza pans to make smooth hubcaps.
With Missouri’s requirement for gasoline to have 10 percent ethanol, high mileage is more difficult to achieve, Andrew says, so he continues to try new modifications. Currently, he’s building a boat tail that will extend from the rear of his car, improving its aerodynamic shape even more. The ideal shape for a car is a teardrop, he says. “The teardrop shape, which is bulbous in front and tapered at the end, makes it easier for the car to push through the air,” he says. (See MissouriLife.com for an updated photograph.)
Andrew says that many ecomodders, including himself, are former hot-rodders and car enthusiasts, only now their hobby has taken a more environmental turn. “We’re still as dedicated as ever,” Andrew says. “We’d still be doing this even if they were handing out gas for free.”
