Is it just me?

[Red98gt]

A local news channel did a story on "Hypermilers" the other night. These are drivers that go to the extreme to get the highest MPG they can. Ok so they talk about the usual stuff, accelerate slowly, drive the speed limit etc.... But then they start talking about turning the car OFF and coasting to stoplights, backed up traffic and things like that.
Ah last time I checked most cars with power steering and power brakes DO NOT turn/stop too well with the engine OFF! I can see it now... Car rearends another... "For some reason my brakes didn't work"!
Of course I write the station and get the canned..."thank you for your concern we appreciate your comments"...***? These stupid TV people that think they know it all and do stories on stuff that can cause accidents.....and have no idea what they are doing! Arghhhhh!!!

Sorry for the vent.... just sooo frustrating...... My luck one of them will hit me......

[talyrath]

I think they choose the ones that do the most extreme stuff because they make for the most interesting story and ensure the most viewers.

I follow a lot of the hypermiler concepts, but only when they don't put people in danger. I know that my car gets it's highest mileage when I'm going about 40MPH in 5th gear, however that doesn't mean I'm gonna drive 40MPH on the interstate just to get better mileage.

You can increase your mileage a lot by SAFELY changing the way that you drive. Sadly, the information gets lost in the stories about people turning their engine off and coasting down a hill or tailgating tractor trailers.

Tal

[GTFreddy]

That's a bit extreme, what happened to good ol' car pooling and mass transportation?

[yakky]

I've found a really good way to get that extra mpg. When the light turns green, just wait, if someone honks, flip them the bird and get them mad enough to give you a push!

[codiddy]

Originally Posted by Red98gt

A local news channel did a story on "Hypermilers" the other night. These are drivers that go to the extreme to get the highest MPG they can. Ok so they talk about the usual stuff, accelerate slowly, drive the speed limit etc.... But then they start talking about turning the car OFF and coasting to stoplights, backed up traffic and things like that.
Ah last time I checked most cars with power steering and power brakes DO NOT turn/stop too well with the engine OFF! I can see it now... Car rearends another... "For some reason my brakes didn't work"!
Of course I write the station and get the canned..."thank you for your concern we appreciate your comments"...***? These stupid TV people that think they know it all and do stories on stuff that can cause accidents.....and have no idea what they are doing! Arghhhhh!!!

Sorry for the vent.... just sooo frustrating...... My luck one of them will hit me......

i believe most of the hypermillers drive hybrids. perhaps the power steering and brakes on hybrids still work when the gas engine is off? yakky could you comment on this?

[Red98gt]

On a Hybrid I would think there has to be a way to power the steering and brakes without "gas power". The show also had a guy with an Accord and some older Buick and those are the ones that I know need the engine running.

What really gets me are the replies from the TV station that totally ignore what I said!
Typical news media.... report what THEY want and not the facts!

They did say how here in Oklahoma it is illegal to "coast" in neutral or with the clutch in. Like to see them enforce THAT one...hahaha.... The replies said "We did empasize how some of the practices are illegal here".... NOT what I was talking about!!!! Oh well, at least I feel a little better knowing I said something.

off my soap box now......

[yakky]

Originally Posted by codiddy

i believe most of the hypermillers drive hybrids. perhaps the power steering and brakes on hybrids still work when the gas engine is off? yakky could you comment on this?

Everthing works when the gas engine is off, the car basically manages power for you to what it thinks is best. The main selling point for me was being able to sit at lights/traffic with the AC on full blast and not using any gas. It steering is electronic assist (as it is in my MR2 also) and it only uses the real brakes in panic stops and under 9mph, the rest is regenerative braking (the green little cars in the graph above).

[BMW335i]

Hybrids are pretty cool, except it can be dangerous at low speeds you cant even hear the car coming (eg. little kids playing outside). Plus, the power in the engines is quite anemic (I think the prius is rated at 72hp at 82 lb ft. torque ).

[yakky]

Originally Posted by BMW335i

Hybrids are pretty cool, except it can be dangerous at low speeds you cant even hear the car coming (eg. little kids playing outside). Plus, the power in the engines is quite anemic (I think the prius is rated at 72hp at 82 lb ft. torque ).

That's the gas engine. Electric is where its at. MG2 (the second electric motor/generator in the Prius) has 295ft-lbs of torque from zero rpm. Toyota rates the car as the equivalent of a 164 hp gas car. True the car isn't a rocket to 60, but off the line it has some good pull, and in reality, its tuned to sip fuel. Want fast electric... see the Tesla roadster or the fast hybrid is the GS450h. For my fast, I hop on my Hayabusa, 45-50mpg, high 9's in the 1/4 and enough top speed to get an extended jail visit. The daily commute suckage is where the Prius excels.

[fstb88]

actually in modern cars you have enough pressure left in the brakebooster for one good stop after that its gone. if your going fast enough you dont even notice the lack of powersteering, hell half the time on the highway your powersteering pump isnt in use, cause its a variable presure system. anyways engine off coasting is called codfishing, your point of view is that from someone who drives fast(from your comments i am assuming this) and gets irritated by drivers doing the speed limit. ya their methods are extreme but you should also note that they make aerodynamic modifications to the exterior of the car aswell. such as a completel underbody tray, whaletales, and wheel skirts. ya it looks like **** but it works. i know the exact guy your talking about and the hybrid he was drving was a friends. he hypermiles in a geo metro, and honda accord. GasSavers.Org Homepage is the webaddress for the website. if you want something fast and cheap electric wise you should stray away from tesla, good product though, look up killacycle or white zombie. a kit car is the only way to go. hybrids are nice but the nickle metal hydride batteries are too expensive and will need to be replaced in about 100.000miles. they are silent but what are kids doing in the streets, most hybrids cant make it up iver the curb to hit them in the yard. im waiting for hybrids to come out with capacitors instead of batteries.

[yakky]

Originally Posted by fstb88

hybrids are nice but the nickle metal hydride batteries are too expensive and will need to be replaced in about 100.000miles. they are silent but what are kids doing in the streets, most hybrids cant make it up iver the curb to hit them in the yard. im waiting for hybrids to come out with capacitors instead of batteries.

NIMH batteries are what is/was production ready for the current crop of hybrids. They are guaranteed to 100k miles, expected life, at least from the Prius battery is suppoed to be 15 years. They also are recycleable. Good luck waiting for a capacitor that will power a car. You'll be pushing up daisies before a capacitor is made to power a car. Even supercapcitors don't come close to standard battery energy density.

Supercapacitor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Honestly, its funny to hear all the hybrid naysayers . Everyone is full of excuse and reasons. It reminds me back when I was drag racing, everyone had an excuse as to why their car wasn't faster. I don't care if you like the technology or not, its what works now and should be appreciated for the massive engineering effort that is production, real world ready, instead of vapor.