Hypermiling was the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year in 2008. Basically, it means stretching the most mileage out of your car by any means. Some people use fuel additives or make engine modifications. Some even use dangerous driving techniques, like coasting (freewheeling) in neutral when going downhill.
Some people save on fuel expenses by driving smart. This usually means lumping errands into one trip, carpooling, planning trips, and driving at a moderate pace. Sure, you can replace your car with a hybrid, but that entails some cost. Driving smart can be just as efficient.
Figuring out your gas mileage is easy enough with some basic math and a little knowledge about how your car works. Some cars have a multi-information display that automatically shows current gas mileage. However, for most cars, you can compute your mileage by measuring miles traveled per fill-up.
Mileage Defined
Gas mileage is defined as the number of miles (or kilometers) your car can travel per gallon of gas (or liter). Depending on the standards used in your country, this is expressed as miles per gallon (MPG) or kilometers per liter (KM/L or KPL).
To compute gas mileage, calculate how far your car has traveled and divide that figure by the volume of fuel it consumed.
For example, if your car traveled 150 miles and consumed 5 gallons of fuel over that distance, your mileage is 150 divided by 5, or 30 MPG.
How to Compute Mileage
The tricky part is that you may not know exactly how much fuel your car uses on every trip. Your car manufacturer may provide a rough mileage estimate for your particular make and model, but those figures can be just marketing numbers. You want to know how economical your car actually is.
Whether your fuel gauge is digital or analog, it is not accurate to the gallon or liter. Here is a neat trick:
- On your next top-up, reset your trip meter to zero. This trip meter is usually alongside the car's odometer. It works the same way—it records the distance traveled. The difference is that the odometer cannot be reset, while the trip meter can. This comes in handy when estimating your distance traveled. Resetting the trip meter usually involves pushing a button or lever on your instrument panel. On newer cars with digital odometers, you may need to press and hold a button. When in doubt, refer to your user manual.
- Fill 'er up — fill the tank to full.
- Drive as you normally would. This can be highway driving, city driving, or both, depending on the type of mileage you want to compute.
- Fill 'er up when the gas gets low. When you pay, keep the receipt — it usually shows the volume of fuel you purchased. Alternatively, note the amount from the fuel pump display. For best results, use the same refueling station as your previous top-up.
- Do some math. Look at the reading on your trip meter and divide it by the number of gallons of gas you just filled up with. For example, if you traveled 80 miles and just filled up with 4 gallons of fuel, your mileage is 80 divided by 4, or 20 MPG.
Your mileage will vary, of course, with the type of vehicle you drive, the engine displacement, and other factors such as load, road type, and vehicle modifications. You will usually get the best mileage when your car is regularly serviced, when you carry the least load, and when your driving habits are not too aggressive.
Figure Out Gas Mileage
Figure Out Gas Mileage : Multi-thousand tips to make your life easier.
Hypermiling was the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year in 2008. Basically, it means stretching the most mileage out of your car by any means. Some people use fuel additives or make engine modifications. Some even use dangerous driving techniques, like coasting (freewheeling) in neutral when going downhill.
Some people save on fuel expenses by driving smart. This usually means lumping errands into one trip, carpooling, planning trips, and driving at a moderate pace. Sure, you can replace your car with a hybrid, but that entails some cost. Driving smart can be just as efficient.
Figuring out your gas mileage is easy enough with some basic math and a little knowledge about how your car works. Some cars have a multi-information display that automatically shows current gas mileage. However, for most cars, you can compute your mileage by measuring miles traveled per fill-up.
Mileage Defined
Gas mileage is defined as the number of miles (or kilometers) your car can travel per gallon of gas (or liter). Depending on the standards used in your country, this is expressed as miles per gallon (MPG) or kilometers per liter (KM/L or KPL).
To compute gas mileage, calculate how far your car has traveled and divide that figure by the volume of fuel it consumed.
For example, if your car traveled 150 miles and consumed 5 gallons of fuel over that distance, your mileage is 150 divided by 5, or 30 MPG.
How to Compute Mileage
The tricky part is that you may not know exactly how much fuel your car uses on every trip. Your car manufacturer may provide a rough mileage estimate for your particular make and model, but those figures can be just marketing numbers. You want to know how economical your car actually is.
Whether your fuel gauge is digital or analog, it is not accurate to the gallon or liter. Here is a neat trick:
- On your next top-up, reset your trip meter to zero. This trip meter is usually alongside the car's odometer. It works the same way—it records the distance traveled. The difference is that the odometer cannot be reset, while the trip meter can. This comes in handy when estimating your distance traveled. Resetting the trip meter usually involves pushing a button or lever on your instrument panel. On newer cars with digital odometers, you may need to press and hold a button. When in doubt, refer to your user manual.
- Fill 'er up — fill the tank to full.
- Drive as you normally would. This can be highway driving, city driving, or both, depending on the type of mileage you want to compute.
- Fill 'er up when the gas gets low. When you pay, keep the receipt — it usually shows the volume of fuel you purchased. Alternatively, note the amount from the fuel pump display. For best results, use the same refueling station as your previous top-up.
- Do some math. Look at the reading on your trip meter and divide it by the number of gallons of gas you just filled up with. For example, if you traveled 80 miles and just filled up with 4 gallons of fuel, your mileage is 80 divided by 4, or 20 MPG.
Your mileage will vary, of course, with the type of vehicle you drive, the engine displacement, and other factors such as load, road type, and vehicle modifications. You will usually get the best mileage when your car is regularly serviced, when you carry the least load, and when your driving habits are not too aggressive.