Having recently moved from New York City to Baltimore, I’ve been putting my Top 5 Hypermiling Techniques to use on the regular. Here’s what I’ve found on these gas saving tips that will keep your money in your wallet and out of the bank accounts of a Supermajor oil company:

1. Always know what your gas mileage is at each visit to the pump. - This one is easy enough.   My mother has actually been keeping records of her gas mileage my entire life, even when gas was under $1.00/gallon, so I guess I’m genetically predisposed. However, now with Fuelly, an online mileage calculator app and social networking site for hypermilers, keeping tabs on your fuel consumption and comparing it with others has never been easier.

2.  Keep your tires properly inflated. - This one is also pretty easy. All you need to do is roll on up to that free pump at the gas station (don’t use the ones that charge you, there’s something indecent about paying for air) and pump your tires on up to spec.

3.  Stop driving aggressively. - I’ve been trying on this one, really trying. And while I don’t drive nearly as wildly as I did as a hell-on-wheels youngster, I still have some work to do to get the aggressive NYC Subway instincts under control when driving a car. I’ll keep working on it though.

4.  Spend as little time stopped as possible. - This one is hard. Living in a densely populated city like Baltimore, with stoplights, stop signs, pedestrians and crazy folk running out in the street galore, it’s difficult to just keep cruising along. For driving on the highways and in the burbs (or “The County” as we like to call it in Bmore) though I try to do as much smooth sailing as I can.

5. Use Cruise Control. - Again, this is hard to take full advantage of living in a major city. But for highway driving cruise control is an easy and effective way to get the best mileage out of your car.

The best way to save gas, however, is to not use your car at all. While Baltimore and neighboring Washington DC don’t have the extensive public transportation options of the New York City Metropolitan region, there are still viable transit solutions that don’t involve hopping in your car. When I work in DC for instance, I’ll hop on the MARC regional train, which for the same price as the gas I’d use, gets me back and forth to Washington with zero traffic and someone else driving so I can read, work on my laptop, or catch a few more Zzzzz’s. Likewise, walking locally will not only save you unnecessary gas but also provide some exercise in the process.

You can takepart by learning more about different hypermiling techniques at Hypermiling.com.

LINKS:

LA Times: A race to use less gas in the long haul.

LA Times: Ultramilers’ cars

CleanMPG