# Mythbusters - hypermiling episode. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942 "2013-06-13T23:47:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/21 "2013-06-14T15:23:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > As an aside, on my four door Hyundai (and on other four door cars I’ve owned) if you open only the rear windows (or is it just the front ones? Can’t remember right now) you get that god-awful “thrumming” sensation/noise going on. Is there a name for that and what causes it? In some cars it can be almost painful. I hate that. It’s called “buffeting”. Here’s an explanation: > **[PowerFLOW](https://www.3ds.com/products/simulia/powerflow)** > > Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation Software ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/22 "2013-06-14T15:33:19Z")
I miss the side vent window. You could aim the air directly at you. It really made a difference on mild days and I could leave the AC off. I don’t think the side vent would hurt mileage like opening the main window does. I never understood why they eliminated the side window vent. Remember the air vents? There used to be a lever you pulled down real low by the parking brake for vent. It wasn’t part of the AC like today. It was just a mechanical flap that let air in. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/23 "2013-06-14T15:48:36Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > I hate that. It’s called “buffeting”. > > Here’s an explanation: > > [PowerFlow CFD Simulation | SIMULIA - Dassault Systèmes](http://exa.com/sunroof--window-buffeting.html) Interesting. Thanks for the link! ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/24 "2013-06-14T15:50:03Z")
Well I know I’m going to be trying a lot of the suggestions there. My car doesn’t get the best gas mileage at all and money is SUPER tight. Any improvement at all will be good. Of course, no way in hell I’m going 45 on the highway. It pisses me off when people do that. But I think I’m going to start sticking to just 55 and doing as much coasting as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/25 "2013-06-14T16:11:33Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’m watching the car in front, but I appear to be the only one of y’all that is. 🙂 I watch the car in front of me too…but: When you start your car, typically you take your foot off the brake to tap the gas. Which is impossible for the driver behind you to distinguish from simply starting to accelerate. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/26 "2013-06-14T16:19:14Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > I watch the car in front of me too…but: > > When you start your car, typically you take your foot off the brake to tap the gas. Which is impossible for the driver behind you to distinguish from simply starting to accelerate. What? I’ve never started a car like that. It’s always been. Car in park with foot on brake. Start car. Put in drive or reverse. Put foot on gas pedal and accelerate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/27 "2013-06-14T16:19:52Z")
Yeah, hypermilers take these techniques to ridiculous lengths. But the techniques themselves are sound, when used in moderation, and anyone can save some gas (just not as much as the hypermilers) by taking reasonable steps. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/28 "2013-06-14T16:35:18Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > What? I’ve never started a car like that. > > It’s always been. > Car in park with foot on brake. > Start car. > Put in drive or reverse. > Put foot on gas pedal and accelerate. So you’ve never driven a manual? They’re probably the easiest way to get better-than-advertised mileage. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/29 "2013-06-14T16:47:42Z")
My beef with their results is that they didn’t prove you can’t double your mileage hypermiling, they just didn’t double their own mileage by hypermiling. That’s like saying no one in the world can do a Chuck Norris flying roundhouse kick because I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/30 "2013-06-14T16:50:52Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > My beef with their results is that they didn’t prove you can’t double your mileage hypermiling, they just didn’t double their own mileage by hypermiling. Was there some major technique they didn’t test? Is there some reason to think that there’s some other circumstance where your mileage would double when theirs wasn’t close to double? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/31 "2013-06-14T16:54:47Z")
Discussing the TV episode aspect rather than the hypermiling episode, I think Mythbusters has been pretty good the past few episodes. No pointless explosions, and how awesome was the riding-a-motorbike-on-a-lake thing? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/32 "2013-06-14T17:08:19Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > how awesome was the riding-a-motorbike-on-a-lake thing? Very, and I was really stunned by that result. Having seen the running on water episode I thought the thing was going to sink like a rock. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/33 "2013-06-14T17:11:24Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > As an aside, on my four door Hyundai (and on other four door cars I’ve owned) if you open only the rear windows (or is it just the front ones? Can’t remember right now) you get that god-awful “thrumming” sensation/noise going on. Is there a name for that and what causes it? In some cars it can be almost painful. 2010 Toyota Rav 4 here. It’s terrible in this car with the rear windows down, and actually painful and temporarily deafening if you let it go on for a few minutes. It sucks because I like to give airflow to my dogs when they’re riding in the back, and it takes some fiddling to make it non-buffetting. ---
**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/34 "2013-06-14T17:19:30Z")
I am not a hypermiler, but I am an engineer and I did spend the better part of a month following certain techniques to see the effect on my economy. If I shifted at 1500 rpm, rather than 2500-3500 rpm, I had an increase of nearly 20 percent on my gas mileage. That was great, but I was getting 27 as a baseline and didn’t think it was worth the effort. Besides, who gets an MR2 Spyder to shift at 1500? If you have an automatic transmission, you no longer have the choice about shifting and no longer have the option for that part of hypermiling ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/35 "2013-06-14T17:24:39Z")
I just stopped by to mention that I rented a car in the UK a few months ago. It was a diesel. Every time you came to a complete stop in it, the engine shutdown and then, when you lifted your foot off the brake, the engine would restart automatically. At first this behavior is a little unnerving but you get used to it pretty quickly. I wonder how long the starters last in these kinds of vehicles? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/36 "2013-06-14T18:12:13Z")
> [@\_xiao\_wenti](#): > > If you have an automatic transmission, you no longer have the choice about shifting and no longer have the option for that part of hypermiling No, but you can pay close attention to how fast you accelerate from stops, and if you have a tachometer, try and keep your revs under some arbitrary threshold so that you’ll shift at a lower RPM than higher. Jackrabbit starts are probably the single biggest consumer of gasoline- almost certainly more than taking your mirrors off, not running your AC and all that other silly stuff saves combined. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/37 "2013-06-14T18:53:46Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > My beef with their results is that they didn’t prove you can’t double your mileage hypermiling, they just didn’t double their own mileage by hypermiling. That’s like saying no one in the world can do a Chuck Norris flying roundhouse kick because I can’t. Yeah, “busted” only means that _they_ were unable to confirm the myth. Another possible explanation might be that their control runs were perhaps already somewhat efficient, maybe subconsciously to a degree. Had their control runs involved a lot of jack-rabbit starts, running the AC on high with the windows down, etc. I could see where the hypermiling techniques might result in a 100% improvement. It’s certainly safe to say that driving habits can have a tremendous effect on mpg. ---
**Author:** ![BeeDubU2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BeeDubU2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeDubU2)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/38 "2013-06-14T18:54:45Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > So you’ve never driven a manual? They’re probably the easiest way to get better-than-advertised mileage. Huh? Just because you have to depress the clutch when the car starts doesn’t mean it starts with the foot on the gas. My sticks wouldn’t even start without the clutch and the brake depressed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/39 "2013-06-14T18:56:22Z")
I think there are instances where their experiments, however carefully executed, fall short but don’t prove the myth is implausible - just very unlikely under non-miraculous circumstances. But I didn’t see this as one of them… ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942/40 "2013-06-15T04:02:31Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I think you’ve misunderstood the point of hypermiling. It is not “techniques for normal people to use to get better gas mileage.” Rather, it’s “a hobby for people who have nothing better to do.” > > Spend some time on [the Ecomodder forums](http://ecomodder.com/) and you’ll see how nutty these people are. > > For example, [this couple](http://jalopnik.com/393539/hypermiling-couple-sets-world-record-with-90-mpg-drive-around-australian-coast) set a record awhile back by circumnavigating Australia at 30 mph. Normal people don’t do stuff like that. Who has the time to do that … mrAru gets 2 weeks per year, 2 days at each end would be sucked up in travel time [NY to Australia, Australia to NY] leaving 10 days to do stuff in. I liked the[golf ball dimple car thing](http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/dimpled-car-minimyth.htm) they did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mythbusters-hypermiling-episode/660942.md?page=3)