Hypermiling - I'm Getting 28.8 MPG

Wiggums · May 31, 2019

My previous best gas mileage was 28.6 after a drive from Dana Point to Riverside and back.

Just now, I did Dana Point to Orange County Airport and back and managed to get 28.8. It's not flat all the way and I went 55 mph to 60 mph.

I am very pleased with it. My 2012 F-150 got around 24 but discovered it was overly optimistic when I filled up my tank so I'm guessing around 22 mpg.

My understanding is that the Silverado's computer is spot-on so I am getting at least 28 mpg. Not too bad for a 4x4 V8.

I am curious to see what I'd get after I fill it up with Mexican gas. I do notice improvement because it doesn't contain ethanol as required in the U.S.

ShamrockShooter · May 31, 2019

As best I can tell on the 5.3 8 speed with 3.23 gears right around 51 mph is were it shifts into "8th" gear, and will hold it to about 48 mph before shifting.

So the best possible mpg is going to be around 51 or 52 mph where it's barely over 1,000 rpms.

I drive lots of back country roads. If I'm not in a hurry and nobody is behind me, 52 mph on the cruise.

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Wiggums · May 31, 2019

Ah, thanks for the input! I wanted to find that "sweet spot" but wasn't sure. On my Ford, it was 44 mph.

DFM kind of fuzzes it up and I've been having trouble pinpointing it. I am going to try 52 mph, thanks! Many thanks! I also have the 3.23 so that helps

z1boss · May 31, 2019

I usually drive with a heavy foot and mostly city so I'm average about 13.5 mph in my Trailboss right now. I could definitely get better mpgs if I drive easier but I like the power of the engine and the sound of my exhaust too much ?

Edited May 31, 2019 by z1boss

Wiggums · May 31, 2019

I have to justify the purchase of the Silverado to my girlfriend, boss, and my parents who lecture me whenever they think a purchase is frivolous.

The most common criticism I got for buying a Silverado was the gas mileage so I am now demonstrating to them I am getting the same gas mileage as I did on my 2008 Benz C300, a very tiny cramped sedan with a shitty V-6 and a lousy 228 ponies. Now, I have a big ass V8 with 355 hp, 4x4, and way more space in the back, with the same gas mileage I did on my Benz... so now I can say, "See?"

z1boss · May 31, 2019

54 minutes ago, Wiggums said:

I have to justify the purchase of the Silverado to my girlfriend, boss, and my parents who lecture me whenever they think a purchase is frivolous.

The most common criticism I got for buying a Silverado was the gas mileage so I am now demonstrating to them I am getting the same gas mileage as I did on my 2008 Benz C300, a very tiny cramped sedan with a shitty V-6 and a lousy 228 ponies. Now, I have a big ass V8 with 355 hp, 4x4, and way more space in the back, with the same gas mileage I did on my Benz... so now I can say, "See?"

I feel where your coming from. I honestly used to worry about gas mileage a lot but now, Thank God, I dont really have too. My Silverado is actually my most fuel efficient vehicle and the smallest V8 I have right now.

NWI Denali · June 1, 2019

A 50 mile snippet of intrtestate driving is not representative of real world gas mileage hand calculated at the pump.

econometrics · June 1, 2019

50 minutes ago, NWI Denali said:

A 50 mile snippet of intrtestate driving is not representative of real world gas mileage hand calculated at the pump.

It’s still a real MPG calculation, though.

Wiggums, that’s impressive stuff. I did a 60 mile round trip to Fort Worth today and only got 21mpg avg. But I had some traffic a few times there and back, and like z1boss said, I also like going from 50-80mph as fast as I can from time to time. Lol ???

Wiggums · June 1, 2019

1 hour ago, NWI Denali said:

A 50 mile snippet of intrtestate driving is not representative of real world gas mileage hand calculated at the pump.

I've consistently gotten above 26 in highway driving. My average after 900 miles is 22 which is about 70 percent city and 30 percent highway. My F-150's sticker said 19 mpg highway and I never reset the trip computer. I got 24 mpg after over 30k miles with about half city and half highway.

So, yes, it is representative for me. Sorry if you can't accomplish that.

Wiggums · June 1, 2019

13 minutes ago, econometrics said:

I did a 60 mile round trip to Fort Worth today and only got 21mpg avg. But I had some traffic a few times there and back, and like z1boss said, I also like going from 50-80mph as fast as I can from time to time. Lol ???

I only go 80 when it's downhill. I move all the way to the right when going uphill, usually at 45 to 50. When it gets flat, usually 55 to 60, but I'm going to try 51. Easy to do that here, trucks in California aren't allowed to go above 55 so I stay around them and blend in. In cities, I try hard to avoid hitting the brakes. If I see a red light from a distance, I immediately let my foot off the gas and try not to brake until the very last minute. A lot of times, I never need to hit the brake pedal. Then I gently accelerate. I accelerate quicker if somebody is behind me, I'm not a horse's ass. I try to stay on the right or stay in empty lanes. I used to live in Germany, I am very anal about driving etiquette.

That's how hard-core I am with hypermiling.

econometrics · June 1, 2019

8 minutes ago, Wiggums said:

I only go 80 when it's downhill. I move all the way to the right when going uphill, usually at 45 to 50. When it gets flat, usually 55 to 60, but I'm going to try 51. Easy to do that here, trucks in California aren't allowed to go above 55 so I stay around them and blend in. In cities, I try hard to avoid hitting the brakes. If I see a red light from a distance, I immediately let my foot off the gas and try not to brake until the very last minute. A lot of times, I never need to hit the brake pedal. Then I gently accelerate. I accelerate quicker if somebody is behind me, I'm not a horse's ass. I try to stay on the right or stay in empty lanes. I used to live in Germany, I am very anal about driving etiquette.

That's how hard-core I am with hypermiling.

Lol you are most certainly hard core about it. ???

ShamrockShooter · June 2, 2019

You would be surprised how much temp and air density play a factor in highway mpg.

In my 16 this winter I drove two hours on the highway to go ice fishing way before sunrise. Temp was about 5 below zero. I reset trip B on the highway once truck was warm. I barely cracked 16 mpg at 68 mph with wind at my back. On the way home later that day it warmed up to almost 40 degrees. Same two hour drive at 68 mph no traffic into the wind I got over 20 mpg.

Granted that was computer calculated but 4 mpg difference is huge when all that really changed was temperature.

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Wiggums · June 2, 2019

On 6/2/2019 at 7:08 AM, ShamrockShooter said:

You would be surprised how much temp and air density play a factor in highway mpg.

In my 16 this winter I drove two hours on the highway to go ice fishing way before sunrise. Temp was about 5 below zero. I reset trip B on the highway once truck was warm. I barely cracked 16 mpg at 68 mph with wind at my back. On the way home later that day it warmed up to almost 40 degrees. Same two hour drive at 68 mph no traffic into the wind I got over 20 mpg.

Granted that was computer calculated but 4 mpg difference is huge when all that really changed was temperature.

Driving for two hours before sunrise, I'd have thought the engine would have warmed up by then. Wouldn't adding tarp on the grill make a difference? I saw trucks doing that in Europe and was told it was for gas mileage. For a while, I thought it was aerodynamic-related and kind of figured it out when summertime arrived.

Your 4 mpg difference is probably accurate if you have a Chevy trip computer. After measuring it at the pumps, I found GM's is much more precise, maybe off by 0.2 mpg either way, hot or cold. Ford's was consistently overly optimistic by 1 to 3 mpg, hot or cold.

The temperature doesn't fluctuate where I live. In winter, temperature rarely goes below 55°. In summer, it rarely goes above 80°. Heck, even daily temperatures don't fluctuate much. It's been around 65° in the daytime and 56° at nights for the past month. Good to know that cold temperatures negatively impact gas mileage by 4 mpg, I thought it was smaller than that.

I am actually very pleased with the 28.8 in my Silverado especially since the same trip would get around 24 on my F-150's overly optimistic trip computer so I might have actually gotten around 21 or 22.

A month ago, gas hit $4.39 a gallon, which explains my keen interest. It's nicer having $30 more in my wallet when I arrive in Vegas after a long trip, more money for me to lose in craps.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Wiggums

ShamrockShooter · June 2, 2019

If gas was $4.39 a gallon I would move. I thought $2.79 was bad. I hope you are getting your monies worth for all those tax dollars you are spending.

Electric trucks are probably only a few years out.

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Wiggums · June 2, 2019

Surprisingly, I spend much less in taxes because my property taxes are fixed at the price I bought my house.. way back in 1995 so I pay literally pennies on the dollar compared to the neighbors. The owners of the brand-new condominiums three miles away face $1,800 a month in taxes and "special assessments" (technically not tax so that's legal).

Electric trucks. I don't know if I can live with range anxiety. If I can get at least 800 miles within a single trip and there are filling stations all over, I may reconsider.