Tuesday, August 12, 2008

How to Gauge Your Hypermiling Progress - Product Review: ScanGauge

You can't be a hypermiler without knowing how many miles per gallon your car is getting. Serious hypermilers will want to gauge the MPG their car is getting not only when the fill up - giving you your car's average miles per gallon, but also at specific points along their routes. One of our first product reviews is of the ScanGauge II. This scan gauge is an invaluable tool for the serious hypermiler. It monitors multiple factors useful for not only gauging your results when trying to increase your gas mileage, but also provides a multitude of other features you will find useful in managing your vehicles. One such feature is its ability to gauge the trouble codes your vehicle's computer is throwing off. This is useful in identifying problems your car may be having, some of which may affect your vehicle's fuel mileage.

In my opinion the most useful feature of the ScanGauge II is its ability to gauge your vehicles instant MPG, as well as current, trip, and previous average MPG. Shown on a convenient and easy to read digital display, this knowledge is necessary for gauging how you as a hypermiler are performing! Without it, you may think you are doing well, only to be disappointed by the total miles on your trip meter the next time you fill up. Until I got my scan gauge, it happened to me many times.

The scan gauge is also handy and very easy to mount! It has two ports on the actual guage that act as recepticles for the wire from the computer, making it easy to mount anywhere in the car with one gauge recipticle on the side and one gauge recipticle on the rear.

The scan gauge is compatible with all vehicles made in 96 or OBDII cars.

I looked for my scangaugeII at multiple sites, including ebay, amazon, as well as many other online stores. The best price I found on this combined with service and speed of delivery, was amazon. Here is a link to the product:



The main reasons I feel this is a useful item:
1) Instant MPG ratings
2) Trouble code readings (I used to have to pay $50 just for a diagnostic fee when taking my other car's to the dealers when they had issues. Over the long run, this will pay for the scangauge alone)
3) Average Current, Trip, and Previous MPG ratings
4) View fuel consumption
5) See actual cost per mile
6) See your vehicle's horsepower
7) Able to turn off vehicle's "Check Engine" light
8) Almost 40 digital gauges in one handy digital device.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Welcome To VonHypermiler Hypermiling!



I've setup this blog to be a hypermiling directory. You can also use the search bar just above to find information on acetone, driving tips, HHO, and more! Truth is, I've got blogs on lots of subjects that have to do with increasing your gas mileage! It is a temporary site while vonHypermiler.com comes on line.

Hypermilers are great people! Pat yourselves on the back!
1) Hypermiling reduces our need for oil from corrupt foreign governments
2) Hypermiling reduces our impact on the earth and keeps our air cleaner
3) Hypermiling saves you money at the pump (which currently stands at $4/gallon)
4) Hypermiling saves your car's engine and extends vehicle life
5) Hypermiling takes money out of the government's pocket by reduced taxes! (my personal favorite!)

Thanks for helping and supporting the hypermiling movement!

My story - I've always been fascinated by getting something for nothing. That's precisely what hypermiling is all about. Getting to and from work/school/etc without having to pay (or pay very little) for it. My business is almost 45 miles from my house, and I drive a 2008 Ford Ranger with the 2.3L inline 4 engine. Even with this great little truck getting about 26 MPG, I wasn't satisfied with my monthly gas bill: $260. I decided to do something about it, and so can you! At my best, I can get almost 100 miles more out of a tank of gas than I used to (380 vs 480 miles). I also purchased one of the most fuel efficient motorcycles on the market, the 250cc Honda Rebel (which gets about 60 mpg). My fuel bill now, riding the bike half the time, and hypermiling in my truck has my monthly gas bill now at: $150 or I save about $110/month. I'm just getting started with my experiments.

Here is a list of what I've done so far to increase my gas mileage:
Driving Tips and Video To Increase Gas Mileage
Does Adding Acetone to Gas Increase Gas Mileage?

In the works:
Adding Acetone To Your Motorcycle
Build Your Own HHO Kit