Years ago , Top Gearaired a now - notorious segment in which Jeremy Clarksoncompared the fuel saving of a Toyota Prius to that of a BMW M3 … on a race raceway . The M3 ’s better MPG remains hotly contested by prideful Prius owner , but the section try it ’s whole possible to have a hell of a lot of fun on the road , even in a high - performance environs like a race data track , all the while keeping your fuel consumption the same –or better –as what you average out during normal drive .
What follow is a trio of driving tips that will transmute your daily commute and give you a prissy little prominence in your fuel economy . I tested them myself a twosome year ago for Earth Day andproved the hypothesis ; what I ’m about to tell youdoeswork .
That said , these repulse summit are fairly modern . If you go cross - eyed when you say the actor’s line " performance driving , " first go check out thesedriving techniques from pro race car . guard comes before all else , but once you get a feeling for it , you may exercise these tips every time you repel . You know that fun long-winded route in your neighborhood with no traffic that you ’ve driven upwards of 100,000 times ? That ’s the double-dyed stead to try ‘em out .
Aaron Miller/Thrillist
1. Don’t slow down (as much) for curves
Just as the enigma to a upright lap time on the track is n’t how fast you go in the straights , but how little you slow down in the nook , fuel economy is all about maintain your momentum so you need less muscularity after a good turn .
Whenever you strike the brakes , your forward impulse is lost to fire up push – that ’s why your brake get hot . Well , newsbreak : that heat is n’t doing any work for you . Taking a corner tardily also means your tires are doing lessworkto alter the car ’s counseling . But by brake less and going just a little bite faster through a curve , you ’re demanding more oeuvre from the tires , and much less vim is lose to heat .
plain , I ’m not suggesting you do n’t brake at all , or even that youevertake turns at insecure speed . Just don’toverbrake and you ’ll do well here .
Flickr/Daremoshiranai
2. Drive a “racing” line
A " racing pedigree " or " driving dividing line " is a proficiency for going through curve ball that more expeditiously utilizes your car ’s energy . The finish is to softly ease through the turn , moving your direction roulette wheel as little as possible and make as few inputs as you may ( any time you touch your guidance bike , brake , or throttle – that ’s an input ) .
Essentially , if you ’re curving to the left , start on the righthand side of the route ( plain ) , but as you go through the bend , execute the car to the lefthand stripes . Coming out of the curve , move back over to to the right wing as you roll out out .
What you ’re really doing is spreading out the force required to turn the car . cerebrate about it in terminus of Mike Tyson . Would you ratherhave Tyson puncher youin the chest once , or have a 100 lb exercising weight rest on your chest for 15 seconds ? The entire force exert on your chest of drawers is similar ; but speaking for myself , I ’ll take the latter , thanks .
Flickr/Garret Voight
3. Shift early and often – even in an automatic
I wo n’t pretend for a second base that accelerating hard is in any way more fuel efficient than accelerating tardily . Still , if you must partake in a weighed down dose of the flashy pedal – let ’s face it , speedup is an itch that must sometimes be rub – there ’s absolutely no understanding to gouge out every last RPM on your tachometer . shift 500 , 1,000 , or even 2,000 revolutions per minute before than you or the car unremarkably would will help cut back on the special fuel you ’re spending . It ’s called short shifting . If your elevator car is an automatic , it belike does this anyway under " normal " aim experimental condition , but because the electronic computer are n’t psychical , they wo n’t realize you ’re driving brisklyandpaying care to your MPG . switch for yourself – it ’s more playfulness that way , anyway .
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Aaron Milleris theCarseditor for Thrillist , and can befound on Twitter . He ’s expect to get lambast by hypermilers , even though they do most of these already .
Flickr/gmanvi
