ConsumerWatch

DALLAS (CBS) ― A new technique promises to save consumers 20 to 30 percent on gas no matter what kind of car they drive.

The idea is to increase the number of miles a car gets out of a tank of gas and cut down on the number of times it needs to be filled. It's called "hypermiling," and experts say it works on any car, including hummers.

Reid Stewart of Irving spends about $36 a month on gas now, thanks to hypermiling. Just a year ago, he was spending nearly $70 each week to fill up his BMW 325i, which gets about 20 miles per gallon. 

As gas prices continued to climb, Stewart began looking for relief. He found a website called CleanMPG.com and learned about a driving technique known as hypermiling.

"I wasn't sure if it would work, and then I wasn't sure that I was willing to change my driving habits because a lot of it is about slowing down," he explained.

He decided to try the tips from the Web site, and said he did see his gas mileage go up. That's when he decided to take it a step further. He traded in the BMW for a 2000 Honda Insight hybrid.

"This car, in the hypermiling circles, is known as the mileage king," Stewart said about his new car.

According to the EPA, the Insight should get a combined average of 53 miles per gallon. But when Stewart began trying the hypermilng technique with his new car, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"I commute from Irving into downtown, and this morning I got 105 miles to the gallon," bragged Stewart.

He's now gone from filling up once a week to filling up once a month. In the last 30 days, Stewart's been able to get more than a thousand miles out of a single tank of gas. He estimates that he'll save close to $2,000 a year.

"No matter what you're driving, if you apply just a few hypermiling techniques, you'll increase your fuel efficiency by 20 or 30 percent," he said.

The first hypermiling tip is an easy one: Slow down!

"For every 5 miles per hour you drive over 60, it's like paying an extra 20 cents per gallon," Stewart explained. "If you're out there doing 75 in a 60, and you're not happy at $4.00 a gallon... well, actually you're paying $4.60 a gallon."

Hypermilers also recommend lying off the gas and brake pedals and learn how to coast.

If drivers ahead are breaking, Stewart lets off the gas. By the time he reaches the congestion, traffic is moving again and he doesn't have to hit the brakes at all. Stewart said if the car keeps moving, the momentum causes the car to use less gas.

Using the cruise control option can also help drivers coast and keep the car's speed from fluctuating. Instead of braking, simply turn the cruise switch off and let the car slow naturally. Remember, the less the pedals are used, the more gas is saved.

Drivers should also avoid excessive idling.

"If you're actually idling for more than 10 seconds then you're wasting gas," Stewart said. "We encourage, if you're at a long light and you know you're going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds, go ahead and shut the car off."

Bob Parra owns the AAA certified Mid-Cities Service Center in Euless. He agreed reducing idle time is a big key to increasing gas mileage, but turning the engine on and off could do more harm than good.

"Turning the car off is going to be harder on the air conditioning system because it's going to take it longer to try to cool the air off on the inside," said Parra.

Click here for a video with more of Parra's tips to help you maximize your gas mileage.

Other tips include unloading the trunk of excess baggage. More weight equals more gas. Remove the luggage rack if it's not needed. Luggage and bike racks often cause more resistance against wind which, in turn uses more fuel.

Stewart said the key to all of this is knowing the miles per gallon used in your car. Click here to find out how many miles per gallon your car uses. 

Stewart also recommends purchasing a ScanGauge. The device connects to the car and shows real-time miles per gallon. He said once seeing the gas mileage in real-time will make it easier to see what driving habits eat more fuel. 

Stewart said he hopes more people will follow his lead by spending more time hypermiling and less time pumping gas.

"Once you see these techniques work, you're going try the next one and the next one and as you apply the next one, it's like putting more money in your pocket," he said.

A CBS station KTVT-TV in Dallas producer put some of the hypermiling techniques to the test in his non-hybrid Mazda 3i, which normally gets around 25 miles per gallon. In his last tank, he got about 34 miles per gallon -- a nearly 40% increase and almost 100 miles more per tank.

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