I have heard that you can increase your gas mileage by coasting in neutral down hills or as you come to a stop, has anyone actually tried this?
2006-06-22 02:38:32 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Commuting
actually this is a big no no this other guy saying do not shut the car off and coast is right if the pump stops and the gears and all are still moving (movement=friction. friction=heat) and then u start ur car again u can say bye bye to ur trans. to tell u the true ur going to use more gas coasting even down hill most cars now are fuel injected and that runs on computers. based on the ECM (computer of the car) it used the factors of Speed, Heat of the Engine, and alot more to determain the amount of gas delivered to each injector. the computer will think "ok no gear engaged but im moving why is that, oh i got an idea. engine light" then u have to worry about that. the only thing that nutral is used for is so the gears dont mesh or bind going from reverse to drive or od. thats it. thats y people who just go from park to od quickly and go, have alot of problems. another thing to prove this is just for the hell of it, if it rear wheel drive lift the back tires off the ground and put it in nutral ull see that the wheels will move which means ur tranny is still working in a way u see the automatic tranny is two shafts but that are linked together with cluchpacks and so on what im trying to say is u actually have a rod coming straight from ur engine to ur tires if u do this plan on spending lost of money in the future
2006-06-25 08:01:15 · answer #1 · answered by splatter14821 1 · 4⤊ 0⤋
When I've tried to use neutral at stops the engine actually idles slightly faster, which would seem to me to be wasting gas, not saving it. But the downhill thing might have a trick to it because many cars actually increase engine speed to help slow down the car and prevent the brakes from being overapplied. Still, though, I would let the car do its thing and not risk the safety problems of shifting gears at such high speeds, not to mention how much you might slow down before shifting gears and blocking the people behind you if it's a two-lane road. If you're really concerned about gas mileage, get a more fuel-efficient car to begin with and you won't have to worry about trivia like this.
2006-06-22 08:57:35 · answer #2 · answered by Omar Y. 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The transmission and engine, while in gear will give resistance thereby slowing the car down while going down hill. This is, in fact, how a truck will go down hills to prevent overheating the brakes. It will drop to a lower gear and the engine puts more resistance making the truck go slower. So, if you are in neutral, this resistance is no longer there and the engine is basically idling. The answer is yes, you can improve gas mileage this way.
It should be noted that driving in "Georgia Overdrive" is not legal, since you are technically in control of your vehicle.
As for the difference in gas mileage, I'm not sure it's that much of a difference to worry about.
2006-06-22 02:47:29 · answer #3 · answered by waylandbill 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Want to get better gas mileage and more performance from your automobile, try a K&N air filter, they are a little pricey but you never have to replace them and that cuts down on a lot of used air filters and I promise you will notice the difference.
2006-06-22 02:53:36 · answer #4 · answered by Sheila 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it does help...i have done it a few time when low on gas...there no load on the engine so it only uses gas as if were idle...and as for the answer regarding neutral and auto trans pump..it in no way has an effect on it and the cooler fluid...it will NOT blow out the seals...thats plain stupid...ever done a neutral drop..same thing...and the cooler fluid would benifit the tranny not hurt it in any way
2006-06-22 06:46:04 · answer #5 · answered by neonnate1002 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe with a manual trans this will work, but i dont recomend trying this with the automatic trans. The pump will be abused and cause problems latr. Unless the car is under warrantee, who cares?
2006-06-22 03:06:11 · answer #6 · answered by mailbox1024 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
do not do it if you have a auto trans, the pump in the trans will stop pumping the hot oil to the cooler, then when you put it back in to gear the cool oil from the cooler will blow your seals out of the trans,
2006-06-22 02:45:01 · answer #7 · answered by The Raotor 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
anytime your foot is not on the gas pedal you are saving gas coasting is one of them also you can save even more by shuting off the engine and coasting
2006-06-22 02:44:32 · answer #8 · answered by high1315 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No! It's just one of those "theories" that pops up when the price of gas goes up! Won't do a darn thing for you.
2006-06-22 03:37:06 · answer #9 · answered by DialM4Speed 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋