I drive an automatic, but I'm just wondering if I "coast" when I'm coming up on a red light or stop sign, or even on the highway for a little while at a time, will I save gas? Is it not worth the hassle?
2006-11-30 08:14:37 · 14 answers · asked by The questioneer 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
When you coast, keep the car IN GEAR, not in neutral.
You can get much greater gas mileage by simply easing off the gas and coasting to red lights, stop signs, etc.
What but you should keep your car in gear as you coast. Putting the car in neutral as it coast towards the red light or stop sign is unsafe to do.
The reason putting the car in neutral is unsafe is now you don’t have the ability to “hit the gas” if for some reason you had to make an evasive move. For example, as you’re coasting, something comes out in front of your car (another vehicle, an animal, a person, it doesn’t matter) and you need to get over into the other lane quickly. If your car is in neutral, you’re going to slam on the gas expecting to quickly accelerate, only you’re not going to go any faster.
Additionally, you’re vehicle will have much better handling if the car is in gear.
So, go ahead and keep the car in gear, only switching to neutral once the car is at a complete stop - coasting in neutral isn’t worth the risk.
LOL @ a99blkdog...
2006-11-30 08:20:06 · answer #1 · answered by Reggie R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily.
What uses gas in the engine is if you press on the accelerator. I assume that you are not pushing on the accelerator if you are coming up to a stop sign. If you are on the highway, and you simply take your foot off the gas pedal, you would save the same amount of gas as shifting into neutral. Whether or not you are using more gas doesn't depend on whether the car is in gear or not. In fact, if you are in neutral you can still use more gas if you're pressing on the accelerator.
The only time when "coasting" like this might help your gas mileage is if you are going down a hill, because when going down a hill in gear, the transmission will stop your descent some. But in many cases this is a good thing -- you don't want to get to the bottom of the hill doing 100 mph! And if you use your brakes to help you slow down on the hill you'll just have to replace the brakes sooner.
In addition, the wear on your transmission from shifting into and out of neutral all the time might cause you to have to spend a lot of money on your transmission somewhere down the line.
2006-11-30 08:20:20 · answer #2 · answered by drshorty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The best way to figure this question out specifically for YOUR car is to use the RPM meter. Your engine will be doing the most work when the RPMs are the highest. Right before switching gears, your RPMs are usually the highest and that's when you will be wasting the most gas.
When you are coasting (in drive but not pressing on the accelerator), you will, notice that your RPMs will drop to about 1k. Compare this value to the value while your car is in neutral (or idling RPMs), and you should get a decent estimate on whether you are saving gas.
2006-11-30 08:35:07 · answer #3 · answered by Bynop 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1) it is illegal in most states 2) It takes some control away from the car, especially when you're on a surface that is not dry 3) It's possible to forget you're in nuetral and either slide it into park or race the engine thinking you're in drive 4) the engine braking effect actually helps you maintain control and have less wear and tear on the brakes 5) you have no control over the car in an emergency 6) the car is still turning over at idle, and coming down the hill with your transmission engaged, the car is still in idle - you're not saving as much as you think 7) the rear seal of the transmission is not being properly lubricated when you're in idle and the drive shaft is engaged. This is one of the reasons a rear wheel drive vehicle should not be towed great distances. All in all, your friend is correct. Just let the engine idle as you come to a traffic control device that requires you to stop.
2016-05-23 05:47:57 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have it on Neutral its less strain on your engine but as for gas it wont have a effect, and to ad if you for example drive at 25MPH and put it on N and let it coast your damaging your tranny for in the long run, especially for newer cars, best to leave in gear and ride it easy.
2006-11-30 11:39:02 · answer #5 · answered by guitrprod1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not worth the hassle, since you can and will burn out the converter coasting in Mexican over drive.
2006-11-30 15:27:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely not,PLUS it is very dangerous as it could cause you to lose control. You probably would not save anything as your engine is still running.Your life and that of others is not worth it.Better to be safe than sorry.
2006-11-30 08:27:52 · answer #7 · answered by liseb_98 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe ... but not really tho....your engine is still running.....it'll only mess with your transmission and gearbox instead.....its not worth the hassel .... it wont save enough gas to really make much of a difference. a good thought tho.
2006-11-30 08:18:10 · answer #8 · answered by AudiSpeed4 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, most cars idle pretty high, so neutral would use more gas than being in gear.
2006-11-30 08:22:18 · answer #9 · answered by abfabmom1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It may save gas but you will spend more to fix the trans. and gearbox.
2006-11-30 08:27:38 · answer #10 · answered by dpwhitewolf 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋