I didn't imply otherwise. On a snot-slick road, every little bit helps. On clean pavement, the extra stability is unnoticable, IMO.
There are plenty of over zealous laws (and mindless-enforcer-drone cops) out there. They're an occupational hazard associated with living in our big, wonderful, risk-phobic society. :(
I'd imagine the laws are to deter idiots from freewheeling down 10% grades, burning off the brakes, then crashing and dieing (or, much worse, killing aomeone else). For the sort of coasting I'm advocating, that's not a remote possiblity.
In my fifty years of driving, I have never broken a driveline component or suspension component on a street car. I have replaced throwout bearings in clutches, and one clutch disk, but that was years ago, before high gas prices and my extensive coasting.
On the other hand, I have broken two rear axles, and broken two rear end gear sets, on my race car. That car, ironically, has no clutch and the in and out box is not ordinarily taken out of gear when car is moving. Thus, EVERY time I lift throttle I am engine braking.
Thus, my experience says coasting does NOT wreck drive train nor suspension- engine braking does :-)
In my fifty years of driving, I have never broken a driveline component or suspension component on a street car. I have replaced throwout bearings in clutches, and one clutch disk, but that was years ago, before high gas prices and my extensive coasting.
On the other hand, I have broken two rear axles, and broken two rear end gear sets, on my race car. That car, ironically, has no clutch and the in and out box is not ordinarily taken out of gear when car is moving. Thus, EVERY time I lift throttle I am engine braking.
Thus, my experience says coasting does NOT wreck drive train nor suspension- engine braking does :-)
In my fifty years of driving, I have never broken a driveline component or suspension component on a street car. I have replaced throwout bearings in clutches, and one clutch disk, but that was years ago, before high gas prices and my extensive coasting.
On the other hand, I have broken two rear axles, and broken two rear end gear sets, on my race car. That car, ironically, has no clutch and the in and out box is not ordinarily taken out of gear when car is moving. Thus, EVERY time I lift throttle I am engine braking.
Thus, my experience says coasting does NOT wreck drive train nor suspension- engine braking does :-)
Hey, at two seventy a gallon, it doesn't take many teaspoon fulls to turn into real money. I had a 47 Studie and a 51 Ford with free-wheeling overdrives. The car did not SUDDENLY go to a high speed, it accelerated by G times the tangent of the angle of the hill. Yeah, these were drum brakes, and brakes are a lot different. The Studie had a simple lever to lock out the overdrive. If you were in steep hill territory, you could lock it out. I was under the impression they dropped it 'cause so many people were ordering auto that they didn't want to inventory two different stick shifts. They were not selling that many overdrives (it was an extra cost option, about same price as automatic).
You are still posting on a world wide forum trying to advocate breaking the law.
You can try to justify breaking the law all you want, readers just need to know it is basically an unsafe and illegal practice to coast down a hill in neutral.
Once you are used to 'just doing that little' coast, the coasts get longer and steeper and.....
You are still posting on a world wide forum trying to advocate breaking the law.
You can try to justify breaking the law all you want, readers just need to know it is basically an unsafe and illegal practice to coast down a hill in neutral.
Once you are used to 'just doing that little' coast, the coasts get longer and steeper and.....
So you are one of those people that think the laws are made for someone else, not you eh?
You are still posting on a world wide forum trying to advocate breaking the law.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06
formatting link
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)
But there is no world-wide law. Merey by writing anything to Usenet, you are breaking the law of some regime that prohibits this kind of expression. So what?
Unsafe? Possibly. It depends on the duration of the coast. The top speed achieved, the heat accumulated in the brakes, etc.
Illegal? Depends on what jurisdiction.
Should I not roll out of a slanted driveway and then engage second gear, because it's a slope, and that would constitute coasting down a hill in neutral?
If I'm driving downhill and come to a stop sign, should I stall the engine to avoid coasting in neutral? Or should I break the law by stepping on the clutch when the RPMs drop below 1000?
Since that's clearly the only angle from which you can view this debate, then yes. "GO BREAK THE LAW, PEOPLE!! Save yourself some gas along the way!" Happy? :P
I've never advocated anything more than peeps thinking for themselves and driving in a responsible manner. You can't see that because you can't get past the "breaking the law" fixation.
FYI, the world is NOT black and white, and laws don't always coincide with ethical/proper behavior. If you rely on laws (or some ancient book!) to govern every aspect of your behavior and establish your ethical boundries, you are doing yourself and your society a great disservice.
(Needless to say, I'm a big existentialist... :) )
"Unsafe" and "Illegal" have yet to be proven to my satisfaction, and are both highly subjective to boot. (How steep a grade, what speed, how far, etc.)
As if you've never exceeded the speed limit?? Puleeeze!
I take it that we can expect to see you blasting through school zones at
80MPH! "Hide the children, Mike's coming!!!" Has your reckless, lawless behavior (you evil, baby-eating, LAW BREAKER, you!!) compulsively driven you you to drive "faster and more dangerous and...." ???
(A mother weeps over her daughters broken body: "If only Mike hadn't violated the speed limit back in 2002," (When he started his rampage of horror.) "my child would still be alive....")
As others have pointed out, the "slippery slope" argument is pretty weak.
Based on this thread I did some tests yesterday with my 98 Neon R/T (16V DOHC). I could not accelerate in fifth from 1000 rpm, but it accelerated fine at 1100. The engine is redlined at 7000. I consider this amazing flexibility compared to something like my old MG-TD or TR-3.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.