Want more MPG? Trying using your clutch pedal.

With 3-buck-a-gallon gas here to stay, I decided to see what I could do to lengthen the trips between my 35-plus-dollar fill-ups. My first thought was to reduce my highway speed. Well... traveling down the highway at 65 mph lasted about ten miles. Cars were whipping past me and I quickly felt I was going to become a rolling speed bump. That old blue-haired lady didn't just flip me off, did she? Why is that old geezer giving me the evil eye as he passes by? So next I try to never fully depress the gas pedal. Boy, does that ever get boring fast! And talk about needing willpower. Not throttling your Mustang is like being placed in front of a plate of chocolate chip cookies and trying to never give in. That is not going work! What to do? Perplexed, and needing to run some errands, I hop in my daughter's little ZX3 Focus. While driving around I notice (much more noticable than my Mustang) that unless you get off the gas way before you stop you have to scrub off a bunch of speed. So playing around I decide to slip it in neutral and coast up to my next stop. Wow, it's amazing how far a modern car can roll and not lose much speed. On the rest of my stops, and on any downgrades, I slip the car into neutral. Without all the engine braking, this has to help save some gas, right?

So I give the clutch pedal thing a try on my Mustang for the next couple fill-ups. My first fill-up I find I gained an extra mpg. The second fill-up I gain 2 mpg. Ahhh... this is easily explainable you say -- a mile or two per gallon change is insignificant and could be attributed to many factors. Okay, but keep in mind I've checked my gas mileage at nearly every fill-up for the last 3 =BD years and I have never gotten 21 and 22 mpg with the driving I do. Never. My old 5-oh consistently gets 19-20, and I mean consistently.

Seems this simply change nets me a couple few bucks at every fill-up. And the best thing is I can still drive 75-85 mph on the highway AND be able floor it anytime I get the urge.

Give it a shot and see if it works for you... just be sure to get your coasting speed/distance right so you're not backing up or slowing down traffic.

Patrick

Reply to
NoOption5L
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Coasting with the car in neutral can place you in jeopardy... should you be placed in a situation where you encounter the sudden need to increase speed, you will find yourself ill prepared for it - let us remember that we aren't the only ones on the roads and none of these other cars are labelled "IM STUPID"...

Accidents happen when at least two bad situations meet... a neutral coastdown is bad situation number one - now we only need one more.

Try a neutral coastdown when taking your drivers exam and you will still be riding the bus... "Mexican Overdrive" has ended more than one truck drivers career...

After a while of doing this, you will experience the tendency to keep the clutch depressed and preselect the next gear you expect to need... ever see what happens to a clutch when someone selects 1st at 60 mph?

Not to poo-poo your idea, I just don't think that it has been thought all the way through..

FWIW, we're at about $4.25/US gallon.

Reply to
Jim Warman

It may be a good idea for saving gas, buy just FYI, coasting in neutral is illegal in many (most?) states...

Reply to
Garth Almgren

Do the newer Mustangs have a synchronized 1st gear? IIRC, if it isn't, you can't shift into first until you get below a certain speed. On my 96 Passport, you had to be doing like 20 before you could even get into first on a downshift. On the 89Gt however, I can get into it whenever I want.

Just wondering,

Don Manning

Reply to
Don Manning

On Wed, 10 May 2006 22:15:55 -0700, Garth Almgren puked:

Seriously? I took my driver test in 1980 in an automatic. Since then I've been driving sticks intermittently and was never aware that there was such a law...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Reply to
lab~rat >:-)

I thought the modern car used less fuel throttle closed in gear than idling in neutral out of gear ?

Reply to
Jimbo.....

I would miss that satisfying grumble as the car slows in gear.

dwight

Reply to
dwight

Yes, these cars have synchronized first gears... condition and design of the blocker rings and such can make it difficult for gear speeds to become synchronous and allow engagement...

There remains the risk that conditions can develop that will allow a bonehead manoeuver. Enough things go wrong in life without going looking for them...

Reply to
Jim Warman

My big block 1969 Camaro used a B&M manual valve body to shift the turbo 400 automatic trans. When I backed off the throttle the car free-wheeled like being in neutral. It was hard on brakes with no engine braking to assist. Was it better on gas? I didn't noticed any difference. (I didn't really care either) Was it fun to drive? Hell YES!!!!! Back off the throttle and then nail it. The engine free revved until it caught up to the drive train and then would just smoke those Mickey Thompson M50 x 15" tires.

Reply to
redneckmutha

I don't get that whole argument, unless you're talking about heavy trucks with a lot of weight and the need to double-clutch.

In a car or light truck it only takes an instant to get back into gear unless your clutch or transmission is shot. In almost 30 years of driving I've never felt vulnerable while coasting to a stop on a fairly level road. I watch everything that's going on around me and the few times I've had to shift back into gear have been easy.

It only takes a second or less to shift into gear from neutral. When you're already in neutral you can more quickly choose whatever gear best suits the emergency situation (it may not be the gear you were using to slow down).

When coming to a stop on a relatively level road, I see no safety advantage to rowing through the gears. It just burns out the clutch prematurely and could cause you to stall in the more common scenario of needing to brake suddenly. If you're always wanting to accelerate your way out of situations, especially when you know there's a stop ahead, you're probably a reckless speediot.

I don't know how far you downshift, but taking it all the way to 2nd or 1st gear is ridiculous. I downshift to 3rd at most, unless there's a steep hill before a stop. Then, I coast the rest of the way so I'm in neutral, ready to get back into 1st. It's all a matter of balancing what the brakes can do vs. engine compression. Brakes are much cheaper to replace than a clutch.

There are obviously situations where you need to downshift, like long grades or when you clearly need to re-accelerate. But you can plan for all that. Downshifting routinely as the converse of up-shifting is a waste of time and drivetrain life.

People keep saying it's illegal to coast in neutral but I've yet to see such a law. It may have applied to older cars with clunkier clutches and transmissions. Large trucks definitely should avoid coasting for all but the briefest distances, but cars are much more controllable.

If you're lame enough to select 1st at 60 you're just a bad driver. I've been coasting for decades below ~40 MPH while coming to a stop and I've never had the need to hold down the clutch and wear out the pilot bearing. "Coasting in" is a much more relaxing way to drive than constantly working the gears. You can save thousands of shifts per year.

I think people who downshift all the time are trying to act like race car drivers. It's unnecessary in typical traffic when you _know_ you'll have to stop in 100 yards or so. The time it takes to shift into gear from neutral is very brief and well within safety limits when you're approaching a stop and slowing down anyway. If you can anticipate that the light is going to turn green soon, you plan accordingly and stay in gear.

F.W.

Reply to
Non scrivetemi

In almost 30 years have driving, have you ever noticed how long it takes for an accident to occur?

It takes much less than a second for you to stop being smug and become a statistic... Lord knows I've scraped enough of them up off the road when I was active in the fire department.

Where did I mention "rowing through the gears"? And where did I mention "always" accelerating out of a bind... Accelerating out of an impending accident is but ONE possibility... If you are in neutral, you no longer have this option.

I like that "when you clearly" part... If it were that easy, we wouldn't have any accidents because everybody would be clearly aware of everything.

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?Type=Statute&Statute=32-24-2
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haven't looked is why you haven't seen...

Once again, looking at statistics, we can see there are thousands of "lame" drivers (and ex-drivers... and ex-live drivers). Once again, a reference to "working the gears"...I see no reason for you to try and put words in my mouth. If it is such a chore, buy an automatic...

The time it takes to place the car in gear and accelerate out of a situation where braking would be an inappropriate choice could make all the difference in the world. However, it is yopur car and your skin... feel free to do as you choose... when push comes to shove, show some integrity and answer truthfully when a LEO asks questions.

As for you driving for nearly 30 years... I am truly impressed.... That means you were most likely still pissing in your drawers when I got my licence in 1966...

Good judgement comes from experience... unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement...

Reply to
Jim Warman

Ask and ye shall receive:

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Plus, do a search on Google for "coasting prohibited" including the quotes. The top 10 results are laws for WA, OK, NH, CA, MT, KY, AZ, AK, and HI.

Reply to
Garth Almgren

I had no dog in this fight, I did as you said and searched...

Seams the laws are in reference to costing down hills, only...

RCW 46.61.630 Coasting prohibited.

(1) The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a down grade shall not coast with the gears of such vehicle in neutral.

(2) The driver of a commercial motor vehicle when traveling upon a down grade shall not coast with the clutch disengaged.

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61-8-362. Coasting prohibited. The driver of a motor vehicle when traveling upon a downgrade may not coast with the transmission of the vehicle in neutral or with the clutch manually disengaged.

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Reply to
My Names Nobody

Well, coasting *uphill* in neutral won't get you very far, will it? :)

Reply to
Garth Almgren

The original poster was not trying to go very far was he???

"Wow, it's amazing how far a modern car can roll and not lose much speed. On the rest of my stops,"

???

Reply to
My Names Nobody

I don't recall seeing "downhill" mentioned here...

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. I imagine a good, downhome paper chase would reveal some startling finds.... The internet is not the "be all, end all" that many seem to think.... yet. There are many ways to be stupid and few to be smart...

Reply to
Jim Warman

Depends on which way you're headed....

Reply to
WindsorFox

This is the most ridiculous law, rule, argument... whatever, that I have ever read. Ranks right in there with the tag on a mattress that reads do not remove under penalty of law. What sense does it make and who would ever know? They might as well go further and outlaw lazy, slow shifts. You're allowing your car to be out of gear too long. Or go even a step further and just ban manual transmissions all together. How dare we risk lives with a transmission that requires the car to be out of gear in order to shift? And this brings me to who is ever going to know you're coasting. Is a cop really going know or better yet care enough to ticket you for coasting? I'd love to see that one in court! My final point: I can slap my car back in gear and accelerate faster than many lesser powered vehicles can accelerate being in gear and punching it. Should we not ban these underpowered cars too?

Patrick

Reply to
NoOption5L

The cops can only tell during the post mortem; then they attach the ticket to the corpse.

Reply to
Bob Willard

Please explain

Reply to
WindsorFox

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