Slowing down in neutral vs in gear

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""Oh how I miss those spirited runs on curvy and hilly VA and WV roads. I am dying of boredom driving down here in FL... no hills, no curves... just going straight.""


What are you talking about??? We have plenty of on and off ramps!!
 
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Doesn't slowing down/coming to a stop in neutral use less gas then slowing down in gear on a late model car?

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I'm going with no. The car's momentum powers your accessories when you're slowing down in gear. I recorded my best single-tank mileage in my Mazda3 going through the mountains, using a lot of double-clutching and almost no brakes.

If I'm coming to a stop where I won't be moving again right away I pull it out of gear into neutral at low speed at around 800-900 rpm, often without using the clutch. If it's a stop and go, I disengage the clutch at around 800-1000rpm and put it into first when the car, and consequently the transmission, are at rest.
 
When I was driving in mountainous regions of France they actually posted signs on long steep grades to the effect of "use engine to slow down".

The main reason I can't drive many automatic cars is the loss of the ability to use engine braking
 
or you could just drive something like a ford ranger..
my 2002 4x4 was so unaerodynamic (i didnt even have a light bar) it would maintain 65mph on steep grades in the PA mountains.
 
I've been driving stick shifts for over 30 years. I was taught right from the get go that coasting in neutral was bad practice, dangerous (especially for big trucks), and illegal. I'm always rowing the gearbox either up or down depending upon conditions and I ALWAYS down shift and use engine braking to my advantage to slow down. If done properly any additional clutch wear is minimal. Coasting to a stop in neutral will definitely use up your brakes much faster.
 
Coasting to a stop in neutral uses no brakes B~)

Sure, you can brake with automatics...my four speed autos allow me to select any gear 1-4. I often use this method of slowing quickly when on snow/slippery surfaces, because it does a better job of maximal slowing while maintaining steering...oh, they're all-wheel drive vehicles. I wouldn't recommend this on two-wheel drive vehicles. Nor would I recommend it to someone that hasn't practiced it extensively somewhere other than public roads.
 
I wonder if the rules/laws about not coasting in neutral were written 50+ years ago when stalling was more of a problem than today?

Also, I think many of the instant fuel economy indicators can be fooled by high vacuum conditions such as downshifting with the throttle closed. Many of those analog instant MPG gauges are nothing more than a vacuum gauge.

I can't say what the BMW uses, but it wouldn't shock me if it were just that.
 
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Coasting to a stop in neutral uses no brakes B~)

Sure, you can brake with automatics...my four speed autos allow me to select any gear 1-4. I often use this method of slowing quickly when on snow/slippery surfaces, because it does a better job of maximal slowing while maintaining steering...oh, they're all-wheel drive vehicles. I wouldn't recommend this on two-wheel drive vehicles. Nor would I recommend it to someone that hasn't practiced it extensively somewhere other than public roads.

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I would submit that even attempting this with an AWD vehicle could be problematic. When you shift to a lower gear with an automatic it goes RIGHT NOW, unless you've exceeded the VSS programming built into the ECU. If you're on snow or ice and the speed is a little too high the jerk into a lower gear might put you into a spin before you even realized what happen. I agree it takes alot of practice and knowledge of your vehicle's shift points.

One of the reasons on my top ten list as to why I dislike automatics in poor weather. Down shifting with a stick shift in poor weather is much safer IMHO because you can coordinate the gas and clutch to execute a smooth and jerk free down shift.
 
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Coasting to a stop in neutral will definitely use up your brakes much faster.

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I am not following this statement. To me, coasting means having no foot on either the clutch, brake, or gas pedal, while the manual transmission is in neutral. If you coast to a stop and apply the brakes at say 10mph, what is the difference in brake pad wear from downshifting to fifth, fourth, third, second, then first (which presumably would then put you in a 10mph range), then applying the brakes?

Seems to me brake pad wear would have to do with what the speed of the car was when you applied the brakes, and with what force you pressed the pedal, not whether you happen to be coasting in neutral when you began the process.
driving.gif
 
I always throw mine in neutral maybe 100 feet before coming to a stop. Now I will do it if it comes out easy without putting the clutch in.
 
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Coasting to a stop in neutral will definitely use up your brakes much faster.

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I am not following this statement. To me, coasting means having no foot on either the clutch, brake, or gas pedal, while the manual transmission is in neutral. If you coast to a stop and apply the brakes at say 10mph, what is the difference in brake pad wear from downshifting to fifth, fourth, third, second, then first (which presumably would then put you in a 10mph range), then applying the brakes?

Seems to me brake pad wear would have to do with what the speed of the car was when you applied the brakes, and with what force you pressed the pedal, not whether you happen to be coasting in neutral when you began the process.
driving.gif


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If we use your example: 10 MPH. Having the transmission in 5th, 4th, or 3rd would have little engine braking affect and your statement is valid. But if you down shifted to 2nd gear and let the clutch out engine braking DOES have an affect at reducing brake pad wear.

When you are cruising and initially apply the brakes there is no real difference between coasting in neutral or in gear. But doesn't the greatest brake wear occur when coming to a stop? I believe it does. And this where you can use engine braking to an advantage.
 
That would eat your clutch really quick. Since brake pads are cheap and easy to replace I prefer to brake to stop. In winter with a RWD it's also much safer.
Downhill, I prefer to let the engine do the braking (to maintain the speed, not to stop).
 
Going through every gear while slowing to a stop is, IMO, wasteful. It causes extra wear on the clutch and transmission. However, I don't believe that putting it in neutral while slowing is the optimal method either.

Here's an example of my method I described in my earlier post (I don't want to be repetitive, but I don't think anyone understood me):

My freeway exit has me exiting the freeway at 80 mph, going down a hill to a light where I make an unprotected left turn at about 15 mph. As I exit the freeway I just leave it in 5th gear all the way down the offramp. This causes my speed to actually decrease as I go downhill. If I shifted to neutral, I'd be speeding up. So brakes are saved.

If the light is red as I approach I simply stay in 5th down to about 800 rpm. This puts me at a little under 10 mph. Then, before the engine bogs down, I put her in neutral and brake off the last few mph. If the light is green when I get to it, I simply drop out of 5th, double clutch directly into 2nd and make my turn.

I believe that this method gives me the benefits of engine braking, better fuel economy than coasting in neutral, and doesn't put ANY additional wear on my clutch or transmission.
 
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Going through every gear while slowing to a stop is, IMO, wasteful. It causes extra wear on the clutch and transmission. However, I don't believe that putting it in neutral while slowing is the optimal method either.

If the light is red as I approach I simply stay in 5th down to about 800 rpm. This puts me at a little under 10 mph. Then, before the engine bogs down, I put her in neutral and brake off the last few mph. If the light is green when I get to it, I simply drop out of 5th, double clutch directly into 2nd and make my turn.

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IMHO, that's the way to drive a standard.
 
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I always leave my car in gear when slowing or stopping, but I don't downshift. This way there is no wear on the clutch or transmission, less wear on the brakes, and I figure that worse case I'm using the same amount of fuel as idling to a stop. Doing this allowed me to do 40,000 miles of pizza delivery averaging 28-29 mpg in a car rated for 25 city and has allowed my brakes to last forever. My front brakes were on the car when I bought it, I've had it for 98,000 miles and they still have 45% of the pad left!

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Nice!!! we have similar driving styles!

cheers.gif


JMH
 
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I always leave my car in gear when slowing or stopping, but I don't downshift. This way there is no wear on the clutch or transmission, less wear on the brakes, and I figure that worse case I'm using the same amount of fuel as idling to a stop. Doing this allowed me to do 40,000 miles of pizza delivery averaging 28-29 mpg in a car rated for 25 city and has allowed my brakes to last forever. My front brakes were on the car when I bought it, I've had it for 98,000 miles and they still have 45% of the pad left!

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Nice!!! we have similar driving styles!

cheers.gif


JMH

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I'll join you on that one.
cheers.gif
 
Well guys, I guess we'll just agree to disagree. It's a matter of driving style. But I can tell you this...I've always used down shifting techniques. Does it contribute to additional clutch and transmission wear? I dunno because on at least 3 vehicles that I've owned in the past they went over 100K miles on the original clutch and sold them with the factory clutch intact. And one vehicle (1983 Mazda pickup) had the ORIGINAL brake pads when it blew a headgasket at 106K miles.

So I let experience be my guide. Besides...it's fun!
 
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