Hi all. this might be a stupid question but im hoping someone here can answer this. I read from someone on this forum that one method to save gas (in a M/T car) is to put the gear in neutral and let it ride to a full stop using momentum. For instance..im in 4th gear going 70km/h towards a traffic light. as soon as i see the yellow light, i put it in neutral immediately and just use the momentum of the car to get to the stop line. I know this method is not safe but i want to save gas. My friend told me that it would be more fuel efficient to keep it in gear, then perhaps put it in neutral AFTER coming to a complete stop. The reason for this he said is that if the car is still in gear, the engine can use the built up momentum of the car to keep it going without using gas. If i put it in neutral however, my rpm's will drop to 1000 and it is my car's gas that is keeping it there. i dont know if this makes sense..but yea, any effort to answer this question will be appreicated. thnx

 

I think Road and Track or Car and Driver did an article on this and indeed, a car is more efficient in gear than out.

 

ohh cool. thanks for the response

 

its also illegal to coast in neutral i think.. well in CA at least

 

It is not a stupid question at all in fact, it is a very clever question. Your question is actually my normal driving habit.
Somone pointed out earlier that it would be better to leave it in gear while coasting however you will save gas like you said when approaching to a traffic light chamging to Amber.

I also do the neutral trick all the times downhills and when approaching to my home on my neighborhood. The thing about having control downhill on gear is a pure exageration, unless you are in a very deep incline you don't have to be on gear.

Carlos

 

In CA are you serious? I coast sometimes but i stay at steady MPH and usually go back into gear shortly. I mostly do it when i am coming to a stop and its a red light from far away i just go in neutral and slow down.

 

im pretty sure i read that somewhere.. i do it anyways though when stopping.. haha

 

If you want to save more gas, when coasting or at stop lights just turn the engine off.
Sure you'll use the starter more, but in the long run you will save a ton of gas.
In europe everyone does this.

 

yea i read on yahoo home page that if you're gonna idle youre car for over 30 seconds..you're better off turing the car off

 

That mostly depends on where you live. When I lived in Florida, you could easily do what you say because there are no mountains there. Where I live in California, I'm on the side of a mountain. If I were to slip my car into neutral and coast down it I would be doing 80MPH before I left the residential section. 80+MPH ticket on a 30MPH road is one ticket I do NOT want to have to pay. At any rate, it's not "having control" it's more about maintaining your speed (better control of the vehicle is a side effect) without riding your brakes all the way down the hill, like all the schmucks I follow out of my hood.

 

I also have a habit of putting my car in neutral...
I do it every time all the time when coming to a light, stop, or traffic.
I do notice though when I put it back in gear my engine does some sort of shake if it's on high rpm's.
But wouldn't keeping the car in gear force you to stay on the cluch?
I would rather pay a little bit more for gas than buy another clutch. I may be wrong though, so if I am then correct me please.

 

whenever im at a light i put my car in neutral since ive heard if you keep it in gear youre heating up the clutch or whatnot

 

Yea I heard that it beats up on the pressure plate thing on the clutch.
I probably keep it in neutral more than I keep it in gear. lol

 

I've been getting 27mpg on my way back and forth to school and I haven't done any of this neutral shenanigannery! It's a fools trick!~ Well, I do know it's illegal, so that's enough for me not to do...not to mention it's dangerous.

Personally, I seem to get better MPG when I put it in a gear above what I usually drive. For example, on my way home, about a third of it is at 25mph, so I usually stick it in the second gear. However, today, I decided to play around with it and I stuck it in third gear, and it raised my mileage quite a ways. I did this same at the 35mph areas (instead of third gear, I went to fourth). My total trip mpg on average has raised from ~22 to ~27. Pretty good, if you ask me.

Now, speaking of neutral, I do put my car into neutral if I am at a long stoplight. I don't do it at a stop sign, usually because I'm at a stop sign, then I go. Even if I'm waiting in line, I'll still be moving every 10 seconds or so.

Lol, amber. Red Yellow Green! What's this amber silliness?

 

Since we are on this topic, do you guys shift to 5th at around 45MPH? 45 is the speed limit on my drive to work and school so I generally shift to 5th to keep my RPMs low. So around 1900RPM vs 2500RPM in 4th.

As for the original question, I keep my car in gear most of the time unless traffic is looking stupid ahead of me.... It is also illegal in AZ as well.