EJeff8

I do both at certain points of the day but which one saves me better gas mileage if I'm in that slow moving, saving gas mood?

Method 1: Shifting through each gear all the way to 5, but shifting to about the minimum RPM the next gear can drive properly at.

Method 2: Jumping through 1-3-5 or starting from 2-4-5. Less gears to go through but each previous gear needs more RPMs to allow the next to drive properly.

Opinions?

Jaynik

I am a pizza driver and I get great MPG with method 1. I have never tried method 2 but it sounds annoying as hell.

I like to get to 4th or 5th as soon as possible, also, put the clutch in and use hills to maintain speed as well as putting the clutch in and coasting to red lights/stop signs/turns.

slogfilet

iTrader: (1)

Method 1 will keep your rpms down and generally yield better fuel economy.

I do sometimes skip a gear (usually 4th) if I need to accelerate more quickly in 3rd to reach cruising speed (like on an onramp.) Then I sometimes go right into 5th if I have sufficient rpms.

Anyone do it differently?

slogfilet

iTrader: (1)

Actually, coasting in gear will save gas on most cars. Fuel supply is cut off when the engine is turning but there is no throttle. It's called deceleration fuel cutoff (DFCO), sometiems just referred to as engine braking. It will use less gas than coasting in neutral (where you're still idling.)

nic_nac

^^this...

masterEF

on my ef i used to shift at around 1500 because i had a loud exhaust and cops were around
best fuel economy right there if ur in the city

singlecamslamed

But what about drag? Doesn't the motor cause drag and slow the car down? As apposed to neutral with a lot less drag, so you coast further.

SHG_Claudio

Yeah but what do you think saves more gas? Its idleing vs slowing down. If youre in neutral it doesnt slow down much less than being in gear

slogfilet

iTrader: (1)

So if you're approaching a red light, and you need to stop anyway, do it in gear (well, except for the part where you're actually *stopped*.) Yes, coasting in gear will slow you down faster than in neutral.

I also like to coast down hills... I do it in gear, rather than in neutral. The downgrade is uaually more than enough to keep me from slowing down.

Taking your foot off the gas and coasting in your current gear won't really slow you down that much. However, downshifting will definitely slow you down, as energy is transferred from the forward motion of the car to increase the rotation speed of the engine. Hence downshifting = engine braking.

SHG_Claudio

Yeah. Another thing I do when coasting downhill is:

1- Put it in neutral

2- Turn off the engine

3- Wait 2 seconds and turn key back to ignition.

4- Coast

5- When almost stopped or need to accelerate again, put into 5th gear and dump the clutch. This will turn the engine back on without using needing to use fuel to start the motor. This method allows you to be in neutral and not use gas idleing.

Note: If you keep braking for more than 20 seconds, your brake booster will run out of vacuum so do realize that the brake pedal will get hard but it still works, dont freak out! Even with the engine off it works normal, Im just saying if you brake for a while it will slowly become hard.

EJeff8

So, engine braking saves gas where as coasting in neutral uses more gas. I'm having a hard time digesting this because physics says otherwise, no?

SHG_Claudio

Engine braking doesn't save gas. Engine braking can be a downside because it slows you down( sometimes you need to like at the bottom of a hill or sometimes you dont like if youre at the highway)

Engine braking prevents the engine from getting fuel. You want to use the least amount of fuel possible.

Coasting in neutral requires fuel to be injected in the motor to keep it running at idle.

EJeff8

These two contradict each other but I think I understand it.

When engine braking, the engine is sustained by the forward movement of the car and the fact that it keeps the crank spinning. Downside is though, is that it will slow you down and should only be used in stopping or slowing situations.

Even though you still move when you coast, the fact that it's in neutral breaks the connection of the movement to the crank, therefore causing the engine to give fuel to keep the crank moving to sustain the engine. So while it doesn't slow you down, it stills causes the engine to use fuel BUT causes it to use less fuel than in gear.

Got it.

SHG_Claudio

Correct. But if you turn off the engine, you will benefit from both.

EJeff8

Yeah, but it involves a little too much work and if you forget to putvthe key back in the right spot or f-up dumping the clutch, you'll have some pissed off ****'s behind yah.

SHG_Claudio

I mean, you dont have to dump the clutch. You could just start it up in neutral normally.

EJeff8

Ah, indeed.

18237sja

shift around 3k rpm

EJeff8

^I usually try two. 3 seems like I'm getting in that gas guzzle range.

SHG_Claudio

3k? Damn, I shift at like 1,500-2 max on my D16Z6 :-(

NotAJDMFanBoy

lugging the motor can be bad.

When I'm coasting, I usually shift to 5th. There is a long, not too steep hill on my way to work. I will go from cruising at 35 in 4th gear, I shift to 5th and coast down the hill a block and it changes to 40.

It is easier to do some of these things when you are familiar with the area and don't have traffic.

There's a lot nobody has gone over on this site about fuel economy. Everything from minimizing drag from wind, changing to LED lights to create less draw and less work for the alternator and thus less the engine needs to do. Compression ratios...

PSU

iTrader: (2)

This.

I also coast to stops and get to 5th gear as quickly as possible.

ken9

Well if you love driving standard then go with method 1. This's how i learn to drive and slowing down i downshift not neutral..

CrAzE191st

I always coast in neutral to a stop, if i stay in gear my car drags a lot and will always stop short to the point where I need to give it more gas.

apexi_rsx

when u shift early and the motor bogs its going to take more fuel and air to get it to move or accelerate. shifting between 2500-3k would be best i usually shift 2nd-20mph,3rd -30mph ,4th -40mph and so on. even at idle ur not burning much gas its no diff then sitting at a light with ur car idling. some of these ideas are ridiculous you might as well turn ur car off evern when ur stopping at a red light. best gas mileage would be to get a dx or lx transmission to see best results.