Tip of the Day - Weird Way to Save Gas
A reader wrote in and wondered if you could save money on gas by putting the car in nuetral when you hit a downhill stretch. There is probably a small fuel savings for anyone who does this but I wouldn't advise it. I know that I'd feel out of control coasting in nuetral. If necessary, you couldn't hit the gas for a shot of acceleration...
And you couldn't use engine braking if you built up too much speed.
But back to the question, would it save gas?
I took a Lexus RX400h (a hybrid) from Los Angeles to San Francisco recently. Every time I came to a downgrade I backed off the gas. Naturally, the engine shut down, which is even better than putting a car in nuetral. However, unless the downhill was really steep, I lost so much speed I had to get back on the gas to stay up with traffic. By the end of the tank, I didn't really see a significant savings.
So, if you're really concerned about saving gas, there are probably better -- and safer -- ways to do it than to coast in the mountains.
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- Philip Reed February 1, 2007, 2:50 PM
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My insurance doubled after I hit a fence after learning about brake fade the hard way. More than made up for any gas savings (not that I was in neutral... just an ill equipped car for going either up or down any hill).
Also, automatic transmission logic has gotten good enough that some will do worse in neutral than in drive. This according to Top Gear in the episode where Clarkson tried driving an Audi A8 diesel from London to Edinburgh and back on one tank.
Coasting in neutral is illegal in most states.
Some other hypermiling tricks, like tailgating, are also illegal.
Does the saying, "penny wise and pound foolish" apply to this kind of driving? Ah well, I guess we're back to moderate acceleration and driving the speed limit as the best way to save gas. Although, I heard that every car has a sweet spot and it isn't always the speed limit.