Everyone wants to know the ways they can conserve the most gas. Various additive products exist that supposedly improve a car’s fuel economy, but these products are met with skepticism by experts. You will find a couple of things that will help for sure like hypermiling. However, one driving technique that some associate with fuel economy – coasting in neutral as the engine is idling – has little to do with effective hypermiling, reports Popular Mechanics. Not only does it not save gas, but it is unsafe.
While coasting in neutral, one can’t accelerate
When coasting and seeing road hazards, accelerating to keep away from isn’t an option. Not only that, but handling around sharp corners is severely hampered while coasting in neutral. This is as the engine is disconnected from the drive train at that time.
Saving gas?
It is an illogical claim that a car experiences greater fuel economy while coasting in neutral. When a car is just sitting there, Popular Mechanics explain one gallon of gas goes each hour. You will use .033 gallons of gas just being in neutral down a mile hill at 30 mph.
There is still rpm
The pulse-width-modulated wave signal varies between 5 percent and 80 percent just when the car is idling to when the car has full throttle going. There is more rpm with percentage going up meaning more gas is being used. 1,000 rpm is what the idle rpm is. Of course your automobile may be a little different. At that point, the car’s fuel injection starts adding fuel to keep the engine from stalling out. The driver feels a rev up at the same moment a pulse increases on the oscilloscope. Thus, gas is really being wasted when the car shifts into neutral, claims Popular Mechanics.
Trip computer tricks
When a car is in neutral, the trip computer sees something different than what is happening. Increased mileage which is a “false positive” is shown to your computer. That’s why gallons into the tank divided by odometer mileage (and checked against a handheld GPS device) are more useful when analyzing fuel economy. All told, Popular Mechanics believes that drivers will conserve more fuel if they simply turn off the engine at a traffic light than if they used the unsafe driving technique of coasting in neutral.
Popular Mechanics
popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/coasting-in-neutral-fuel-economy
A “gravity hill” in Chenju, South Korea
youtube.com/watch?v=yBXjwnc51Pc
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