fuel economizing driving technique?

[nugundam93]

niky: true. it has a set rpm before it'll allow you to shift up. on the outlander (2.4L gas + invecs2), it'll let you upshift at usually about 2K-2.2K rpm.

i guess depende nga sa a/t yung hold function. ganun kasi for the gen2.5 a/t pajero sa hold function niya, it'll like limit your revs and shift early.

[notEworthy27]

Puwede namang i-manual shift ang INVECS... pero from memory, it won't let you shift up at a very low rpm, right?

yup. actually it has to reach minimal speed at that next gear before you can shift up.

[William Tell]

I read some conflicting statements regarding shifting to neutral when driving. So which is which can it save on fuel or not?

[andre]

Putting on Neutral wont save fuel. It can be dangerous if your on a downhill drive. Cars with avg km/liter fuel computer onboard can attest to this.

[niky]

The answer is difficult to define. It really depends.

If you're travelling long distance, neutral can save some gas. If you're travelling downhill, staying in gear without pressing the gas can also save (get really good Tagaytay and Baguio mileage this way).

Staying in gear if you have an EFI car means you are using no gas at all, and the car's momentum powers your aircon, power steering (depends on car) and alternator. But it causes you to lose momentum more quickly.

Shifting into neutral means you are using a slight amount of gas to keep the car idling and powering the said accessories. But you can coast for very long distances doing this on slight downhills or level highway if your stop is coming up or you see traffic in the distance. Conserving momentum enables you to extend gas conservation.

Shifting into neutral is a valid strategy for fuel economy runs, but in the real world, it's not as safe as keeping the car in gear. Some people scoff at engine braking, saying that it will cause premature wear of the engine, and say that the brakes should be enough.

But we were taught at track school NEVER to coast in neutral in traffic NOR to downshift while braking. Just leave it in the same gear, and only press the clutch when you're nearly stopped.

[William Tell]

Thanks for the info!!

[RafRaf]

... NOR to downshift while braking. Just leave it in the same gear, and only press the clutch when you're nearly stopped.

Traffic stops... your braking in gear... and you've slowed down to the min speed for the lower gear... the traffic ahead starts to move... what do you do next?

a) continue to stay in gear and accelerate
b) downshift to the lower gear directly and accelerate
c) double clutch... clutch shift to nuetral first then clutch and put in lower gear

[niky]

Me? Depends on the speed. My car is kind of torque-y, so I can usually stay in 3rd or 4th, no matter how slow. Sometimes, I just go straight to the gear that would put me around 2k rpm.

Medyo ayaw ng kotse ko ang sobrang babang revs pag nag-e-engage ang clutch, so I try not to change if I don't have to.

[mbt]

if your car has the bottom-end torque, you can get away with not shifting at all, or shifting to a relatively tall gear like 3rd even at 20 kph or something

as long as your engine doesn't lug.

[niky]

That's the beauty of diesels (speaking of my other ride)... they never do.