Just increased my mpg's from 14 - 18.25

So i've always thought of myself as i conservative driver, and have recently been getting around 14-15 mpg on mixed driving. (winter gas in Maine). I decided to do a little test and see what the absolute best mpg i could get would be...i changed two main things in how i drive:

costing in N (standard) when ever going down hill
and not going 75mph on the highway (i now stay at 60 mph)

just by doing these two things i was able to get 18.25 mpg ON WINTER GAS!

going for the 400 club this summer.....i use to be a skeptic but i'm starting to believe!

never thought my driving style would have THAT much effect?

just wanted to share!

 

In Arizona it's illegal to coast in neutral. That said I did it all the time... just FYI.

 

Newer vehicles use NO fuel when the vehicle coasts in gear including tacomas. If you have a scangauge you can see this.

 

great info thanks! looks like to maine reason was lowering the highway speed than!

 

But the transmission will slow your progress while in gear going down a hill. In neutral you gain more momentum and can continue to coast further. I have always done this with all my manual transmission vehicles. If my RPMs drop from 2000+ to a little above 1000, I figure I've got to be saving at least a little gas.
Obviously I'm not going to go above the speed limit though while doing this. I'm a very defensive driver. 10+ years ago, I was the opposite.

 

So by getting 4.25 miles per gallon more you can squeeze an extra 85 miles out of a 20 gallon tank. The tradeoffs are 15 mph less than the speed limit and coasting out of gear.

If you are that worried about gas mileage you should sell your truck and get a prius.

I cant see worrying about gas mileage so much that i have to coast down hills.

 

Well I managed to go from 17 to 15 by upgrading my dam tires + roof rack, there is no hope for me now so f it

 

Yup, roll to stops or down hills in gear. No need to N on most newer vehicles.

 

If the engine is on, it's burning fuel. Otherwise it'd be off...

 

I'm not worried about it..just wanted to know what was the best MPG's i could get ....

 

new ones must run on air now if coasting,, news to me

 

do a search on "hyper-milers"...then turn in your man-card.

just kidding dude. driving style is everything. hypermilers do some crazy stuff to save fuel.

 

Aren't you wearing out the breaks quicker now if you are coasting down hill trying to maintain the proper speed limit?

 

Ours do not. Most vehicles that do do this, such as the Charger's 5.7L Hemi's... only shut off half the cylinders, not all. Shutting all cylinders down would be illegal in most states (such as Arizona) where it would leave the vehicle in an 'out of control' state. The exception to that of course would be hybrids, but it's using an electric engine when the gas is off.

Also, I had a 2005 ranger with the 3.0 V6... it did not shut anything down... to the best of my knowledge the 4 bangers and 4.0's don't either. There may have been some design changes since, but I was under the impression Rangers haven't changed hardly at all.

 

Here you go from Toyota... http://www.caranddriver.com/feature...to_a_stop_2c_do_not_shift_into_neutral_page_3

 

Yep,

I had a wideband 02 sensor in my turbo honda accord I had before the taco. It had an Air/Fuel ratio readout in digits on the display. Whenever I let off the gas going down a hill (in gear)the display would go "lean" meaning little or no fuel added to the mixture.

 

Thats a great point...i wonder what the cost savings analysis would be...how much $ over time saved on gas and less where on the engine from not engine breaking...compared to the cost of wearing out the brakes sooner....

 

Hmm that is interesting... however it's saying there is fuel running while in neutral if I read that right. Also, it's not specific to Tacoma's... It'd be interesting to know exactly what's going on. However, if it's in gear and it has no fuel, it's still technically 'in control.' The only challenge I present to that article is why would there still be an exhaust note while coasting in gear?

 

What about down shifting to slow down. Does this use alot of gas?