Anyone tried this to save gas

You can still steer.

 

I cannot understand how you can get better gas mileage by coasting in neutral! Modern fuel injection systems stop supplying fuel to the engine while coasting and engine speed is above idle. The only exception to this is if the engine is cold as fuel will be added until engine meets minimum operating conditions. During idle or coasting in neutral an engine has to burn fuel to keep the engine running, charge the battery,turn the water pump, oil pump, power steering pump, AC compressor, etc. If you coast in gear you burn no fuel as the engine and all associated gear is being run by the inertia of the vehicle. Simple physics!
This can be verified easy enough if your vehicle has an instantaneous fuel economy indicator. I have driven several cars ( auto and manual) and they all indicate the same results. During coasting and above idle and engine warm, fuel economy is 0 L per 100KM. If you place in neutral, reading will obviously increase as speed decreases. Lowest I observed was 3.1L per 100KM. Highest was 56L just before stopping.
Also:
You will not harm transmission by using it to slow the car down. It is designed to operate this way. It cares little, which way the torque is distributed.

Engine will not stop if fuel is cut off and is in gear. Engine will keep turning and act as an air compressor as long as the rear wheels are turning.

Engine will not cool down if coasting. Well actually, it will cool down slightly if heater is on max. and it's very cold outside and you are descending a very long hill. Even then it will only drop a small amount as there is quite a bit of thermal mass stored in the engine.

You will not burn out the clutch gearing down. 99% of clutch wear occurs starting car off from stand still.

 

Have you even read comments here on why it is possible to get better mpg in neutral? Simple physics, it takes energy to turn your engine as an air compressor, so you slow down.

You aren't using no fuel very often unless you are going down hill. On flat pavement or mild inclines coasting in neutral wins most of the time.

 

You're saying the same thing that we are all saying. The point is, you can coast in neutral a hell of a lot farther than you can in gear. So just because you're getting better fuel economy at the instant you begin engine braking, doesn't mean it's more economical over a long distance because you lose speed.

 

I think that's true if you keep the revs up on the truck hence net drag but if the revs are just above idle and gear down as speed decreases I think the results will be the same as if left in neutral.

Anyway, this sounds like a challenge for the myth busters. I like the one where they dimpled the cars body like a golf ball and got a significant gain in gas mileage. Something to think about for the hyper miler crowd.

 

If you continue to gear down, you will continue to lose speed. When you're in neutral you can maintain speed, or even accelerate. The way to get the best fuel economy is to use a combination of both techniques for different scenarios.

 

Fuel is burned at just above idle, that is why it doesn't work, you need to be above 1500 rpm in most vehicles.

I am a hypermiler, no amount of downshifting through gears works on flat ground. Sure you can take advantage if you already are trying to stop, but usually I'm in neutral and coasting without wanting to stop.

Mythbuster would have an easy time proving coasting saves gas. Me and every hypermiler have already proven it to ourselves beyond any doubt.

 

I dont know about your truck but my steering wheel locks when I try to turn when I have my taco off

 

You keep the key in the run position. Of course you can't turn with the wheel locked in the off position, no one said to do that.

 

See above.

 

Did anyone mention the law against coasting in neutral applies to highway driving

 

While I do hypermile as part of my regular driving, it is of the mild variety. Never shut off engine, but I do coast to red lights in neutral when safe. When driving a manual tranny, I have my hand on the shifter at all times when I decelerate whether in neutral or in gear.

I have found the best increase in my mileage, was to learn when to let off the gas approaching the crest of a hill. If I let off a second or two before the crest, then coast down the opposite side of the hill, my mileage really improves.

Other things I do are drafting other vehicles at a 2 to 3 carlength distance that are driving at about the same speed. I shut of the engine when sitting at known long cycle traffic lights longer than a minute, once a car comes to a stop behind me. One light I go through daily can be red up to 4 minutes if you just miss it. No long warm ups, a minute max, but only if really cold. Usually about 15 sec under normal conditions. The $69 Ultragague will pay for itself quicky, it is like the school teacher who always reminds you how to do better.

 

I've been driving a manual since 1985... been coasting in neutral since the day I was taught how to drive. I think the article referring to engine momentum sums it up. A little better on fuel and it's perfectly safe for a driver who is not a complete dumbass and doesn't have the reflexes of a geriatric (I still have a few good years left in me!).