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OK, I see what your saying. Gosh all of our locals already drive downhill like that with manuals. I think everyone just calls it "gearing down" but when I hear that motor start to scream just BELOW my cutoff of 2,500 RPM, then all I see is a lot of gas being wasted. I know brakes wear out and are not cheap, but I think on the modest inclines I will continue to go EOC with the key in ON RPM-0, and when it slows down too much (or traffic forces me) I'll bump start it until I reach another hill top. I do not believe DFCO helps me very much because these Cobalt XFEs are geared in a way that most of my driving remains well below 2,300 RPM = 55-60MPH in 5th gear on flat land once the speed is meet. So when I hit the 70 zone my RPM goes above the DFCO of 2,500 and I normally have to keep the gas down for a bit to drive safe enough not to get run over by a semi.
And although many truck drivers have been very cool to me via the CB Radio, and have got me out of tickets and around plenty of traffic jams, I still get nervous when one of these drivers hits a hill top at 70MPG and is going over 80MPH by the bottom of the climb and then the whole thing repeats in the rolling hills in here the foothills. I think Michigan had a lower speed limit for Big Trucks, and I think we need it hear in Kentucky. We sure have had our share of lives lost due to interstate wrecks involving semi trucks.
So anyone trying to run EOC down a hill here on the 70MPH interstates has to keep one eye on the rear view mirror or else risk getting read-ended. I used to stick to the interstates until I got my first car with a AVG MPG gauge (the car I now own). I realize now that 70-80MPH really lowers your average gas bill A LOT!- I guess way back in the 70's ole Carter was right about 55MPH saving gas, (lives too) despite all of the people that disagreed. I can clearly see the savings in my car anyway, I guess other cars are different.
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