Quote:
Originally Posted by vtec-e
MisterJeeves,
You say you get better mpg (than DFCO) in neutral. That sounds right. You will coast further in neutral than DFCO. You, with a 2.3 litre, would experience savage engine braking while DFCO'ing. This loss of speed would have to be made up at some point with the resultant loss of mpg. Coasting would use fuel while doing so but there would be a net saving over DFCO.
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There's a big exception to this, however, on long hills. If a hill is long enough so that you need to brake while coasting (to avoid going out of control...or to avoid a speeding ticket), it's better to stay in gear and let the engine brake (i.e. DFCO). I have this exact case on my commute home from work. I have to go down a long hill (about 1 mile of 6-8% grade) with lots of curves. I just stay in gear and let the engine brake and then near the bottom of the hill I shift to neutral (to gain some extra kinetic energy) and coast as far as possible. I end up getting about 1 mile of no fuel use and almost another mile of very low fuel use (coasting). Of course, I pay for it in the morning on the way up to work...