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Originally Posted by Xist
Neil, I had wondered what exactly happened when you downshift going downhill.
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My dad taught me to downshift whenever possible, instead of braking.
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We'll teach you not to leave the car in gear, unless you really want to slow down or need to control speed when going downhill.
Shifting down means you're still braking.
While it's more efficient than staying on the gas longer, and then slamming on the brakes, you're still braking, thus wasting energy.
Look even further ahead, and shift into neutral when you want to slow down (obviously, on level ground or going UPhill).
You'll still slow down by aerodynamic and mechanical drag, but you'll go a lot further overall, on less gas.
Hardcore hypermilers even shut down the engine when gliding along
(Bit of caution : you'll lose powersteering instantly, and power brakes after only a few dabs at the pedal.)
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He gets up to 56 MPG in his Focus SFE, while I replaced the clutch on my 1987 Honda Prelude Si three times, and then the transmission went out.
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Over how many miles ?
You could be downshifting too aggressively, which is hard on the clutch.
Did dad teach you to rev-match when shifting down ?