[euromodder]

Originally Posted by camaroman101

what about shutting off the engine when coasting and starting it back up while the car is still in motion? how does one do this?

Try this somewhere quiet, on level ground, without other traffic around.

You will lose powersteering - see how the car handles without power steering.
Dunno about your car, but my Volvo didn't like it at all, with very high resistance in the steering mechanism.

You will lose power brakes, not instantly, but slowly as the vacuum bleeds off.
Power brakes were gone on the 3rd stop from under 20 mph on my Volvo
Yes, I was dumb enough to test it downhill
Couldn't safely stop the car from 45-50mph without engine on, so I always coasted with the engine running.


Shutting off the engine is done by turning the ignition key back one notch, let the engine quit, then advance the key back to it's normal running position (so everything except the engine will work again).

Turning the key to off or acc position :
Don't turn it back all the way, so you won't engage the steering lock.

Returning the key to normal position :
Make sure you don't turn it too far as to not engage the starter engine !


Restarting can be done with either the ignition key, or by bump starting.
Bump starting : al lowish speeds, put the lever in 4 or 5th gear, and let the clutch come up briefly and partially.
This will then kickstart the engine.
Immediately after the engine kicks in, push in the clutch again.
Then shift to a more appropriate gear for the speed you're doing.

Didn't work on my Volvo, as it wouldn't restart.

Some people use a kill-switch, a switch that kills the current to the ignition , turning the engine off.
Modern engine ECUs may not like it ...

as far as shifting goes, in my owners manual it gives normal, agressive, and cruise speeds to shift.
cruise speeds are 12, 18, 25, 32 (5speed) and its what i have been using.
the owners manual says not to skip shift.

The gearbox is clueless as to which gear you were in before ...
There's no issue whatsoever with skipping gears, if that's an appropriate gear for the speed you're doing.
It's been done for ages in Europe - we don't like auto trannies much here

1st is there to start you off, do slow speed manouvring, or to climb very very steep inclines.
Use 2nd or above in other situations.
Shift to 2nd in 1 or 2 car lengths .
12mph is a speed you'd be doing in 2nd, not 1st.

In traffic jams, use 2nd and combine with letting it roll if you're going too slow to tay in 2nd @ idle rpm.
If you can keep rolling, pick it up in 2nd instead of going back to 1st.


Shifting into 1st while still rolling slowly takes skill and good gas/clutch coordination to do it smoothly.
It's a skill you may want to develop, at the cost of some fuel, though it's not used in hypermiling.

With a fixed gear as in a manual, it's your gas foot that's controlling how smooth the car will be driving - not the auto transmission's slip.
As your new to manuals, a good exercise is to start in 1st, then smoothly take it up to a good many rpm (over half of the tacho), then back down to idle rpm - all to be done without any bucking .
Repeat in 2nd.
Repeat until proficient.
Obviously, you might want to do this somewhere quiet.

i've also been shifting into neutral when coasting

It won't give as much benefit as shutting the engine off altogether, but it'll get your MPG up.
Make sure you start the coast early / slow enough, so you get most of the benefit.

It's all a matter of guesstimating the distance you can roll out from a given speed

also what is considered lugging the engine? under 1500 rpm?

There's no set rpm, and it differs a lot from car to car.
Highly dependant on the ECU too - my li'l 1L engine will do 30mph in 5th, without really lugging it .

You can actually hear the engine struggling when you're lugging it.
It doesn't keep a constant speed but will constantly accelerate and decelerate a bit.

Gas pick-up from a lugging situation will also be very sluggish - best way to accelerate out of it, is using the clutch and make a rolling start in a more appropriate gear.

On a thoroughly warm engine, try your gears (2nd and up) while running at idle rpm and see what the engine will pull off.
I got surprisingly good MPG in 4th, at about 20mph
Start on level grounds and see what gives, then try small inclines - the moment you'll experience lugging, you'll hear and or feel it.