Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicradish
but they also advised against neutral coasting! They cited that you "lose control of the car". How so? Yes, you do gain speed quicker, but as the driver it is incumbent of you to slow down when you gain too much speed anyway! This fact is independent of whether or not you're coasting in N or D.
argh. getting off the soapbox now.
|
Agreed. Another thing is that at least in this part of the great white north, a well known tip for driving on icy roads is to pop it in neutral when rolling up to a stop. That way you have more control since youve only got gravity and momentum to contend with, and youre not fighting the drivetrain as well.
Now I think about it (Im not exactly in winter mode here), there are many times I put it in neutral going downhill on icy roads for the exact same reason. Engine braking only slows 2 wheels and is more likely to send me skidding than using the brake pedal which slows 4 wheels. Many ways of hypermiling are similar to winter driving; slow down, use little throttle, use little brake, use neutral to avoid engine braking.
Its like if something is California emissions legal, it is good for anywhere else in the US. If a technique is good for the extremes of driving on ice, it certainly shouldnt be considered unsafe on dry road.