Quote:
Originally Posted by adam728
My Mazda is a prime example, lift your foot off the gas at 55 and the short gearing engine brakes you to 35 (injectors off the whole time) in the same distance that it would coast down to only 47-48 mph or so in neutral. So I'll actually have to get back on the throttle to make it to the intersection on the way to work, using more gas than an engine off neutral coast would. But that still doesn't mean its burning fuel while coasting down.
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That's the way Congress does its accounting. They compare how much a 1000 foot high border fence with frickin' laser beams would cost ($infinite) to how much money their proposal for a 500 foot fence would spend over a holiday weekend ($0) and announce their proposal as a cost cutting measure, ignoring the fact that a 500 foot high fence is still excessive. Your approach to the intersection on the way to work involves the same accounting stunt. You hit the engine brake and say "look Ma, no gas!" right before you have to hit the gas again to make it to your stop. You accomplish a few moments of zero gas being burned at the expense of burning more gas on your trip.
So yes, you are burning gas even if it doesn't look like it at the moment because the way you get the few moments of zero increases the amount of gas you have to burn on the way to your intersection. I worded it exactly the way I meant it.