[JockoT]

Since joining this forum, and looking at how I can improve my fuel efficiency, my thoughts and perceptions of driving have changed. Now, to be clear, my raison d'être for trying to improve my fuel efficiency is not really to save money (the Scottish government gives people of my age a free pass for bus travel throughout the country, so my wife and I could travel everywhere for free, if we so wished), but to continue using my car as I have always done, just with improved fuel figures. I have to admit, I am treating it as a bit of a game and a challenge.
Most of my daily mileage is here in the town, and consists of 2 journeys, each of 4 miles, and always with a cold engine. The route I take includes 2 sets of lights. I could take a slightly shorter route, but it has 14 sets of lights so I long ago discounted that one.
What would make a huge difference, especially in the cold Scottish winters, would be a block heater, but as I live in flats, well away from my parked car, a block heater is not an option. I do have a garage (no power there either), so in the winter I reverse the car back into the garage between trips.
A thing I have noticed, since starting Pulse and Glide, is that when it is raining, and the road is wet, you do not get as good a Glide as you do when the road is dry. And it rains a lot in Scotland (they are forecasting 60 – 80 mm here, for today).
One thing I have to address, is switching the engine off when I drop my wife off at her work. I am only stopped for about 30 seconds but I am aware that the fuel is being burnt. I’ll wait till I have my ScanGauge fitted, then evaluate whether it would be better to switch off or leave it running.
I do not do Engine Off Coasting. I don’t like the lack of control and loss of power steering (minimal though that is on the Jazz/Fit). I coast with the car in neutral and the engine on. I don’t know what is more sympathetic to the car. Coasting with the clutch down and in gear (wear on clutch release bearing), or, as I do, coasting in neutral with the increased wear on the synchromesh. I decided that as the car is a town car and designed for thousands of gear changes during its life, the synchromesh is probably pretty tough. However, as I said at the beginning, it is all these things I have never given thought to, before joining Ecomodder.