new to manuals, what fuel efficient driving techniques are there?

[camaroman101]

got a new car to see how much it saves me in gas, 98 neon r/t coupe.

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?

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.

i've also been shifting into neutral when coasting

also what is considered lugging the engine? under 1500 rpm?
thanks for any advice

[Frank Lee]

Check out the 100 tips at the top of the page.

[elhigh]

Of course the manual says not to skip shift. But if you're already, for instance, heading downhill and gaining speed whether you press the accelerator or not, why wouldn't you? There are a few places on my commute where I can start in first and skip directly to fifth, merely letting the engine idle as it picks up the clutch. By the time gravity isn't sufficient to maintain the acceleration, I'm moving fast enough that the engine won't lug under the load. If nothing else it avoids a lot of unnecessary accelerator pump squirting.

Hmm. I think your engine is EFI, no accelerator pump involved. Moving on!

Different engines lug at different revs. Your mileage may vary. Mine will start pulling smoothly - that is, I can start making demands on it - at about 30-35 in fifth gear. This is something you can't ask people about, you're just going to have to get to know your engine.

As to engine-off coasting (EOC), first let me make this statement: it's inherently risky and any risks you choose to face are on you. While moving at speed, you simply turn the ignition off, being very careful not to accidentally turn the key back to where the steering locks.

Some people have taken the extra step of removing their ignition lock to file off the locking pawl. That's a little extreme but you won't read about them flying blindly off the road, either. Well, not because their steering locked up.

When your speed drops below what you consider your lower limit, turn the ignition back on, shift into gear and let the clutch out. The vehicle's momentum will spin the engine and it should begin running again. If it's a relatively short coast, especially on a steep hill, I won't shift into neutral, just let the engine spin with the tranny. It's a little smoother that way.

In my hilly downtown area I spend about 60% of my time with the engine off, either coasting or waiting at stop lights. Some people will tell you it's hard on a starter and maybe it is - I'm on my third. Granted the truck is 25 years old, so maybe it isn't too bad.

Good luck with it.

[Frank Lee]

Some people have taken the extra step of removing their ignition lock to file off the locking pawl.

Why?

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by elhigh

As to engine-off coasting (EOC), first let me make this statement: it's inherently risky and any risks you choose to face are on you. While moving at speed, you simply turn the ignition off, being very careful not to accidentally turn the key back to where the steering locks.

Some people have taken the extra step of removing their ignition lock to file off the locking pawl. That's a little extreme but you won't read about them flying blindly off the road, either. Well, not because their steering locked up.

A far better option is to add a kill switch (or push button) to your car. That removes the possibility of locking the steering accidentally.
There are DIY threads about this elsewhere on the site.

An added benefit of the kill switch is that because it's so much easier to use on the move, you end up using EOC more often, so saving more.

[slowmover]

These work for me:

1] The throttle is to move between gears. It has no other function.

2] Road speed is about gear choice. Posted limits are suggestions.

3] Gear choice is about target rpm

4] Target rpm is what works best for the longest periods.

.

[UltArc]

I skip shift. When I am at 6k rpms in first, and I am trying to get to sixth, I am not going to bounce 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th. Nope.

I spend as much time as I can EOC within 5mph of the speed limit, almost always down hill, but I try not to use my starter. I use a kill switch. It really is fantastic.

I hear risk about EOC, but I do not get it. There is nothing I can not do while EOCing that I can do with the engine on. Also, I often keep it "in gear" but engine off, clutch in-so when I pull my foot off, power is instantly back.

[Sean.Heihn]

It's pretty hard to describe how to operate a manual transmission. With an automatic, you press down the gas pedal, you go, want to go faster, press down more. With a manual, not only do you have to use the gas pedal to accelerate , you must select the optimum gear. You get a feel and an ear for how your engine is running. You learn when to shift at what rate of acceleration, when holding in gear is pointless, when shifting too soon bogs down the engine. And that's just when to shift, next you have the clutch, and it's relationship to the gas pedal. Basically the only way to learn all this is through driving.

[PressEnter[]]

I don't EOC that often, but there are a few roads where I can get nice long coasts where it's nice. I flip flip the key off, and immediately back into the ACC position. In my Jetta, I still have power steering and the rest of the electrics if needed. Depending on the road, I like to bump start around 20 mph in 4th, which is so smooth you have to watch the tach to see it happen, then drop the 3rd to accelerate.

[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.