Do you "coast"?

[Flatland2D]

When going downhill do you put the car in nuetral and coast until you begin to lose speed again? I usually do it if I remember, and I'm more likely to do it on long trips. Each coast for me can last anywhere from 0.1 miles to 0.5 miles. They will really start adding up over the course of a tank and you should be getting a few more miles out of it. The only drawback is increased clutch wear and you are using more gas in the time it takes the engine to get back up to speed than if it cruised at that speed for the same time. It only takes a second to whip up the rpm's though and a coast lasts a lot longer than that so you still should come out on top.

So how often do you guys do this if at all?

BTW, I've heard this is illegal because you don't have control of the car or something like that (what are the steering wheel and brakes for then?). Anyway, it's not like some cop is ever going to notice or be able to prove you had the engine disengaged. Just wanted to mention this as a precaution though.

[Matt Timion]

I actually coast most of the time... even during city driving. I'll see a red light 500 feet ahead and I'll just throw it into nuetral. I always have enough momentum to make it to the light.

I swear that my coasting all of the time is one of the reasons I get such great gas mileage.

Seriously though, coasting downhill really is the best.

[diamondlarry]

My 1997 Saturn has no power steering so I carry the coasting a bit further. I turn the engine off and coast up to a light then pop the clutch in 4th gear just before I get stopped. You have to turn the key back to run right after the engine dies so the speedometer will register the distance you're travelling with the engine off. I've found that at 50-55 on a contry road I can coast as far as .8 miles and still be going 20-30 when I get to the next stop. Last summer I went a tank without doing this and found that my mileage dropped about 3 mpg.

[SVOboy]

Flatland, when you coast you should put the car into neutral because not only will you save gas but you will have less wear on the clutch. And when I say wear on the clutch, it is not actually the clutch getting worn but the clutch's throwout bearing. I always coast in my mom's camry by putting it in neutral, but since my car is an auto going down hill coasting is messed up by the auto not disengaging the clutch and slowing the car down and blah blah blah, so it is harder and not as efficient, but I still coast in the crx. However, I don't turn the engine off.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Flatland, when you coast you should put the car into neutral because not only will you save gas but you will have less wear on the clutch. And when I say wear on the clutch, it is not actually the clutch getting worn but the clutch's throwout bearing. I always coast in my mom's camry by putting it in neutral, but since my car is an auto going down hill coasting is messed up by the auto not disengaging the clutch and slowing the car down and blah blah blah, so it is harder and not as efficient, but I still coast in the crx. However, I don't turn the engine off.

Yeah, i might actually turn the car off when I coast if I didn't have power steering. It also seems like such a hassle to be turning the key, and popping the clutch, and all of that other stuff. What would be really neat is if we could make a button to go on top of the gear shifter that turns the car off and on. You just throw it into nuetral, push the button and go. Push it again to start er back up.

I'm also pretty sure that when I get the new LRR tires I will be able to cost much longer, considering the lower amount of friction on the road.

[SVOboy]

I am thinking for that you would get the zemco fuelsaver type device and add another rigging up on it for a button to shut down the engine but not require ignition again, but hell if I know how it works, just that it does.

[Flatland2D]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Flatland, when you coast you should put the car into neutral because not only will you save gas but you will have less wear on the clutch. And when I say wear on the clutch, it is not actually the clutch getting worn but the clutch's throwout bearing. I always coast in my mom's camry by putting it in neutral, but since my car is an auto going down hill coasting is messed up by the auto not disengaging the clutch and slowing the car down and blah blah blah, so it is harder and not as efficient, but I still coast in the crx. However, I don't turn the engine off.

That's what I meant - putting the car in neutral. As far as wear of the clutch, every gear change will wear the clutch a little, but they last for so long I don't think it's really an issue. I would be hesistant of popping the clutch everytime I coast. That's got to be really hard on your transmission. But to each his own.

How about this idea. Maybe it's worth being another topic but I'll stick it here for now. Body kits could play a big factor in coasting ability and general fuel economy. A well designed kit (from a wind resistence perspective) ought to have less drag. A good feature is a bottom lip that helps reduce drag generated from under the car. Here's another pic of my car as an example.

<img src="http://www.morlinos.com/delsol/delsol10.jpg">

The bottom lip might help with under-the-car drag, but behind the wire screen is metal reinforcement that's not very aerodynamic. Maybe air is getting trapped in the cut-outs. The idea might be worth considering if you're already in the market for a body kit, but it wouldn't save you any money if all you're buying it for is less drag. The kit I have costs $850 and theorectically if it gave me 1 or 2 mpg more, it would take a reeeaaaally long time to pay off.

I don't have power steering in my car either. I think they got rid of it when they did the swap (I didn't own it at the time).

[SVOboy]

Haha, more pictures...nice. In any case, I don't pop the clutch, cuz I realize that sucks on the tranny. I want to swap trannies anyway but if I killed it my dad would get mad with all the jokes I make about killing it so I can do the swap sooner. In any case, I've heard conflicting things about body kits. Yes the stuff traps air in front, but also reduction drag under the car is good. Lowering the car is also gooood. What is really the best besides adding crap is somehow venting the back bumper so it doesn't dam air up in there. Also, matt and I have thrown ideas around about making a fiberglass plug for the back wheel wells like the insights have, to reduce drag, but I dunno anyone who can do that.

[Flatland2D]

Haha, Insight wheel well covers would be sweet. I don't know how you'd go about having those made though. Youd certainly be getting a lot of weird stares coming down the road.

In case you want any more pics, <a href="http://www.honda-acura.net/forums/showthread.php?t=198108">here they are</a>. It's a post I made at Honda-Acura.net when I first bought the car.

[SVOboy]

Well, this has strayed from coasting so I'll shut up after this post so people can actually discuss it since it's good. So you should prolly post in the introduction thingy cuz then I can comment away. The rear wheel covers wouldn't be that hard except how to mount them and have them removable, but I think just a few brackets or something, but I dunno crap about fabrication so that's settled on my end.