Engine Off Coasting annoyance - Page 2

VetteOwner · 01-19-2009, 10:42 PM

yea most cars have reserve via vacum resivor. now power steering you dont need untill you have to turn then it can be hard as a mofo (ie caution on exit/on ramps)

i do belive in IL its illegal to be driving without engine on and illegal to be in neutral but i ask how the hell would a cop ever know if your in neutral with engine on? cuz i pop it outa gear into neutral alot then push in clutch rev match then go.

but regarding main topic you might try slowly shutting the car off, my s-10 i can shut the engine off and it will sill have the guage and stuff all working and lit up. just have to slowly turn the key off till the engine stopps

theholycow · 01-20-2009, 03:51 AM

To avoid killing the gauges, you could try a kill switch. You might hook it up to the fuel injectors' common ground, or a few other things.

As mentioned above, brakes continue working for a few applications after the engine is off. My electric power steering works fine with the engine off. Jonathan_ED3's Yaris almost certainly has electric power steering too. My full-size pickup doesn't but in the few times I've EOC'd it, it's been fine until I get under 8mph or so.

It is illegal in many places to coast even with the engine on. I started a thread but didn't collect many states in it:
http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=9946
That was about laws specifically prohibiting coasting, but if you've drawn traffic enforcement attention to yourself and they're aware that you've been doing something odd, they'll find a law that they can apply to it. There's loads of laws that can apply to nearly anything at the cop's discretion.

I recommend against doing anything that's illegal, dangerous, or uncomfortable.

GasSavers_mikemoss · 01-20-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dalez0r

Dont know about your vehicle, but mine has enough brake reserve to last 2-3 pumps of the brakes before I need to worry. And I've never needed power steering on the highway, only at low speeds. As for legality, it varies considerably state to state... thread about this somewhere...

Thanks, I was more just wondering bc I cant turn mine off bc it is an auto.

Daveedo · 01-20-2009, 10:03 PM

I've recently noticed that the PS in my HX feels the same engine on or off while at any speed. It feels about like my manual steering crx hf did. I tend to coast the last half mile to my development, round the corner into my development go one block, turn again, and coast all the way to my driveway and if I time it right with my garage door opener I can actually get into the garage without restarting the car. 1/2 mile ending inside the garage makes me feel pretty good

Zero problems with steering (it is power steering btw) or brakes.

About the only time you feel a difference with steering is when you are doing a standing still manuever like parallel parking.

Snax · 01-21-2009, 07:19 AM

Some cars it really makes little difference with PS or PB. I removed the belt to the power steering on my Tercel a year ago and I could barely tell the difference. I'm not so sure it isn't just a manual rack that Toyota stuck power assist onto. My Escort is more noticeable, but hardly difficult to steer at low speeds and somewhat more difficult braking when the vacuum fades, but our Mazda is a TANK without the power assist and I won't EOC it. I wouldn't even try it in something like the F150 we had.

JanGeo · 01-21-2009, 08:52 AM

My xB is hard to turn the wheel even if the front tires are jacked up in the air so the engine stays on. A couple of times I rolled into the back lot in gear and slowed down a lot in 2nd to a few mph and at that low an engine rpm the PS was very jerky - I don't recommend trying to steer an xB without the engine running. Toyota does not even recommend bump starting it so I guess they want that ICE turning all the time.

Dalez0r · 01-21-2009, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemoss

Thanks, I was more just wondering bc I cant turn mine off bc it is an auto.

One of many reasons I buy manual cars

But, we all have different needs and are willing or able to make different types of changes to improve fuel economy....

Jonathan_ED3 · 01-21-2009, 09:07 AM

The car is a 1993 Civic DX with no options. No power steering to worry about.

The brakes feel about the same with the car on or off. My brake booster is on it's way out so I'm use to a relatively stiff pedal. Safety is not an issue.

I can coast for up to a mile at a time and maintain great momentum. I'm in the flat part of TX, so it's not like I can coast down the backside of a mountain or anything.

I realize I already have relatively good mileage, but I see many guys claiming near 60mpg out of vehicles very similar to mine - ones that aren't even VX's by pulsing and gliding and EOC.

I'm going to continue EOC where I can coast for more than a few seconds. And continue to shut my car off of at intersections and see how my mileage looks at the end of this tank.

aalb1 · 01-21-2009, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan_ED3

I can coast for up to a mile at a time and maintain great momentum. I'm in the flat part of TX, so it's not like I can coast down the backside of a mountain or anything.

What?!?!? give me some details on that. how fast are you going? LRR Tires? Etc... a mile is a long time.