Few questions for easy, $0.00 modifications

[FLAteam]

Well, I tried a few techniques today. I drove about 110 miles and...

-I followed a semi truck @ 70mph, 2-3 car lengths away for a good 30 of those miles. Didn't seem to help much.
-Drove only up to 70mph, most of the time at 65mph.
-Put it in Neutral with engine on for a few of the downhills. Seems to really help, especially if going less than 60mph. I think my engine likes to brake a lot for me.
-Went up to 70 on the uphills.
-Engine off Neutral (on my automatic!) twice. It was kinda scary. Found out I don't have power steering. Seemed to help, but not much more than engine on Neutral (but I wouldn't know...my speedometer was at 0 and I don't have a Scangauge).

So what's the final verdict on going up and down hills? It seems like when you go up a hill, you gain traction due to your going against gravity, so you use every bit of the gas you burn, as opposed to downhill where you go with gravity and possibly don't have as much grip, burning fuel and not transmitting all that power to the road.

Also, maybe the air you have to move is less when going uphill. After all, now there's less air under you as you go up (and more pavement under you), so air has to travel over you. When you go downhill, it seems that you'd be affected by both wind above and below, making you waste more gas going against the wind.

[palemelanesian]

Originally Posted by FLAteam

-Engine off Neutral (on my automatic!) twice. It was kinda scary. Found out I don't have power steering. Seemed to help, but not much more than engine on Neutral (but I wouldn't know...my speedometer was at 0 and I don't have a Scangauge).

You should turn the key back to the ON position as soon as the engine stops! That's very unsafe not to! Your ABS, airbags, and any other electrical systems are turned off at that time! Besides, you're not registering any of the miles traveled, so your numbers aren't reflecting reality.