Video of me showing how I drive to save gas

[GasSavers_Somedude]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3r70T5uEro

This is how I drive my Toyota Solara pretty much all the time and the end result of this is that I am getting much better mpg numbers than the car's EPA combined rating of 24 mpg.

[1cheap1]

Not bad. A few tips, if i may. When you first start out from your home just take your foot off the gas and let the computer run the car until it warms up. After warm up coast in neutral so it will idle at 750 rpm and will go farther without the engine acting as a brake. When going from a stop do not go over 1500 rpm. I have got 30mpg on my mother-laws 4300lb 98 caravan with 3.8L engine. It seams that in your drive which is mostly residental you can even get down to 5 mph without getting in other peoples way. These little things may get you another 3 mpg. Check your on board trip computer to see if its worth doing. Good Job.

[GasSavers_Somedude]

Originally Posted by 1cheap1

Not bad. A few tips, if i may. When you first start out from your home just take your foot off the gas and let the computer run the car until it warms up. After warm up coast in neutral so it will idle at 750 rpm and will go farther without the engine acting as a brake. When going from a stop do not go over 1500 rpm. I have got 30mpg on my mother-laws 4300lb 98 caravan with 3.8L engine. It seams that in your drive which is mostly residental you can even get down to 5 mph without getting in other peoples way. These little things may get you another 3 mpg. Check your on board trip computer to see if its worth doing. Good Job.

Its awesome that you got 30 mpg with a 98 Dodge Caravan.

My car doesn't shift at 1500 rpm, the lowest rpm at which it will shift is 2100rpm.

At the beginning of the video, when I shifted to reverse and my foot was not on the gas while I was backing up.

I could get it down to 5mph but I didn't want to, so I just accelerated to around 20mph before coasting. The mpg trip computer always put out a higher mpg number when the car is coasting at a higher speed.

I have read on the internet that cars with automatics basically decreases the fuel consumption to nearly nothing when it is coasting in gear, I was expecting people to back out of their driveways so I didn't put it in neutral.

[VX_Arky]

Sorry but I have no desire to drive 10-15 mph to get 2 or 3 more mpgs. I'm getting good enough at it is. This kind of driving would make me go insane!!! PASS!

[GasSavers_Somedude]

Originally Posted by Arky

Sorry but I have no desire to drive 10-15 mph to get 2 or 3 more mpgs. I'm getting good enough at it is. This kind of driving would make me go insane!!! PASS!

Ahh but I have a desire to get 2 or 3 more mpgs and since there was nobody behind me in the neighborhood, I could go as slow as I want.

This kind of driving would not make me go insane because I kinda already am.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Somedude

I have read on the internet that cars with automatics basically decreases the fuel consumption to nearly nothing when it is coasting in gear

Nope. That's called Deceleration Fuel Cut Off (DFCO) and is more likely with a manual than an automatic, but less likely in either than most people think it is. The computer considers a plethora of variables before it will DFCO, everything has to be just right.

As a result, "coasting in gear" (actually engine braking, even if there's not alot of braking from it) uses more fuel than neutral coasting would while simultaneously reducing the distance you travel before you need to accelerate again.

It's pretty easy to connect a meter to an injector wire to display exactly when you have DFCO and when you don't. That way you can learn your car's DFCO behavior, which varies greatly from one car to the next.

[VX_Arky]

Originally Posted by Somedude

Ahh but I have a desire to get 2 or 3 more mpgs and since there was nobody behind me in the neighborhood, I could go as slow as I want.

This kind of driving would not make me go insane because I kinda already am.

Had to harrass you!!! I did at least watch your video, but oh man, I can't do 10 miles an hour for very long, especially not with Nikki Minaj blaring through my stereo!!!!

[theholycow]

The only thing I can do with Nikki Minaj blaring through my stereo is panic and start smashing my stereo.

I can't really drive that slow. Besides my own impatience, besides the impatience of other drivers, I can't bring myself to cruise in a lower gear than necessary...if I can legally go 20 in 3rd instead of 10 in 2nd, I will. I don't think my car would do well choosing a lower gear and slower speed.

[madnessspirit]

Originally Posted by theholycow

Nope. That's called Deceleration Fuel Cut Off (DFCO) and is more likely with a manual than an automatic, but less likely in either than most people think it is. The computer considers a plethora of variables before it will DFCO, everything has to be just right.

As a result, "coasting in gear" (actually engine braking, even if there's not alot of braking from it) uses more fuel than neutral coasting would while simultaneously reducing the distance you travel before you need to accelerate again.

It's pretty easy to connect a meter to an injector wire to display exactly when you have DFCO and when you don't. That way you can learn your car's DFCO behavior, which varies greatly from one car to the next.

DCFO on my Explorer uses less gas when I remain in gear than in neutral FWIW. The difference isn't great when you factor in differences in coasting distance, but my Explorer is an automatic... The difference in my Continental was about the same not counting differences in coasting difference, but my Contour, which was a 5 speed, used a substantially smaller amount of fuel coasting down in gear than in neutral.... but the engine braking effect probably evens those two out, since there was a higher engine braking effect on my Contour, and my Lincoln didn't have a HUGE difference between coasting down in drive or neutral (I never measured exactly). I've measured the difference in stopping difference between being in drive and neutral on my Explorer, but being 4wd and a fairly heavy vehicle, I think that skews the results compared to a lighter 2wd vehicle. The fact that my Lincoln was also a fairly large vehicle probably would have given me the same effect, but not as great since I don't have the extra drag from being 4wd. I never really measured in my Contour, but being a 5 speed, the difference in coasting difference was pretty big.

I guess I never thought about it before now, but a light 2wd vehicle probably would have pretty different results.

[theholycow]

Yup, differences from one vehicle to the next include other factors than just DFCO behavior...I didn't even think to address that.