To Coast or Not to Coast?

January 15, 2009 ukpylot 4 comments

Ever since gas was real expensive I’ve been doing my own hypermiling variant which involves taking the car out of gear and coasting when it makes sense to do so.

At the dentist recently I was reading a car magazine that talked about ‘fuel efficiency myths’ and it said that fuel injected cars do no better coasting than they do with your foot off the pedal, so keep the car in gear in case you need some revs. There is no gas saving.

I’m no car expert but I can see the rev counter at 3k rpm compared to 0 and it seems to me that means gas is being used, although it might be small.

What do you all think?

General none

Comments

Written by Josh Wardell about 3 years ago.

Using my ScanGuage II, which allows me to see my live, adjusted, non-MINI-OBC-exaggerated milage, I’ve conducted this experiment many times, because I too have read that you use less gas as the motion is powering the engine instead of idle.

But cruising in gear, and especially downshifting/engine breaking, clearly uses more gas than when idling out of gear. Like 50 vs 110 mpg on the highway.

Now the advice may be true in general. But the supercharger certainly puts more load on an idling engine than a car without one, and extra gas is spit into the engine to make those popping noises when you downshift. And of course the mini’s engine computer was bought from a 3rd party so may not be as refined as one developed by a company in house over many years.

So yes, if I am trying to stretch my gas, I do not downshift; I take the engine out of gear and use the brakes.
Written by RB about 3 years ago.

Personally I have never used this method of “Saving Gas” as I feel it lame and dangerous. I personally just ease off on the acceleration and find I go from 22mpg to quite 24-26 easily.

When My wife drove to and from MITM, up in Colorado, a few years back, we got 34.1 in the MCS. She never gets “into the pipe” as they say in motorcycle racing.
Written by ukpylot about 3 years ago.

Actually, I only coast when coming to a stop. I did try coasting down hills but the MINI slows down over time, rather than keeps going. I didn’t like that.
Written by RB about 3 years ago.

My wife hates this about me, well among other things, I never look at prices on anything I want. Restaurants, gas stations, clothing. If I want it, I buy it. During the last gas thing when we had lines she’d go to the cheapest station and sit in loooong lines me, hell whatever was open. Life’s too short.

This is not meant to be a slam on those who do but just my philosophy, good or bad.