Lately I've been trying to drive as efficiently as possible to see what kind of MPG numbers I could squeeze out of my 5. Last tank I wasn't even really trying too hard and got a pinch over 26 and I THINK this tank I may have hit the magical 30mpg... it's on the quarter tank mark with 338mi on the trip odo.
ANYWHO, my question is this. While I understand it isn't the safest thing to do, I've been coasting in Neutral where appropriate such as gentle hills on highways and when approaching a distant red light. I know this is bad as I couldn't punch the gas to escape an emergency situation, but that aside, what I was REALLY concerned about was going too hard on the brakes by putting all that momentum on the brakes alone.
But I stumbled accross something interesting on a post at StandardShift.com. They said that it is MORE fuel efficient to coast to a stop in gear with an engine braking load on the engine, than it is in neutral. The reasoning is that while coasting in neutral, your car is using gas to idle the engine. However when engine braking with a small load, say 2-4k revs, the rolling momentum of the car will trigger the compression to move the engine, thus causing the engine to completely stop injecting gasoline. The theory sounds plausible.
What do you guys think about this?
ANYWHO, my question is this. While I understand it isn't the safest thing to do, I've been coasting in Neutral where appropriate such as gentle hills on highways and when approaching a distant red light. I know this is bad as I couldn't punch the gas to escape an emergency situation, but that aside, what I was REALLY concerned about was going too hard on the brakes by putting all that momentum on the brakes alone.
But I stumbled accross something interesting on a post at StandardShift.com. They said that it is MORE fuel efficient to coast to a stop in gear with an engine braking load on the engine, than it is in neutral. The reasoning is that while coasting in neutral, your car is using gas to idle the engine. However when engine braking with a small load, say 2-4k revs, the rolling momentum of the car will trigger the compression to move the engine, thus causing the engine to completely stop injecting gasoline. The theory sounds plausible.
What do you guys think about this?