lexusondubs

iTrader: (9)

OMG are you trying to save gas ?? wow

litesoarer

I'm just trying to see what the car is capable of mpg-wise if extreme measures are used.

Normal driving though, i get 22-23mpg in town.

lexusondubs

iTrader: (9)

dont take this the wrong way but maybe you should sell your lexus for a more fuel efficient car and with your method of neutral id be more wiorried about damaging the transmission more rather than saving a few bucks on gas

litesoarer

Relax, i never did the neutral thing that often.

And my trials are done. I achieved 27mpg with a almost 50/50 split of city/highway, but decided i just couldn't drive like that all the time.


Personally, i'm not worried about gas that much at this point, and would not mind seeing $6/gal if they would take those extra $1.50-$2.00 in taxes to rebuild the roads to a better spec and bump up the speed limits to say 100+ in rural settings, and 80 in cities.

My 22-23mpg in town comes from driving smart, things like not accelerating to a red light when i can coast just fine, pulling away from a green slower, keeping revs around 2k on acceleration....I use the full potential of the V8 sparingly, but when i do use it; it's there in all it's glory.

It's not about saving gas to save money, it's about not squandering it when i don't have to.

Speaking of a more fuel efficient car, i test drove a Camry hybrid last week, and it was GUTLESS, it would take a lot of getting used to, personally.

Another thing, i also have an ES that gets 16mpg regardless of whether i drive it hard, or easy like i do the GS. I would have gotten rid of it long ago if i didn't have so much fun revving it up to get going.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

no need to be in 2nd gear, even in 3rd or 4th gear the engine is already helping on controlling the speed of the car

SLegacy99

I "hyper mile" and coast down hills in neutral. Oh, but I drive a stick, where when you shift it back into third there is no delay like an automatic. I must say I am impressed with the RX400h's coasting ability.

+ 1 on transmission wear and tear on an auto.

Also worth noting, in a manual transmission holding the clutch in while the vehicle isn't moving rather than putting the vehicle in neutral will cause more wear to the clutch.

MGS4

you actually use more fuel coasting in Neutral. here's why. when in N, your RPM goes down to idle. to prevent from stalling, the engine must give fuel to maintain at idling speed. now, when you're coasting in D (even if it is in 4th gear) the RPM is higher than the idling speed. and because you're not pressing the accelerator, the fuel delivery is off.

litesoarer

I always figured it went differently, when i had my Yukon the mileage display would always go to 99mpg in neutral when coasting (I also did a mpg test on that, and came out to 19mpg in town, and 23 mpg combined at the point where i maxed out)

SLegacy99

In theory, absolutely true. However, the drag created by remaining in gear will often as we all know require that you accelerate and in turn use more fuel in an effort to maintain speed. However, I am not suggesting that anyone with an AT coast around i neutral.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

To save gas and to save brakes. If im comming down a steep hill ill shift down to a fairly low gear and I wont be pressing the brakes near as hard.

lexusondubs

iTrader: (9)

lol iam relaxed and yea i know about the speed issue iam in the lookout right now for a honda for a everday driver i just test drove 1 today and like you said noo ***** id really have to get used to that over my lexus and hemi ram

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

not if you're going downhill or coasting to a stoplight

IS350jet

I never believed this theory, simply because if fuel delivery were shut off, the engine would die, even in gear. This is, of course, if we're talking about an ATM.

SLegacy99

Sure if you're going down hill.

There's some steep hills on my ride home from school that I've done in an automatic once or twice. They aren't steep enough that you don't have to accelerate to maintain speed.

mmarshall

Coasting down long steep hlls in neutral is DANGEROUS.

Although there were some good hills in the VA mountains west of D.C. where I lived, here is the THE hill on U.S 40 in western PA (Uniontown) where I learned, as a teen-ager, how to downshift for engine braking......three and one half solid miles at a 12-15% grade. Coasting in neutral here would mean burned-out brakes and maybe suicide.

http://www.mbcomps.com/gallery/FayetteUS40WB/DSCN0988