Is it alright to drive my automatic car as a manual one, so to save some petrol?
* When on plane/flat road or sloping down I put the lever on neutral, as the car will keep going at the same speed or faster (coasting) without using petrol.
* I use that also when expecting to stop for a traffic light, few 100 metres ahead.
* I believe it also to relieve the motor by choosing neutral when stopping at traffic lights, instead of keeping the foot on the brake pedal.
Yes it is, but it will not make much difference to your petrol consumption.
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Are you one of those who tries to save petrol or one who has the metal to the pedal?
* When on plane/flat road or sloping down I put the lever on neutral, as the car will keep going at the same speed or faster (coasting) without using petrol- still using petrol, the engine is idling at a faster rate just becuase it is in nuetral doesnt mean your saving gas rofl
*I use that also when expecting to stop for a traffic light, few 100 metres ahead.- Youll end up ruining your transmission becuase a automatic transmission has a build in clutch that slowly disengages your drive when you hit the brake (slowly i mean whenever you start hitting the brakes)
* I believe it also to relieve the motor by choosing neutral when stopping at traffic lights, instead of keeping the foot on the brake pedal.- I dont know who tuaght you how to drive, but yo umust be rich becuase you want to buy a new transmission lol get a manuel if your so worried about all this, if not then drive your car how it is supposed to be driven.
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Yes it is, but it will not make much difference to your petrol consumption.
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Assistant service manager for a main ford dealer
The increase in RPM you hear when slowing is the transmission increasing the engine speed. There is absolutely no savings in fuel when slowing & it's not safe & illegal to coast in neutral. The transmission actually helps you slow so the total dependency doesn't apply to the braking system. The transmission may be damaged if it is engaged at speed. It's OK to shift into neutral at a traffic light.
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Mechanic – 27 Years
I seriously doubt that you could save any noticeable amount of fuel by any of the methods you describe and see very real potential problems you could create by trying any of these methods. So just drive a little slower and keep your vehicle well maintained and grin and bear it like we will all have to.
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When many modern fuel injected cars are decelerating, in gear, they cut the fuel supply for economy and emissions reasons. Cars with carburettors could not do this as they worked mechanically. A car in neutral and idling needs fuel in order for the engine to keep running, a car in gear and slowing down does not need fuel to keep running as the momentum turns the engine over. So if you have a relatively new fuel injected car then you are using more fuel rather then less with that style of driving. A decelerating force either by engine braking or foot braking stabilises the vehicle (that's why a motorbike can be ridden very slowly by blipping the throttle while the rear brake is slightly applied), therefore allowing a car to 'coast' is unstable and dangerous, not to mention that if you do need to get it back in gear while you are moving will at best stress your transmission and at worst will destroy it. Finally, at traffic lights it is safer to apply the handbrake and then to select neutral, just in case of brake failure, also it uses less fuel. The engine needs to maintain a standard idling speed. In neutral the car is under no load and in gear the engine needs to overcome the drag of the transmission/torque converter, so the engine requires less fuel when parked and in neutral rather than parked and in gear.
I hope that this helps you.
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Experience. DIY mechanic. Read a lot.
Do not coast in Neutral, at all.
The third thing you do is fine. You can shift into neutral at a light.
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you have an automatic and there is very little you will do to improve consumption . however the methods you have adopted to try and save money will cost you in the long run . your engine / gearbox assist you when slowing , by taking the car out of gear you increase the wear on other components :- drive shafts , brake pads etc.
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