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, Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:32:34
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I down shift to a lower gear and coast to a stop, the theory is that the fuel injectors shut-off during coast-down, then they activate again to maintain idle. I did that with my '86 Corolla with 3 speed slushbox until I got rid of it, still down shifting with my '04 Matrix with 4 speed auto which up-shifts through the gears into overdrive (if I let it, more traffic lights pop-up here in NYC everyday and ever since these newer LED traffic lights were installed, they seem to go out of sync. everytime there's a 15~25 degrees temp swing, some times I won't let the tranny shift out of 2nd if I know I'm only going to move 50 feet) by the time the vehicle reaches 35 mph. My '98 9000 CSE seems to down shift pretty well on its own so I usually leave it alone unless I'm going down a long and/or steep grade.
I usually gently tip in the throttle for the first few feet to get the car moving then accelerate to cruising speed as quickly and safely as I can and keep it there as long as I can, when I approach an intersection with traffic signals I'll try to time it so I could down-shift and take advantage of some engine braking at around but no more than 2500 rpm and try to maintain some momentum stopping only when I have to.
Now keeping the tranny in 2nd or 3rd depending on the known distance I have to come to a slow or stop and calculating the break-even point between engine/tranny/brake(which is the most expendable of the three)wear and fuel economy during coast-down, taking into account of gradiant, speed, traffic and road condition and try to do it all without effecting other drivers is a sick game that I play every time I drive. I do not advocate this type of driving.
If all this sounds too complicated, then leave the shift lever in Drive. I don't even know if I'm saving any gas driving like this since I don't drive the Matrix any other way. BTW, I will shift into neutral or park but only if I know I'm going to stop for more than 30+ seconds, constant loading and unloading is not healthy for auto trannys either.
posted by 12.75.172...
, Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:32:34
, Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:00:17
, Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:14:11, Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:00:07, Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:36:25
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