do you coast in neutral?

[pooroldcodger]

I was always taught to let the engine do the braking.
Approaching red lights, foot off the gas & the vehicle slows. As the speed drops, drop into 3rd - the revs should be just above normal to give you that extra bit of control should you need to accellerate.
With practice I often get to the lights without touching my brakes, still rolling along in 2nd & good to go as the lights change without having to worry about the most appropriate gear to be in.

At my last assessment, the young bloke insisted I was doing it all wrong & that I should stay in 4th right up to the lights & use the brakes to slow me, pressing the clutch just before the engine stalls - which was fine until he realised that the bus couldn't do 20mph in 4th without stalling!
So, my choice was, clutch & cruise (so, not in control of the vehicle) or drop down the gears which his manual doesn't recommend.

Same with going down hills. I've seen the end result of too many sitting on their brakes then finding out they have lost them & running out of road. Earlier this year I was in the lakes, going over wrynose (sp) pass, on the downhills I rarely touched the brakes, just dropped into 2nd and let the engine do the braking. It was quite happy to go down those hills at a steady, controllable speed without racing away.

Back to the assessment, the assessor also tried to persuade me to use block gear change - Hmmm
Pull out of a junction, across a road (for example) in 1st, you HAVE to hit 2nd before you get to the white lines in the middle. Go from 1st straight to 3rd and it stalls - it simply cannot move the weight, even trying 2nd to 4th doesn't work - it has no 'poke' and the engine simply 'pinks' and struggles.
The ONLY block changes I can do are 3rd to 5th or 4th to 6th

Sounds like your assessor needing assessing! 1st to 3rd when setting off, in a bus?

 

[dombooth]

cant you just put in back in gear and accelerate out of the way?

must take all of 2 seconds.....

Those 2 seconds could be life or death.

Lets say a lorry is coming up behind you and isn't stopping. Again 2 seconds could be the difference between you living or dying.

I've been in a line of cars stuck in slow moving traffic where I've thought the car behind wasn't going to stop, I turned left onto the pavement and they slammed their brakes on just missing the car infront of me my inches. I'm glad I was still in gear!

Dom

 

[Numptey]

I have a CVT gearbox and don't have the issue, but on manual cars I used to coast all the time then realised my seicento clutch cable kept snapping with my foot on the clutch and in gear. Damn idiot, changed my driving style a lot since

 

[MJG]

When you put the clutch down, select the gear you think you will need next, the if circumstances change, you are ready to go.


Do not go through a red light to allow an emergency vehicle to pass. They can, you can't. Wait for the green. There have been successful prosecutions.

You can apparently if directed to do so if by a police officer in uniform.

But yes normally you should wait, though I admit I have partly crossed the white line and manoeuvred to the side to let them past before now, which technically is illegal.

 

[T14086]

On my journey home from work is a long (mile) road that starts off at 60mph and ends in a 30mph zone.

Do you drive at 60mph all the way to the 30mph zone then brake or do you do 60mph and 'coast' all the way down saving precious and expensive fuel and not brake once as when you hit the 30mph zone you are doing that speed.

Be honest?

 

[ChrisUK]

My mind still boggles how engine breaking could cause more clutch wear

 

[AndyRKett]

You can apparently if directed to do so if by a police officer in uniform.

this is obviously the case in all traffic situations if directed by a uniformed Police officer then you must obey,

every Christmas our local shopping centres employ a load of security staff to manage traffic flow around the entrances to the car parks, these are affectionately known locally as 'christmas traffic wombles' or traffic elves'

every year they try to divert cars away from the entrance to avoid queues and on numerous occasions tried to direct cars through red lights to keep cars bunched up, i've had numerous arguments with these completely untrained pillocks who tried to direct me through a red light while cars where crossing my path (they hadn't looked to check) and on another occasion tried to prevent me queuing when when i was sat perfectly legally in a line of traffic, they threatened to report me... "good luck with that pal" basically they have no legal powers despite being 'endorsed' by the local police. if it where a police man then i might be inclined to pay attention.

having sat on many an occasion in the passenger seat of an ambulance and rapid response vehicle i can assure you for the most part 2 seconds will not be the end of someone, however those who fail to effectively get out of the way because they are not paying proper attention, panic or do something silly like just stop are more likely to cause problems, as for traffic lights you don't need to drive through on red blue light bods will generally just drive round the wrong side of the lights if they can do so safely however a load of cars now parked in the middle of the junction doesn't generally help

 

[dave]

On my journey home from work is a long (mile) road that starts off at 60mph and ends in a 30mph zone.

my road is like that i take foot off a bit before the 30 car slows its self to about 40 i then brake the other 10 at 30 sign.

 

[StevenRB45]

My mind still boggles how engine breaking could cause more clutch wear

I would guess if you aren't rev matching your downshifts so slipping the clutch and dragging the engine up to road speed rather than setting it with the throttle then letting the clutch out.

No I don't coast I do the second part of the above, and heel and toe if I'm not stopping. I use the clutch and gears to set road speed, brakes if something unexpected happens.

 

[puntonew]

if you have a long gentle downhill, like 0.5+ miles, do you ever just slip it into neutral and have foot on the brake to limit speed....sounds totally reckless insane crazy i know...but i bet its been done before.....question is - how often!

 

[puntonew]

I would guess if you aren't rev matching your downshifts so slipping the clutch and dragging the engine up to road speed rather than setting it with the throttle then letting the clutch out.

No I don't coast I do the second part of the above, and heel and toe if I'm not stopping. I use the clutch and gears to set road speed, brakes if something unexpected happens.

are you sure thats the only time you actually use the brakes? really?

 

[StevenRB45]

are you sure thats the only time you actually use the brakes? really?

Well stopping at downhill junctions is tricky without brakes lol...

But I drive the same road day in day out, the prevailing speed of most the cars on it is 40ish if you leave a decent gap and just read the road in 10 downhill miles there are 3 times I'd use the brakes. Once at a junction once at a rounderbout once at a set of lights, coming home I could leave work and not press them till I got to my street on a quiet day. Obviously there are other times you need them, but unless I'm driving hard I tend to leave the middle pedal alone.

 

[puntonew]

My mind still boggles how engine breaking could cause more clutch wear

cos your moving down the gears, hence using the clutch??



I reckon coasting in neutral could reduce engine and timing belt wear? (though obviously the car is less stable on the road as there is not the downward pressure on it, that would exist if it were in gear, hence it could roll over on its side more easily............

 

[T14086]

sounds totally reckless insane crazy i know..

....so is using a mobile phone, programming a sat nav, seeing how long you dare to keep your eyes closed, lighting a cigarette, changing over a CD etc is 'coasting' any worse?

 

[StevenRB45]

I reckon coasting in neutral could reduce engine and timing belt wear? (though obviously the car is less stable on the road as there is not the downward pressure on it, that would exist if it were in gear, hence it could roll over on its side more easily............

If the engine is idling I suppose there would be less wear as it isn't spinning as fast as it would be with the clutch up in gear but the rest of the sentence makes no sense at all

 

[Didge3]

seeing how long you dare to keep your eyes closed

Ah yes, a favored game of mine whilst driving

 

[Numptey]

Ah yes, a favored game of mine whilst driving

Don't forget the driving late at night in the dark and turning off the lights game, I see lots of large cars driven by foreign owners in London doing this all the time. Must be a hoot others why would they do it even after being constantly flashed.

 

[T14086]

Ah yes, a favored game of mine whilst driving

Good to see some of you noticed that

 

[dave]

Don't forget the driving late at night in the dark and turning off the lights game, I see lots of large cars driven by foreign owners in London doing this all the time. Must be a hoot others why would they do it even after being constantly flashed.

i see that in east ham high street and loads of kids all standing up, they drive past police but police do nothing its not like its hard to stop them cars are moving slower than walkers most of the time.

 

[AndyRKett]

Don't forget the driving late at night in the dark and turning off the lights game, I see lots of large cars driven by foreign owners in London doing this all the time. Must be a hoot others why would they do it even after being constantly flashed.

the law doesn't require headlights on street lit roads although they should have side lights and rear number plate illuminated.

back when i was in collage fresh out of high school i knew at least one person who wrote off his vauxhall nova playing the 'see how far you can go with your lights off game' drove into a ditch on unlit country roads it darkest rural norfolk