jtm087

I was reading a list of gas saving tips and it says to shift car to neutral (auto) while stopped at long lights to let transmission cool down... I heard shifting to neutral in an auto was bad for it; is there any truth in that???

mrgreek

iTrader: (1)

i dont know...sometimes when i do 80km/hr and i know im gonna hit a red i sometimes put in neutral for the hell of it cause it reduces rpm by a tad...i doubt it really does anything, and i doubt it really hurts ...but in total honestly i dont know jack ****

Igobuk

iTrader: (1)

Shifting into neutral is not bad for ANY tranny if you're just stopped. Now if you're rolling, it's a different story.

Anyway... I don't see how it would save you any gas. The only way I see it saving you any gas would be to shift into neutral to let the car coast down a hill or something.

Wanna save some gas, maintain the car mechanically and empty out anything in the car you don't need. My trunk lost a bunch of weight the other day when I took out all the winter stuff like shovel, scraper, de-icer, salt, etc.

Nissan2k5

what about down shifting? thats what i do until i get to the light i leave it in nuetral

Dan

iTrader: (2)

Neutral while idline vs idling in drive; i think there is a diffrence. In neutral there is no load on the engine, but in drive there is. It's kinda like having the A/C on or off. Might save a little gas, but probably not significant.

Vlasic

iTrader: (13)

do not downshift autos.

as for coasting in neutral to save gas. ive driven my friends auto 2k3 max before and sometimes i would put it in neutral and coast a but. the on board computer had a MPG read-out and it would improve. was it really saving gas or just tricking the computer? i dont know, but your coasting at 700rpm as apposed to what ever it would be while in gear.

TheFink

I usually drop it into neutral when im just sittin at a red. However any gas you think you are saving will prob get used up when you take off at the green, depending on how fast you do it.

Vlasic

iTrader: (13)

if your sitting at a stop and you shift into neutral, what good is that going to do? look at your tach when you do it, your RPM dont go any lower.

Jime

iTrader: (10)

The engine rpm doesn't go any lower because it controlled to stay at a preset RPM, same when you turn the headlights or A/C on, any big draw you can hear the load change but the RPM will still return to the norm after a sec or two.

Changing into neutral does take a load off the engine and is really helpful in stop and go traffic when the a/c is on, it doesn't heat up anywhere near as quickly in neutral. The torque convertor is not under load and the trans fluid will run at a lower temp as well.

On the other hand I wouldn't do it at every light or get carried away but when conditions are extreme any little bit helps, like running your heater full blast at the track etc.