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read your news article and became infatuated (sp) with the idea of this

my question:
is it unsafe or a bad idea to shift into nuetral often
especially when sitting at a red light it seems to lower the rpm

i have limited knowledge about cars, engines, gas milage, so i'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question

here are a couple of things i tried today
1. coming over the top of a hill and shifting to neutral and coasting
2. shifting to neutral upon seeing a red light and coasting
3. going to neutral when stopped.

would any of these be bad for my car? (which is an 01 camry)

Welcome to CleanMPG!

First of all, many of these things it's best to try in light or no traffic.

#3 is completely safe, legal, and extends the life of your engine. Ideling is consided "severe wear", creating sludge in your engine. If you are ideling more than say 7 seconds, you save gas by shutting off the engine.

I also do #1 and #2 and find it saves gas if the coast is very long.

Welcome to CleanMPG!

First of all, many of these things it's best to try in light or no traffic.

#3 is completely safe, legal, and extends the life of your engine. Ideling is consided "severe wear", creating sludge in your engine. If you are ideling more than say 7 seconds, you save gas by shutting off the engine.

I also do #1 and #2 and find it saves gas if the coast is very long.

so then it is advisable to shut off/start up the car at stoplights that you know will last a while?

and also.. I asked my brother (who knows more about cars than myself but is by no means a genious) if switching from neutral to drive while moving would be bad for car.. and he said yes.
do you (or anybody) agree with this?

Hi Gas:

___It can in some cases. With a stick, you rev match, with an auto the same but some auto tranny’s were not meant to be moving while in N and ICE off. As for any other wear issues, I am at 88,000 miles strong without visiting the shop. Well almost. There was one time when the Gatorade spilled and the NAVI unit jumped in the way … I digress ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Gas:

___It can in some cases. With a stick, you rev match, with an auto the same but some auto tranny’s were not meant to be moving while in N and ICE off. As for any other wear issues, I am at 88,000 miles strong without visiting the shop. Well almost. There was one time when the Gatorade spilled and the NAVI unit jumped in the way … I digress ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

edit--internal combustion engine... i knew that...
so shifting into neutral shuts down the engine?

or do some advanced hypermilers actually shut off their engine while driving?

Hi Gas:

___You are not a pain in the least. Everybody ahs to learn from the beginning and today is just as good as any other ;)

___Look in your owners manual and see if your Auto can be flat towed. If so, you can FAS with some caveats. If not, I would not recommend it.

___Some of the acronyms will show up with little ? next to them. Just click it and you will be lead to a definition of the term.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

so can i shift from drive to neutral and back while driving w/o doing damage to my car?


I'm not interested in shutting down the engine completely (yet)

Hi Gas:

___Look in your automobiles owner’s manual and read up on flat towing. If you can, it is up to you. If not, CAVEAT’s would tell me to be very careful with this. There are plenty of other techniques for you to use before moving on to a NICE-On or FAS.

___Good Luck

___Wayne