Cruised in Neutral for 5 miles without loosing speed.
 

Anyone else noticed that you can pretty much cruise your BRZ into neutral without loosing any speed? I was doing that on a semi flat road and this thing wont stop unless you hit the brakes.

I hope my brakes don't fail, I might end up in Soviet Union! :eyebulge:

That's cool, but driving in neutral is a bad idea. I used to do it, thinking it was more efficient.

You can't respond to a sudden emergency requiring your to shift into gear and apply throttle. Also you don't really save gas.

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I agree with all the safety stuff but if you're gonna be coasting for 5 miles, that's better for fuel economy than staying in gear and essentially engine braking. At the same time, the safety part is more important than a few cents saved at the pumps....

Back on topic, I love how this thing cuts through the air so effortlessly. That's what happens when we have a properly designed car with a great CD. Try doing the same thing in a Miata (Miata is 0.32 I think? Not a huge difference but a Miata shouldn't be that high!)

I wasnt trying to save gas, I was trying to come to a stop because of a stop light, so shifted to neutral and then cruised to the stop when it went green and I just continued on. lol still in Neutral.

you actually use more gas in neutral than you do cruising in gear.

Agreed, you burn 1 gallon per 1 hr while in neutral

No it's 5. JK

I'm under the impression you won't be using any gas in 6th since it's running in a vacuum, but I'm not an expert.

I am, however, a smart dude, and I'm tempted to say that this road you were on was probably not flat. Friction and rolling resistance team up to make your car slow down no matter what; a slight downhill will counteract that.

Duh, its all about Physics. I'm just overemphasizing the car's drag coefficient.

The engine will only stop using gas when you are in gear, coasting and above about 1200rpm. At that point, it shuts off the fuel injectors. If your foot is on the gas (or the cruise control is on...), then the engine is using gas.

You will use less gas in almost any situation coasting in neutral than in gear. Remember, it takes energy to keep the engine spinning above idle (wasting/using kinetic energy that previously came from gas). Coasting in gear does save your brakes from wear though. :)

That said, it is safer to keep the car in gear (clutch engaged)... and in many places it is illegal to have the car in neutral while it is moving - not that you will get caught for it.

-Charlie

I have looked up how this works for hyper-miling. You will use less total gas if you coast further in neutral than in gear, followed by less time on the throttle. This is because, since you will normally be above idle RPM when coasting in gear, the friction losses in the engine are greater in that scenario and you don't coast very far. This assumes you start decelerating early enough in both cases that you completely avoid braking. If you are coasting so slowly that the RPM is the same in both cases, then there will be no difference. By the way, partial throttle slow starts are not very efficient. Open throttle acceleration with early shifting is the most efficient. Even up-shifting normally, at about 3500 RPM for the BRZ, is pretty efficient open throttle: since you reach final speed quickly and can then shift to your final gear.

I thought most laws just forbid turning off your car in neutral when coasting (like a poor man's start-stop) if your vehicle loses boost for brakes or steering in that situation.

Anyway, I don't think it's worth it to coast this car in neutral. If you really want to hypermile that way, get a hybrid with start-stop.

Must of had a hell of a tail wind.

I can think of at least one good reason to be coasting in neutral at some point, and that would be for a coast down test to check your aero efficiency. Of course for that, you would want to do it in both directions on the same stretch of road in order to counter any elevation or wind effects.