April 3, 2010
Do u save fuel when u shift your gear to neutral when going downhill?
For example, when you are going downhill, you put your car in neutral so you won’t have to press the throttle, do you actually save fuel or it doesn’t make any difference at all?
Related Product:
An Illustrated Guide To Gas Pumps: Identification And Price Guide (Illustrated Guide to Gas Pumps: Identification & Price Guide)With 2,000 gas pumps, including many never-before-seen illustrations and secondary market pricing, featured in a clear and concise format, there's no ... Read More >
Related Posts
Filed under Gas Conservation FAQ by on Apr 3rd, 2010. Comment. 
Leave a Comment
Comments on Do u save fuel when u shift your gear to neutral when going downhill?
Any time that your not having to give the car gas, your saving fuel. That is why they call it “Giving it gas”.
In fact if you have a modern fuel injection system, running out of gear will actually use more fuel that descending the hill in gear with the throttle shut. This is because the engine is using fuel to idle in neutral, whereas it will use none at all on the overrun (i.e. in gear with the throttle shut).
However you’d have to be extremely pedantic to take notice of any difference. Plus, it is illegal (and unsafe) to freewheel!
No you won’t save because you need no acceleration going down the hill. Shifting to neutral will compromise your safety and when you shift into gear again the friction on the clutch will waste energy when you most need it.