Stupid question ?

Robson65

Hello,

I've got the feeling that this is a really stupid question but here goes.

If I put my clutch in when I'm going slightly downhill and let the car roll will I save petrol ?

Thanks
Robson the Untechnical !

izzy65

I would say yes, because the rev's will drop to idle speed if clutch dis-engaged. Remember that you will not be in control of the car as much while free wheeling as per high way code.;)

steveo3002

some cars cut off the fuel supply anyway when coasting with no accelerator

so id say maybe, maybe not ...if its downhill anyway it wouldnt be using lots

direct your efforts into smoother driving , looking ahead so no sharp braking etc , and keep the car maintained

Dave101t

no no no, it will cost you money, ee by gum you learn something new every day!

this has been covered in detail before, try a search, oh dont bother ill do that for you as well!:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=252562

Robson65

Blimey ! I thought it was such a stupid question that it wouldn't have been covered before in the forums.

Thanks for that. You're very kind.

Robson

Dave101t

kind, nah im just all out of troll-supplements.

best way to save petrol, the absolute best way (as we are only talking <5% no matter what you do) is correct tyre pressures.
forget smooth acceleration, lack of gear changes, car weight etc.

Ivrytwr3

i would not "ride the clutch" ie keep it depressed, but i would knock it out of gear for going down hills.

And i think, yes you would save petrol/diesel albeit not a great deal.

SailorSam

What you may save in fuel will be off set by the cost of a worn clutch.

molerat

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

i would not "ride the clutch" ie keep it depressed, but i would knock it out of gear for going down hills.

And i think, yes you would save petrol/diesel albeit not a great deal.

Bad idea. How do you slow down in an emergency ? Slip it into gear quickly, lift off clutch quickly and snap crankshaft or damage clutch. Modern cars will switch off the fuel supply on over-run so use less fuel than idling. It also keeps you in control of the vehicle.

Lemonade_Pockets

No benefit what so ever.

As stated above cars adjust the amount of fuel injected according to how much throttle your using anyway. It is very unlikely that your car will use less on idle than it will on the overun. Even it did (maybe on older cars) the difference would be extremely negligible.

Not to mention its just downright dangerous.

Bad idea, bad driving and no financial benefit.

Lemonade_Pockets

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

i would not "ride the clutch" ie keep it depressed,

These are not the same thing.