Coasting in neutral may feel cheaper but it uses more fuel.

forgotmyname

Didn't the SAAB 96 and the 99 have a freewheel upto 1979?

facade

forgotmyname wrote: »

Didn't the SAAB 96 and the 99 have a freewheel upto 1979?

You are quite right, according to Wiki.

The two-stroke needed it (although the one James May drove didn't seem to have it, as he was going on about having to hold the accelerator down and press the brake at the same time) and they kept it in the four-strokes, including the 99, probably for the same reason as Rover (on the overrun it sucked that much oil past the rings that the oil consumption rivalled the BMW mini cooper and 1.6 VAG engines)

Well I never :cool:

arcon5

bazster wrote: »

Coasting will cost a lot more than a few pence in fuel if PC Plod nabs you for not being in full control of your vehicle.

:rotfl:

Ye because that's ever gonna happen!

Gloomendoom

facade wrote: »

You are quite right, according to Wiki.

The two-stroke needed it (although the one James May drove didn't seem to have it, as he was going on about having to hold the accelerator down and press the brake at the same time) and they kept it in the four-strokes, including the 99, probably for the same reason as Rover (on the overrun it sucked that much oil past the rings that the oil consumption rivalled the BMW mini cooper and 1.6 VAG engines)

I doubt Rover did it to stop oil being sucked past the rings. The same engine was used in Land Rovers for about 100 years without that ever being a problem.

facade

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I doubt Rover did it to stop oil being sucked past the rings. The same engine was used in Land Rovers for about 100 years without that ever being a problem.

The Landrovers I had used to hold about 2 gallons of oil, and it dripped out that fast that you couldn't tell if they burnt it or leaked it out

Topping up all round was pretty much a weekly ritual: I used to buy EP90 in gallon containers

Gloomendoom

Mine has a four cylinder version of the engine and it doesn't leak or use any measurable oil. The transmission is a different matter though. Last time I bought EP90, it was in a 25 litre drum.

The old adage that if a Land Rover isn't dripping oil, there's no oil in it has a lot of truth.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

zero fuel use on overrun has been around for decades, I am sure it was on our MkII Polo (it had an E in place of 4th gear if I recall correctly) even though it was carburettor not electronic.

Any decently designed car of the last 15 years will have a zero fuel use until it gets to "anti-stall" in F1 parlance. It does surprise me to go with people who select neutral, including someone who test drives for JLR.

When in America in the mid-1990s, some of the most scary cars to drive were dodgy 3 speed over-run autos, I nearly lost control on a descent at 40mph on a dual carriageway interstate in a new Chrysler Century with a 3 speed box, cross ply tyres and freewheel.

Richard53

facade wrote: »

The Landrovers I had used to hold about 2 gallons of oil, and it dripped out that fast that you couldn't tell if they burnt it or leaked it out

Topping up all round was pretty much a weekly ritual: I used to buy EP90 in gallon containers

If you had to use EP90 in the engine, things must have been bad! I used it in the diff


On the plus side, if a car is leaking that much oil, at least you never need to change it. It's being continuously renewed automatically.

FreddieFrugal

Yeh, shifting into neutral whist driving is old school, or may just be stupidity, I'm not sure.

When went to Italy with wife's parents, FIL kept shifting into neutral to coast, obviously thought it was just what you do. I didn't get why he was doing it as I'd never been taught to drive like that. Worst thing was he was doing it while going down a mountain on twisty roads! Scary as hell.

I hate being a passenger at the best of times!

Mind you he's never been good ith gears, that's why he drives an automatic

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

IanRi wrote: »

Yeh, shifting into neutral whist driving is old school, or may just be stupidity, I'm not sure.

When went to Italy with wife's parents, FIL kept shifting into neutral to coast, obviously thought it was just what you do. I didn't get why he was doing it as I'd never been taught to drive like that. Worst thing was he was doing it while going down a mountain on twisty roads! Scary as hell.

I hate being a passenger at the best of times!

Mind you he's never been good ith gears, that's why he drives an automatic

It seems to be old school to take lower gears down hill too judging by people's brake lights. Holding a lower gear in certain situations gives so much more control, and of course down hill you are not using any fuel on overrun, however many revs the engine is turning.

There is a dinky little feature on the flappy paddles on my car where if you hold the left one for a longer time, it automatically drops to the optimum overtaking gear, which coincidentally seems to be the optimum gear for getting good engine braking so it will immediately drop from 7th to 3rd. A long hold on the right at the end of the hill and back to full automatic, don't even have to take a hand off the wheel.

Went automatic when I realised my significant other could not grasp the difference between changing up because you were going quickly and changing down when you needed to accelerate quickly - taking 5th gear at 25mph and still continuing with an overtake with foot to the floor going nowhere with oncoming traffic convinced me I was never going to win.