# Do you coast in gear or in neutral? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** honda, engines\ **Created:** [November 4, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024 "2009-11-04T15:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![stephaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@stephaan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/stephaan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/81 "2009-11-10T19:20:23Z")
LOL, starvation is once again an issue in the south half of the state. 12% to 13% unemployment. That stimulus really worked for us. So did the “cash for klunkers program” Put 1/2 the used car repair shops out of business. ---
**Author:** ![Need\_A\_Horse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f6c823/32.png) [@Need\_A\_Horse](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Need_A_Horse)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/82 "2009-11-10T22:24:36Z")
Leave it in gear. Neutral DOES save gas and your added speed carries momentum up the coming hill. A slight negative torque in gear gives you far better control. Ask any truck driver. If you’re out of gear, going back into gear can be iffy. You’re playing a match game with static and moving parts. Not smart. Leave it in gear. One rare exception is when negative torque causes you to slip on very bad ice. Go neutral then but only until you regain control or stop. ---
**Author:** ![stephaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@stephaan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/stephaan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/83 "2009-11-10T23:09:48Z")
Good point about the speed limits in the west. Last I heard Montana was a “go as fast as the roads and traffic will allow” just don’t crash or you’ll get ticketed for v.b.r. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/84 "2009-11-11T21:34:09Z")
Never downshift. Save fuel. Save pollution. Save engine rpms = wear. Your brakes remain effective - what does it matter if in gear or not? If too fast, brake a little. Brake wear is little and brake shoes cheap. ---
**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/85 "2009-11-13T21:57:55Z")
The SAAB two stroke I used to have free wheeled when ever you let up on the throttle, effectively putting the car into neutral. It was terrible on brakes. I don’t know where you’re from, but brake jobs aren’t cheap around here and over the life of the car, costs much more than that one extra clutch job for a manual if left in gear. I’m with “Need A Horse”. How one can never downshift is beyond good driving practices. ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/86 "2009-11-14T01:01:12Z")
If you are using your brakes that much, you need your myopia fixed. People who get better than average gas mileage use their brakes very little and because their attention is focused much farther ahead than the rear bumper of the car directly in front of them, start coasting soon enough so that they don’t need to brake or downshift. ---
**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/87 "2009-11-14T04:11:15Z")
I guess you didn’t read it as a response to “Robert Gift”. “Brake wear is little and brake shoes cheap.” Your myopia limit your response to one post at a time ? Comment was with respect to “never down shifting”. Tell me we never down shift when it’s a recommended practice on some occasions where brake fade is a concern. Safe driving occasionally is at odds with getting better mileage. The people I know who get the best mileage, just obey the speed limit or lower and leave it in gear. That’s proven and long term coasting is not a recommended strategy by any automotive group, whether it works or not. Just because a few think it’s a safe practice doesn’t make it so. ---
**Author:** ![Clatrans243](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@Clatrans243](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clatrans243)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/88 "2009-11-14T05:49:14Z")
They’ll figure it out when they discover the transmission in neutral while they are examining the wreckage. ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/89 "2009-11-14T15:49:34Z")
This whole thread is about the effectiveness of coasting in situations where the grade is so mild that it results in speeds that you would be driving anyway, not about freewheeling down Pike’s Peak. Yes, there are situations where it is not a good idea. Just because Tom and Ray believe it’s the most dangerous thing you can possibly do doesn’t make it so. I’m getting about 44-45 mpg in a car that’s EPA (revised) rated at 29/36 mpg. How are the “people you know” doing? ---
**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/90 "2009-11-14T20:56:19Z")
We’ve massaged this discussion from OP’s original 70-75 mph max speeds to 1% grades, which I have no problem with. The idea of never down shifting really got my attention from the Gift. Still looking for an automotive group that recommends the practice. Help me there. Though Tom and Ray may not all ways agree with us, I respect their opinion when they err on the side of caution and safe driving. ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024/91 "2009-11-14T21:28:32Z")
I do it all the time because I drive a manual and have to shift gears anyway, which means that I constantly have to judge which gear I need to use anyway and neutral is nothing more than yet another gear choice. It becomes such a habit after a while that I really am not constantly thinking that much about it. My attention to the road ahead and behind is the same as nearly everybody else. It’s not like I am constantly staring at a tachometer and vacuum gauge when I drive. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-coast-in-gear-or-in-neutral/39024.md?page=4)