# Question on manual car technique in neutral **URL:** \ **Category:** Driving/Drivers\ **Created:** [March 8, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535 "2020-03-08T01:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/21 "2020-03-08T15:17:21Z")
Your uncle practices a dumb and dangerous habit. No driving instructor would ever even suggest something like that! ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/22 "2020-03-08T15:20:37Z")
When I rode motorcycles the only time I put it in neutral was at long traffic lights. If this uncle does this on a motorcycle that sounds like a good way to guarantee a crash . ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/23 "2020-03-08T19:10:59Z")
Can you shift a motorcycle to neutral at 45mph? ---
**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/24 "2020-03-08T21:18:09Z")
Your uncle must have learned to drive in a car with a carburetor. It would save gas in one of those. Not a good practice but it worked. It is counter-productive in a fuel injected vehicle. In a fuel injected and computer controlled engine, the fuel is shut off under high vacuum conditions which you would encounter when decelerating in gear. If you push in the clutch or put it in neutral, then the fuel injectors have to supply gas to keep the engine alive. In a carburetor, the high vacuum condition would actually suck gas into the engine that was not needed and contributed to a lot of unburned hydrocarbons. Respect your uncle but follow your driving instructors advice. ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/25 "2020-03-08T21:34:01Z")
@q.irontail_164778: Keith raises a good point. That technique may have saved gas in carburetor-ed or the early fuel injected cars. But now it will consume more gas. There are numerous ways people operate manual shift cars. I don’t consider your uncle’s style wrong. It’s just different and it’s not a style I would use, for the many reasons previously given. As others have noted, this is a case to listen to your instructor. ---
**Author:** ![auto-owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@auto-owner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/auto-owner)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/26 "2020-03-09T02:12:51Z")
> [@It\_s\_Me](#): > > it opens the exhaust valve on the compression stroke so the engine doesn’t build enough compression to ignite the diesel After watching the video, I’m wondering what causes the Jake Brake to make the exhaust louder. I had always assumed the thing worked by somehow restricting exhaust flow, essentially compressing it and creating the cackle I’d hear from big-rigs when they were decelerating. ---
**Author:** ![dave10010\_5\_164817](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cab0a1/32.png) [@dave10010\_5\_164817](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dave10010_5_164817)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/27 "2020-03-09T02:25:13Z")
The exhaust valve opens near the top of the compression stroke, releasing the pressure that would normally ignite the fuel and force the piston down. That’s why the exhaust is louder. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/28 "2020-03-09T03:28:55Z")
Thanks for the information, when I asked on of the mechanics at work, I was given the closed valve answer. Obviously I never investigated further. ---
**Author:** ![RichardJR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a87d85/32.png) [@RichardJR](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RichardJR)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/29 "2020-03-10T16:14:06Z")
Yes you can. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/30 "2020-03-10T17:02:26Z")
On those that can be shifted into neutral at 45 mph a miss step through neutral to 1st might be costly. ---
**Author:** ![auto-owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@auto-owner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/auto-owner)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535/31 "2020-03-11T02:38:09Z")
If anyone is interested, it appears jake brake / exhaust brake is more complicated than most of us might have thought. At least now I think I understand that exhaust racket from decelerating big-rigs. [https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=exhaust+brake&&view=detail&mid=23E9DBA0A7CE11B5042E23E9DBA0A7CE11B5042E&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dexhaust%2Bbrake%26FORM%3DHDRSC3](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=exhaust+brake&&view=detail&mid=23E9DBA0A7CE11B5042E23E9DBA0A7CE11B5042E&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dexhaust%2Bbrake%26FORM%3DHDRSC3) [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/question-on-manual-car-technique-in-neutral/160535.md?page=1)