On safety, I'd agree, but for fuel economy it really depends. While it is true that the injectors will shut off if you're moving quickly enough, you'll slow down quite a bit quicker while coasting with the transmission engaged. Plus, doing neutral pulse and glide is generally more efficient than maintaining a constant speed. So if you're coasting from 50 to a stop and your goal is not to keep rolling, it will be more efficient to remain in gear. If your goal is to continue pulsing up to some speed then coasting down, neutral will probably provide you with better results. See here:

http://www.metrompg.com/posts/pulse-and-glide.htm

Pulse and glide sounds counter intuitive at first, but I'm fairly sure the technique actually yields fuel economy gains. The short period of extra fuel burn to reach the higher speed is overcome by the gain from a long period of neutral rolling with little resistance and a very low engine RPM. The most extreme technique calls for engine shut-off coupled with rolling in neutral. This works well in hybrids, where the engine can shutoff, even in neutral, but the wear and tear from engine stop/start and the danger from losing power brakes and steering is simply not worth it.

I personally don't use the neutral pulse and glide technique in my S2000. I do NOT like driving in a manual and letting it roll in neutral. I don't want to increase clutch use, and I want the control of being able to accelerate quickly. The only time I pop into neutral is near the end of a coast up to a stop light. As others have said they do, I will let the RPMs drop to somewhere around 1500 and then go into neutral.



Coasting in neutral through curves seems like a particularly bad idea.

 

If your hyper-milling your S2000.... your doing it wrong.

I get consistant 22mpg with city/highway/autocross driving, which I think is spectacular for a sports car.


I did the neutral turning thing when I first drove stick many years ago so I understand where he is coming from, no one had told me differently. It is much easier, and safer to simply rev-match->downshift before the start of the turn and shouldn't take more than a day or two to get in the habit of doing that way.

 

Hi,

Does this not get covered during your driving test in the US? This would be an instant fail in the UK due to the fact you are not in control of the vehicle while coasting in neutral, so it's something the instructors constantly hammer into you. (Not to say people still don't do it, but it tends to be a smaller proportion)

Perhaps this is due to the licensing differences? To obtain a full UK license you must pass your test in a manual vehicle which will allow you to drive both manual and automatics. If you pass your test in an automatic car you are limited to automatic cars only. Therefore 99% of people are taught to drive manual vehicles, as most cars in the UK are manual. (Although thats changing in recent years with the abundance of SMG/DSG gearboxes that are replacing the normal slushboxes)

 

I think people should screw off and stop being so critical of other people, perhaps even hypocritical, I'm with op.
It is merely an error in teaching, there's not really a good guide out there on how to drive a manual, why are you driving a manual car without knowing how to drive a manual? Why is Paris Hilton driving a Bentley and running out of gas because she "never filled up this car"?
Its more of ignorance, and if you're going to bash someone for ignorance you're being hypocritical as hell because I guarantee you are ignorant in one area or another, that's why most of us pay someone else to do our plumbing.
I would coast in neutral down hill because some hills will speed you up past the speed limit as you go down them for half a mile or more in neutral, and then coast in neutral around corners, and after reading this I was playing around with it driving around corners and braking.
Now why was I doing this? The answer is simple, it's how I learned it. The s2000 is my first manual, and I love almost everything about it, but I had to read online to learn the concepts of driving a manual and then took it out a few times with my brother who has a manual twin turbo 430 hp 300zx, and he only really gave me the basics. The online material I read instructs to go around corners in neutral.
Now I am more than willing to believe this was proper, why? Look at this forum. You hear and see videos all the time where people spin out at 50 mph because their foot fluctuated or something on the pedal instead of a gradual change in gas, causing them to spin out.
So if you all want to flame me go ahead, I could care less if someone bashes me for being ignorant. Instead of bashing me for it, educate me.

 

I also think it's poor form to just start laying into people for their questions. It's much friendlier to just give your opinion on the matter. If someone is hear to learn, they don't need to be lectured.

I'm no expert on the matter, but I think it is better to stay in gear while cornering, down-shifting as necessary prior to entering sharp curves. I think a big reason why you hear about people crashing at 50 mph because they fluctuated their throttle is because they're going way too fast in the first place. I think if you're going into neutral in corners, it implies you're not driving the car at its traction limit to begin with.

If someone wants to push the car to its limits on autocross, fine, but they want to on public roads, they'd better prepare for a wreck, even if they're very experienced. Road hazards, other drivers, etc. will eventually force them into a wreck.

 

Not in California, at least. You can take your exam in pretty much any car or truck. The only license separations are for motorcycles and commercial trucks. Auto vs manual gearbox is not a consideration.

The driven exam here basically requires demonstrating knowledge of the signals, lights, horn, etc., along with a relatively short circuit around part of the city in which you are being tested. The exam includes residential areas, main thoroughfares, and reversing on the side of the road. The exam is not difficult at all. As long as you stay within the posted limits, avoid hitting any objects, check your mirrors periodically, and not do anything terribly unsafe, they'll pass you.

Oh, and last I checked, something like 6% of vehicles sold in the US are manuals. The rest are autos.

 

I see. I assume most manual drivers are then self-taught or you get extra tuition afterwards then? I'd never thought about having to learn clutch control, and how to use the gears to control the car after my test as it's covered when you learn. I imagine it makes buying an manual a little intimidating for some people.

 

Driver training is only required by law for minors. Minors must complete 6 hours of training prior to license examination. The training typically revolves around "learning" the test routes and forcing oneself to behave in a manner that will result in a pass (limiting speeding, being blatantly obvious about mirror checks, etc). It's no Finland. The teen training doesn't extend beyond very basic driving techniques, and adults don't have to get any. They simply have to pass the test. I think most people who can drive a manual were taught by their parents, and probably drove a stick shift in their first car. For the others, it's probably too intimidating to try, and they assume driving a manual is too much work.

There's also another factor. A lot of times manual gearboxes are closely tied to cheap cars in the US market. Most common sedans / saloons are only available with stick shift on the lowest trims. This is true on the Hyundai Sonata (GLS only), the Honda Accord (no EX-L manuals), the Civic (no EX manuals), and countless other cars. I like leather seats and having some luxury features on a car, but I still prefer manual, so my options are limited. Fortunately, almost every sports car is offered with a stick.

 

I am no expert by any means, but I was always taught and have read on here many times that unless you're coming to a complete stop you should never throw a car in neutral randomly and then back in gear unless in that spurt of neutral you are matching the revs and then applying the proper gear. <--- you didnt really elaborate on your method of manipulating revs if you have one.

Im sure someone a little more tech writing savvy can elaborate and explain or link you somewhere that can properly display the relationship between engine speed and the speed of the transmission and the purpose of syncros, etc.

I'd hate for you to ruin something just because you were ignorant to the fact....ignorant meaning un-informed.

 

I was taught to drive manual by my father who taught himself to drive manual. I had driven hundreds of thousands of miles, but after starting in motorsport realized that I had been doing it wrong. I wasn't being kind to my synchros or my throwout bearing. S2ki.com helped me learn "advanced" manual driving technique. We all can't be so fortunate as to have family members who remember back to the days of pre-synchro manual driving. Kudos to the OP for asking without judgement. Kudos to the people who answered to help and without judgement.