[jeezchris.]

So.... I have a habit of shifting to Neutral (I drive an 4-speed automatic) when I'm going down hills to save a little bit of gas. >__<

But then my dad told me that it's bad for the car for some reason.. to shift into neutral and back into drive while at high speeds.. is that true? o__o can it damage the transmission or anything?

Thanks!

[k1D3Ck]

its bad, think about it
go to howstuffworks.com and look up auto transmission

[taoh]

You actually save gas when you roll downhill while in gear because your fuel injection system will stop feeding fuel since rolling downhill is keeping the engine running. Having it in gear will also control how fast your car accelerates on the downhill and it may keep your car at a certain speed depending on the incline you are going down; this will also keep you from having to use the brakes to control downhill acceleration and speed.

When you are in neutral, the engine is not connected to the drivetrain, so it has to use fuel to keep the engine at idle.

I hear it will also damage the transmission, but I don't know how and why.

[lunatik]

well to be safe what i do is neutral all the way down to the end and let the car keep rolling till you hit a stop sign then shift to "D" if not then when its around 10-15mph just shift to "D"

i shift my auto sometimes, i have a 4-spd auto, and i shift it to the "L" gear then step on it you will feel the car pull and then once you hit 30mph, let go of gas push it to "2" gear then stomp on the gas and do the same for "D"

you'll know when to shift by listening to your car but yea its kinda fun doing auto-shifting in a auto lol

[panda]

if abused like any other part of the car, yes. generally, the torque convertor is strong enough to hold the torque capacity of the given engine... as long as you don't repeatedly dump the car from neutral into D with a rpm raise, you should be fine.

[mangujowa]

Would you really save that much gas though?

I would be too lazy to do that.

....
my mom hits the gas hardddd going downhill so she can speed up easily.
o__o"

[panda]

yeah. i had my share of gas going downhill at neutral.

[tiienchi]

The reason it's automatic is because it's all AUTOMATIC. The car does it for you, so the idea is you shouldn't shift your gears around while you're moving. I'm not too sure about how it works, but it puts tension on your transmission and really wears it down. Before I got my M3, i drove an auto accord, and I just MESSED UP the transmission (purposely though) by shifting to neutral and shifting down to D3 when I need more speed.


But yes, it's definite if you keep doing it that your transmission will drop; in time.

[cutepeaches]

SAme as above. Shifting into neutral whilst the car is in motion is bad for the gearbox. DON'T DO IT. The amount of fuel you would save is minute if any.

[Bboy_CL1]

its bad what ur doing it maybe u should go get urself a Manual car

[RossiMacher]

LMAO, you do realize that when you put a car into neutral, the car is using gas to keep it at idle, right? You're probably using more gas by putting it into neutral, then just letting off the throttle in gear. rofl, ricers...

[darkmafiaguy]

LMAO, you do realize that when you put a car into neutral, the car is using gas to keep it at idle, right? You're probably using more gas by putting it into neutral, then just letting off the throttle in gear. rofl, ricers...

I wouldn't call someone a ricer unless their car was a distastefully modded import made to look faster than it actually is. You can't be sure if the creator of this topic is a "ricer." So please, until you learn to grow up and how to use an insult properly, don't.

[xiLLeNtz]

kind of same q but modified.. is it ok to change from sport to normal drive or other way around while the vehicle is still in motion?

[FusionGT2]

I wouldn't call someone a ricer unless their car was a distastefully modded import made to look faster than it actually is. You can't be sure if the creator of this topic is a "ricer." So please, until you learn to grow up and how to use an insult properly, don't.

took the words right from my mind.. anyway like a couple people said, its bad for your car, so dont do it. automatics are called that for a reason. If you really wana save gas, save up a little and get yourself a MT civic.

[tiienchi]

kind of same q but modified.. is it ok to change from sport to normal drive or other way around while the vehicle is still in motion?

You're talkn about mercedes or bmw? BMW m powered cars you can do it whenever, it's safe. But mercedes, I believe you have to turn on and off the car before the transition actually changes between sport - normal, and other modes it might have.

[panda]

LMAO, you do realize that when you put a car into neutral, the car is using gas to keep it at idle, right? You're probably using more gas by putting it into neutral, then just letting off the throttle in gear. rofl, ricers...

and a car idling at sub 1000 rpm is consuming more fuel than a cruising car at above 1000 rpm with a wider open throttle plate? fyi, a cranked engine will consume gas continuously, regardless of rpm levels.

[xiLLeNtz]

You're talkn about mercedes or bmw? BMW m powered cars you can do it whenever, it's safe. But mercedes, I believe you have to turn on and off the car before the transition actually changes between sport - normal, and other modes it might have.

ahah talking about honda fit~ but eh thx lol

[tiienchi]

and a car idling at sub 1000 rpm is consuming more fuel than a cruising car at above 1000 rpm with a wider open throttle plate? fyi, a cranked engine will consume gas continuously, regardless of rpm levels.

Pwned :]

ahah talking about honda fit~ but eh thx lol

Honda Fit has a sport mode? Well, in that case, dude, I have no idea. LOL. I didn't know honda would go that far. Check your manual, I'm sure it goes over it in there.

[aznfishyfart]

by sport mode do u mean the tiptronic?
if it is then it shouldn't matter because then normally when changing over it puts u at a higher gear so u wont eff up ur transmission