[mrniceguy]

I drive approximately 7 miles each way to and from work, on the way home I can switch my engine off and coast for half a mile down one decline and just over 1 mile on another decline (this assumes that traffic keeps moving at approx 30mph). My car doesn't have power steering so that is unaffected, but does have servo assisted brakes so I need to push down harder in order to slow the car. As I begin to lose speed I let the clutch out and switch the ignition on, although I am saving fuel I don't know if I am doing any damage to the car, can anyone shed any light on this?

[hymalaia]

I'm a "habitual speeder" but I rarely go over 80. The one time I set the manual cruise control to 81 I got a ticket and my insurance sky rocketed. Most of my driving is on I-90 in Massachusetts where the posted limit is 65, but the "real limit" is 75. I'm normally about 72 for uphill grades, 78 for downhill. I'd go faster but I can't afford to get caught again. As far as mileage is concerned, yeah it sucks to go so fast but going 55 on that road is just scary, and would probably add 30 minutes to my trip.

So yeah, I'm a peak oil hypocrite in this department.

[eastbay]

At the suggestion on the Peak Oil 'book section', I'm reading Lucifers Hammer for the first time. In this book a passing reference is made to Greek drivers who routinely shut off their engines on long downhills.

Well, rather than have the power steering and brakes go goofy on me, I almost always go to neutral heading to slowdowns or stops and on downhills such as both sides of the San Mateo Bridge (2 miles) or both sides of the hill between Castro Valley and Dublin (5 miles).

I'm coasting about 8 or 9 miles a day! Yeah!

EastBay

[Jdelagado]

Gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 miles per hour, and if you drive 70 mph instead of 55 mph you could lose up to 17 percent of your car's fuel economy — which is how many miles a vehicle actually drives using a given amount of gas on either the highway and in the city. In fact, each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is equal to paying an additional $.10 per gallon of gas. To maintain the speed limit and save gas, try using cruise control (if you have it) or just stick to the limit.

This is ambiguous... Tell me this, If I pull the 3.70 ring and pinion gearset out of my differential of my '74 Corvette gas guzzler and install a 2.41 set of gears, that SUBSTANTIALLY drops the rpm's of an engine down, thus reducing fuel comsumption.

How about the addition of an overdrive transmission that drops the rpm's down 30-50% depending on the final gear ratios?????

What about the different aerodynamic qualities of different types of vehicles?

jdelagado