The Fast & The Frugal – Memphis Drift

So, I’m trying an experiment, and I figured I’d share with the rest of OD, and see if anyone else is doing the same thing.

I drive a stick (o, how I love the stick) and one of the cooler things that I’ve always ‘heard’ but never done was drift/coast in the car – to save on gas.

So. What I started doing last week was drifting. As much as I could – slipping the car into neutral, and letting the inertia carry me down the hill/to the stoplight/off the exit ramp/etc….. just doing it off an on, for a week, upped my MPG from 32 to 34. I know, I know, a measley two miles per gallon, but still – considering gas (when I filled my tank last night) has crept up to the lovely price of 2.79 (member year before last when gas didn’t get this expenisve until AFTER Katrina took out the oil refineries in LA? WTF, ya’ll? ) I figure that anything I can do to save fuel is – wise, on so MANY different levels.

So far – I’ve gotten 37 miles, and the needle hasn’t even shifted from ‘over-full’. I usually only got 25 miles before it started drifting into the actual gauge range.

I keep safety in mind – I simply CANNOT do this on the highway – drifting doesn’t give me enough power to go safely fast enough to stay in the flow – and we don’t have many hills on the route I drive home/to work. On the city streets – every hill is an opportunity, every stoplight/stopsign is DEFINITELY an opportunity – if I HAVE to brake, I’m in neutral – period. I can switch lanes easily, and I can pop right back into 3rd/4th if need be.

*evilgrin* It’s like having a hybrid, without the plug. *LOL*

Oh, I miss my stick-shift days. Sticks make so much more sense to me. Can you shift without the clutch? That always gave me a ridiculous sense of accomplishment and superiority. I’m surprised I never left a wake of transmission parts in my wake! Lucky – it’s $3.33 here.

a mote, floating

May 3, 2007

Saw you on the front page.I drive an automatic & drift w/o switching gears; I still use gas, but less so. Depending on what’s behind me, I usually lift my foot as soon as I see a light turn yellow, even if I’m a fair distance away. Once in a great while I notice someone else doing the same thing.Reaching the light w/o ever touching the brake, just as it turns green, is so sweet…

You get VERY familiar with the sound the engine makes – when you’re going the exact RPMs you would be going in the gear to which you want to change, you pull the shift out of one gear and E-A-S-E it into the next. If you’ve timed it right, the gears will just mesh seamlessly into one another. If you haven’t, they will immediately shear themselves smooth, so you might want to practice this maneuver on someone ELSE’S car. 😀

popetheempress

See, since I love everyone and don’t want them to die, I am never-ever-ever allowed to drive a stick shift. It is Un. Safe. (for me, not you; I’ve ridden a loooong way with you in the Kmobile and you’re fine). Have fun, Tokyo Drift!

Fred

i always do that. not necessarily put it in neutral but just keep my foot on the clutch when going down hill or slowing down. you can easily keep control that way, wherever you’re driving.

I have a standard tranny as well. I found shifting sooner and lugging the engine saves me a lot of gas. It’s no fun though. Love,

originalsinner

I have a hybrid, and you’re darn close to getting the kind of mileage I get…But…I live in Southern Californai, where doing less than 75 on the freeways merits you the one finger wave, the crawl-up-your-ass tailgater, and people swerving in front of you as close as they dare, just to “get even” for you causing them to slow down.

Cobalt

May 18, 2007

I understand this so much. With gas prices so ridiculously and inexplicably out of control, it’s so nice to feel as though you have just that tiny bit of say in how much gas you use.

Jane Says

May 22, 2007

Did you know it’s against the LAW in Maine to let a car coast while in neutral? Weird, eh? Title 29-A: MOTOR VEHICLES (HEADING: PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (new); Pt. B, §5 (aff)) Chapter 19: OPERATION (HEADING: PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (new); Pt. B, §5 (aff)) Subchapter 1: RULES OF THE ROAD (HEADING: PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (new); Pt. B, §5 (aff)) §2064. No coasting ongrade in neutral An operator, when traveling on a downgrade, may not coast with the gears of the vehicle in neutral. [1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (new); Pt. B, §5 (aff).]