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Author
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Topic: Does SHIFTING an automatic really save gas?
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 04-11-2011 10:55 PM
As the Car Talk guys:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/1995/March/18.html
quote:
Dear Tom and Ray:
When I was a youngster and would ride along with my father, I noticed that he would always put his car in Neutral when stopped at a traffic light. Of course, I'm referring to an automatic transmission. Once I started driving, I found myself doing the same thing. Now, after driving for more than 20 years, I am still doing this, in the belief that it is better for the transmission, the drive train, or the automobile... period. Can you give me some insight on whether there is any benefit to this, or am I just creating more problems for myself? John
Tom: You add credence to our theory, John, that 98% of the misinformation in this century can be traced back to fathers. The other two percent comes from either brothers or the CIA.
Ray: I think your father's habit dates back to the early days of the automatic transmission. When automatics were new, drivers probably didn't trust them entirely. And there was probably some fear that these things could "run away" from you. So drivers would shift into Neutral at traffic lights because it seemed safer.
Tom: But the truth is it doesn't help the car at all, and in fact, it probably does some harm. Every time you shift to Neutral and back into Drive, you "relax" and then "stress" every component of the drive train. And all that does is wear out those moving parts.
Ray: Now, to be fair to you and dear old dad, in the grand scheme of things, you're really not doing much harm to your car. It just means that some of those parts will wear out a little sooner than they would have otherwise (maybe even after you've sold the car to your brother). Our point is simply that you're not doing the car any good by shifting back and forth all the time.
Tom: So I suggest you make some better use of your time at stop lights, John. Try polishing the buckle on the seat belt...or if you want a little more of a challenge, try figuring out whether your current odometer reading is a prime number.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 04-12-2011 12:02 AM
When I was a field service tech down South, I did a lot of driving in Sunday. When you try to listen to the radio on Sunday, the only two things you'll find are Preachers and Racing.
Pretty quick, you learn to hunt down the NPR stations and program them into your radio. I listened to Car Talk quite often.
BTW: Think about this... In an automatic transmission, when you step on the break, the torque converter stalls out but the driven impeller still turns. The rotor/stator and the turbine are stationary but the engine is still dumping power into the driven half of the converter.
Regardless of what load is on the other side of the converter, the engine is still turning it. It makes no difference what gear the car is in or even neutral. You've got your foot on the break, the wheels are locked, the drive shaft is stationary, the transmission is stationary. Nothing moves. The engine is just churning oil.
If there is any fuel savings, it is likely to be so small as to be unmeasurable and, what savings there might be will certainly be nullified by the increased wear and tear on the engine and transmission as it is shifted in and out of gear.
I vote with Click and Clack.
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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today
Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99
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posted 04-12-2011 12:03 AM
The Car Guys are awesome, I used to read them every week in my local paper. But then the paper stopped carrying their column for some reason so I unsubscribed to the paper.
I wouldn't bother shifting out of drive in an automatic unless I needed to go in reverse, turn the car off or was going down a steep grade hill. But some people take it to the extreme, they also shift into neutral to "coast" down hills and save gas! As a driver of a manual transmission, I sometimes do that and of course the transmission is never engaged at a stop, but it's much easier to do and the potential for catastrophic damage is much less severe (no chance of accidentally shifting into reverse). I can't remember how it is on automatics, but do you have to pass reverse to get from drive to neutral and back? If so, your reverse lights flash as you do this and people behind you think you're an idiot.
I do sometimes turn the car engine off at drive-throughs (fast food places and banks) while I wait, though. That definitely saves *some* gas and there really isn't any reason to keep it running if you're going to be in the same spot for more than a minute or so unless you want the AC or heat. Some people even do this at stop lights (which is a bit extreme, in my opinion).
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