Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: chris on 31/12/2011 17:39:45

Title: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: chris on 31/12/2011 17:39:45
The DVLA helpfully sent me a guide to how to save money on motoring alongside my fleece - sorry - car tax reminder. (The carbon cost of printing and posting a full-colour leaflet has clearly escaped them).

Anyway, it helpfully contains the following advice under a section called "Be a smarter driver!"

"Stay in gear - Don't coast downhill or towards lights in neutral as this uses more fuel! Stay in gear and ease off the gas gently to reduce fuel flow to the engine to virtually zero."

Maybe I'm missing something, but this sounds like b****cks to me.

When you take your foot off the throttle, the carburettor / injectors / fuel pump on a diesel return to the throttle opening that corresponds to tickover. Therefore closing off the throttle and remaining in gear while coasting will cause engine braking because the car is trying to turn the engine faster than the fuel supply would normally enable it to turn; therefore there is a net braking effect. But surely the fuel flow will by no means be zero, unless there's some very intelligent programming going on in engine management systems on new cars...?

I'd appreciate everyones' opinions...

 
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Don_1 on 31/12/2011 18:25:59
I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment: ".....this sounds like b****cks to me......", Chris. It is plainly obvious to anyone with a brain cell rattling around in their skull, that the DVLA are talking out of their a***s.

If I am doing 2500 revs at 60MPH when I begin to go downhill, if I take my foot off the accelerator, to use the engine brake, and the result is I continue at 2500 revs at 60MPH, then I am using the same amount of fuel. If I depress the clutch, my revs will drop to around 1000RPM but my speed remains at 60MPH (or perhaps a little more). It has to be as plain as the nose on my face, that I must be saving on fuel.

As for reducing the fuel flow to virtually zero, that would cause the engine to cut out.

While I understand that they are trying to disuade motorists from 'freewheeling', I think it would be best if they gave the actual reasons why freewheeling can be dangerous, not take us all for idiots, or show themselves for the idiots they are.

You have reminded me that my tax runs out at the end of January..........
Car tax, road tax, fuel tax, fuel duty, tax on fuel duty, tax on insurance, Dartford Xing, Severn Xing and M6 toll AND tax on them, parking charges, congestion charge, tax on spares and repairs................ AND STILL I CAN'T USE THE B******************Y BUS LANES!!!!


Could this be my last rant of the year, or will I manage to fit in another?
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 31/12/2011 19:59:01
I would think there are multiple factors including the actual vehicle design.

Carburated vs Injected & engine design.
Coasting to a stop vs Coasting down a hill and continuing at speed.
How long is the hill?
Automatic vs Manual Transmission
Etc.

With your typical carburetor, there is a fixed idle speed adjustment.  So, when you let the throttle off 100%, you will have a fixed amount of fuel bypassing the carburetor per engine stroke.  The faster the engine turns, the more fuel your engine would use.
An injected engine might select fuel to maintain the tick-over, and could theoretically go to NO fuel if the engine was spinning faster than necessary to maintain idle.  And, so one might be able to achieve lower fuel consumption while coasting in gear, using the wheels rather than engine fuel to maintain the engine turning.

That is, of course, if you are braking, for example coasting to a stop.  If you wish to maintain the maximum speed on the downhill, then you might be best to kick it out of gear, so it will not loose speed due to engine braking and require more acceleration.  However, the engine braking might be minimal in the top gear.  Time of the descent might also be an issue in some situations. 

Another option on long, steep hills is to kick it out of gear and shut off the engine.  That is if you don't have to put the %&^*%^&*^#!  thing in park to restart it.  But, you will loose power brakes (after the first application), and power steering.  And you don't want to burn out your brakes on a windy road or very steep hill.

Some automatic transmissions will automatically coast, so your doing it manually will not be of much benefit. 

Of course, if you are stopping with a manual transmission, I would recommend taking it out of gear at some point!!!  As well as downshifting before restarting.

Anyway, I don't think there is any single answer to this.  I will likely depend a lot on your vehicle. 

The newer hybrids and "blue motion technology" will take many of these decisions away from the drivers by automatically optimizing engine management.

Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 31/12/2011 21:26:26
Agreed. It's a load of complete twaddle!
 
As clifford points out, most automatics have a freewheel clutch just like to one on your bike. (Although it may be disabled to allow the engine to act as a brake in certain situations).
 
Keeping the engine turning consumes energy. There are plenty of sources of friction, and there are pumping losses, so if the vehicle is driving the engine at all, the engine is acting like a brake by convertingthe kinetic energy of the vehicle into heat.
 
The reason you don't want to flip it into neutral (if it has a manual transmission) is because it's dangerous,
 
if the engine stalls you might lose all the power assist to your brakes and steering;
 
if you have to suddenly accelerate it might take too long to get into gear;
 
if you need to jam it into gear to use the engine as an emergency brake, you might not be able to get it into gear, or, if you pick the wrong gear, you might actually break the gearbox, or part of the driveline. If you are really unlucky and you destroy the u-joint at the front of a propshaft, the propshaft can launch you and your vehicle like a polevaulter's pole, or, at least, rip the rear axle off the vehicle;
 
if it's a front wheel drive vehicle you might destroy one of the constant velocity joints which can cause the vehcle to steer rapidly in either direction.
 
(BTW - diesel engines don't have a throttle.)
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: RD on 01/01/2012 02:24:57
More alleged fuel saving I saw advertised recently ..

 [ Invalid Attachment ]
http://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving-products/energy-efficient-heating/radiator-insulation-foil#

as if  adding a 0.03 mm metal foil layer to the back of a metal radiator* will improve its performance.

[* despite the name they heat by convection, not radiation]

Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 01/01/2012 04:14:18
More alleged fuel saving I saw advertised recently ..

as if  adding a 0.03 mm metal foil layer to the back of a metal radiator* will improve its performance.

[* despite the name they heat by convection, not radiation]



It's very artfully written too. If you are not paying attention you might believe it's going to save you 35% on your heating bill.

Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 01/01/2012 07:54:13
I don't have any steam radiators...
But, it would be simple enough to test.

Take some plain tin (aluminum) foil.
Attach it to the wall, shiny side towards your radiator.

Perhaps behind half of the radiator.

Now, take an IR thermometer, and check the wall temperature behind the covered and uncovered parts of the wall.

The theory is that the foil will reflect the IR emissions back into the room (or the radiator).

The real test would be whether the temperature of the outside wall would be any different behind different radiators in your house.

I'll tell you, a "space blanket" is amazingly warming.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: RD on 01/01/2012 09:27:58
The stuck-to-the-wall version of the “reflector” foil may lower fuel consumption by accident ...

If the foil trapped some air between itself and the wall, (like bubbles in badly applied wallpaper), it could lower fuel consumption by insulation: air warmed by the back of the radiator would be less able to transmit its heat to the wall because the air bubbles trapped by the foil have a lower thermal conductivity than the unadorned wall.


I'll tell you, a "space blanket" is amazingly warming.

I suspect a black plastic bin bag would be similarly toasty.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: SeanB on 01/01/2012 18:02:14
Trust me Rd a space blanket is a lot better than a black bin liner to keep you warm on a cold winter night. The only thing most would do with the bag is to get a whole lot of them and other combustibles and burn it for warmth.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 01/01/2012 19:53:26
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with heating the walls if they are interior walls, or well insulated exterior walls. The walls act as moderators and prevent rapid temperature swings. They also help to maintain a uniform temperature which makes the room feel a lot more comfortable.

There isn't much heat radiated from a radiator, particularly the relatively cool hot water variety that are common in the UK, so you'd be much better to stick a thin sheet of polystyrene insulation on the wall if you really wanted to minimized the heat transfer into your next door neighbor's house.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: lightspeed301 on 01/01/2012 20:20:39
As Betty White said: "It Depends."

Coasting downhill in drive will probably, or at least could, shut down all the injectors and us no fuel. However, the car will experience engine braking. Coasting in neutral eliminates engine braking, but requires fuel injection for idle; and that assumes the engine injectors are off.

I have a long hill and have tried both. In neutral the car speeds up quite a bit, and I suspect that more then compensates for the idle fuel.

There is also a special circumstance where coasting in drive will not shut down the injectors: If the engine is cold. I live on the top of a one mile hill, and am convinced the engine uses less fuel in neutral.

In any event, you are not going to save much fuel anyway. I spent a lot of time experimenting on longish trips. The best I can determine my extra mile experiments MIGHT have gained me one or two tenths on a base of about 27mpg.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: lightspeed301 on 01/01/2012 20:28:16
Geezer

I do not believe any cars have a free wheeling transmission. True, the automatics may deactivate the lock-up torque converter, but I can tell from my tachometer the automatic has not gone freewheeling. I can free wheel by putting the car in neutral.

But I mostly agree with those who say just leave the damned thing in drive. Even EYE have been caught flatfooted when the light turns green after coasting up to a red. Incidentally, the CV joints will be unaffected in automatic cars. I can not even torque brake my '07 MAXX.  It just refuses to move off idle until I let go of the brake pedal. Sad, but true.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: lightspeed301 on 01/01/2012 20:44:24
RD,

There is no way to modify your radiator to improve fuel economy. Remember, the cooling system has thermostat. It will not pass coolant until the temperature gets pretty high. I think most cars today are 195* F. We used to put 180* F thermostats to keep the intake cooler, and the air cooler and at higher density and hence more power.

At the track I was never able to record any difference.  On the otherhand, if you could round up a 215* F thermostat, that might actually increase fuel economy by reducing pumping losses. It makes the intake charge thinner - think of moving towards a vacuum where there would be no pumping losses.

I have done track runs at 40* ambient v. 90* ambient. I gain, perhaps, one or two mph better. I would only do a 215* thermostat for kicks. I like my power, and like positive displacement supercharging at about 1/2 atmosphere. On my Lincoln MK VII it dropped my 1/4 mile time by more then one and a half seconds. And believe it or not, my fuel economy went UP.

At 60 mph I was pushing 30 mpg. That dropped to about 21 mpg at 80 mph, and stayed there no mater how fast I went. And I went FAST back in those days. One hundred and ten was routine.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 02/01/2012 01:28:30
RD,

There is no way to modify your radiator to improve fuel economy. Remember, the cooling system has thermostat.

Er, you might want to take a look at RD's post again.

There actually is a freewheel in the torque converter of an automatic transmission. The stator element is mounted on a one way clutch that prevents it from rotating while the engine is rotating faster than the output to the transmission. Preventing the stator from rotating enables torque multiplication. When the output reaches almost the same speed as the engine, the fluid forces on the stator reverse and the stator rotates with the impeller and the turbine to minimize unnecessary pumping action. At that point, the torque converter is behaving like a fluid coupling.

When torque is flowing from the transmission to the engine, the stator rotates with the turbine and impeller and there is no speed multiplication to the engine. This explains you can't "bump start" a car with an automatic transmission the way you can with a manual transmission. There is so little torque going from the transmission to the engine that you have to tow an automatic at about 30 mph to get it to start.

Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: lightspeed301 on 03/01/2012 21:56:42
Geezer

Just today I tested my four speed auto with lockup converter on a steep hill.  At 60 mph in drive and zero throttle the tach showed 2000 rpm. In neutral it showed 1000 rpm.  Clearly it was not free wheeling.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 04/01/2012 00:39:18
Geezer

Just today I tested my four speed auto with lockup converter on a steep hill.  At 60 mph in drive and zero throttle the tach showed 2000 rpm. In neutral it showed 1000 rpm.  Clearly it was not free wheeling.


If there was no reduction in engine speed when you took your foot off the gas, the lockup clutch was still engaged.

The torque converter will couple some torque from the transmission back to the engine, otherwise it would be impossible to start an automatic by towing it at any speed. It's not a perfect freewheel, but at low speeds, it's pretty close.

When I lift my foot off at 35 mph, the engine drops back almost to idle speed. I'm coasting. That is not what happens with a manual transmission. With a manual transmission there can be no immediate change in the engine speed without an immediate change in road speed.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: lightspeed301 on 04/01/2012 01:47:32
Geez - You wrote: "If there was no reduction in engine speed when you took your foot off the gas, the lockup clutch was still engaged."

I don't think I said there was no reduction when I took my foot off. I only observed what the rpms were after I did that, and what they were when I move the shifter into N. I will take your advice and test for both next time I am out.

However, you, your very own self, said you could push start an automatic at about 35 mph. I am unaware of any automatic that entirely disconnects the drive wheels from the engine at any speed.

With the possible exception of my 2007 CTS which would not creep forward at idle. I came to hate that car for a variety of reasons, including that one. It would produce a driveline snatch every time I started from a dead stop.

Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 04/01/2012 03:43:26
When your car is stopped in Drive, the impeller is turning a lot faster than the turbine, so the stator is like, static, because of the one way clutch. Therefore, the engine delivers torque to the transmission which is why the car tends to creep. If the engine was stopped and the car was moving slowly, the one way clutch would allow the stator to be like, not static, so the engine would hardly slow down the car at all.   
 
That's why they have a P position on the selector on an automatic. Try parking on a hill in drive without the emergency brake on and you'll see what I mean.   
 
Perhaps what you should try is coasting to a stop from, say, 30 mph in D and in neutral on the same section of road, and see if there is any difference in the distance you travel.   I used to drive a "semi-automatic" VW bug that had a three speed synchromesh transmission, an electrically activtated clutch and a torque converter. I also drove a lot of stick VW's over the years.   
 
Thanks to the torque converter, the semi-automatic provided almost no engine braking at all. Fortunately it had disc brakes, but it chewed through brake pads and rotors like crazy.   
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 04/01/2012 06:35:51
After more pondering it struck me that I should have pointed out that things would be different if the stator was not supported by a one-way clutch so that it was always static (as its name implies.)

If it was, the torque converter would be symmetrical, or at least a lot more symmetrical (I can't figure out if the angle of the stator blades prevents it from being completely symmetrical or not.)

Anyway, even if it was more symmetrical, it still would not behave like a gearbox. What it would do is act like a gearbox that always tried to increase the torque between the input and the output regardless of the direction.

That means that it would work as expected when the engine was accelerating the vehicle, but when the vehicle was trying to accelerate the engine, the transmission would apply a lot of torque to the engine, by "gearing down", so the engine would be turning much more slowly than the shaft from the transmission.

That's the complete opposite of what's required for engine braking. What you want to do is try to make the vehicle speed up the engine as much as possible.

I've noticed my truck will hold its cruise speed on a serious downgrade using engine braking, but I suspect that only works because the torque converter is completely bypassed with the lock-out clutch so that the whole thing is behaving just like a manual transmission.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CZARCAR on 05/01/2012 18:27:01
whats the chance that a pollution control gizmo might be the reason?
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: peppercorn on 06/01/2012 13:44:20
When you take your foot off the throttle, the carburettor / injectors / fuel pump on a diesel return to the throttle opening that corresponds to tickover.

Just to note, this is not the case for the majority of modern vehicles in all circumstances:  Under some operating conditions a car's engine-management computer can 'decide' to cut fuel off entirely to the injectors.  This should be carefully monitored by the car's ECU to avoid the revs dropping below its stall speed and will only occur if no input for throttle sensor (ie. no pressure from your right foot) is present. On some vehicles light pressure on the brake pedal will indicate to the ECU that the driver wishes to go to this 'no-fuel slow-deceleration' mode.
The easiest situation to imagine where this is advantageous is where a driver is approaching a red traffic light or stationary traffic. If the driver is doing 15mph in 2nd gear, putting the clutch in will allow the car to coast (hardly slowing at all) but at the cost of a small amount of fuel to maintain tick-over.  Alternatively, keeping in gear can allow the car to slow fairly gently (through the additional 'drag' of engine pumping losses) but without a single drop of fuel being burnt.
Apologies if this is repeated - I've not read the whole thread.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 07/01/2012 07:03:13
Good point PC. So that would mean you might do slightly better if you do stay in gear. Mind you, if you are going to stay in gear, you have to keep changing down if you don't want to stall the engine.

I have a suspicion that most people, if they think are going to come to a complete stop, either disengage the clutch, or stick it in neutral (except during their driving test, of course.)
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 07/01/2012 07:41:22
I have a suspicion that most people, if they think are going to come to a complete stop, either disengage the clutch, or stick it in neutral (except during their driving test, of course.)

My Electric Vehicle has a clutch and flywheel that will spin quite well without any power.  I find it is actually best to bring the car to a stop in gear, so I can start again from zero, rather than slipping the clutch in first gear.  But, popping it out of gear as one approaches a stoplight is a hard habit to break.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 07/01/2012 08:23:18
What does the flywheely thing? Is that the motor?

I've never driven an electric vehicle (other than dodgems {bumper cars} of course) but I thought the general idea was to leave it in gear and drive it only with the thingy that controls the motor power.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 07/01/2012 08:55:43
My EV Ranger has a 5 speed manual transmission, connected to the Electric Motor.  With a clutch.

Many people recommend a clutchless setup.  In my vehicle, there seems to be very little motor speed drop when free-wheeling in neutral.  Engaging the clutch while the motor is freewheeling will make the vehicle jump forward.  I'm not sure if it is the weight of the motor armature, or a flywheel, but it would be difficult to shift without using the clutch.

I can accelerate from zero...  but the different gears do actually make a difference.  I generally start in 2nd gear, and work up through the gears. 

I have an ammeter, but not wattmeter, or miles/watt meter. 
I seem to get maximum power at about 200 Amp draw.
If I have it in too high of a gear, I get a lower amp draw, and less power.
If I have it in too low of a gear, I get a lower amp draw, and less power.

So, yes, the transmission does help.

Unfortunately, I am not an electrical engineer, and did not do the initial build on the vehicle.
I think one can vary power somewhat by varying voltage.  So, perhaps one could increase the system voltage from 144V to 288V, and get a wider power range.  Also, some DC motor controllers use pulses of power rather than a true variable voltage, although perhaps they use capacitors to remove ripple, and give true variable voltage.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: peppercorn on 07/01/2012 15:16:45
Good point PC. So that would mean you might do slightly better if you do stay in gear. Mind you, if you are going to stay in gear, you have to keep changing down if you don't want to stall the engine.
Correct - it should be possible to return a very slight improvement in MPG if staying in gear, but as you infer there is a fairly limited rev range that this will mode support. The need to change gear at any point during deceleration would likely negate the gains anyway as the ECU would drop out of the 'fuel-off' mode in the change.  However a semi-auto gearbox might be able to handle the changes whilst staying in an efficient envelope.

I have a suspicion that most people, if they think are going to come to a complete stop, either disengage the clutch, or stick it in neutral (except during their driving test, of course.)
This is probably exactly the sort of behaviour the DVLA, in their rather clumsy way, are attempting to change through the pamphlet that Chris was sent [:)]


Clifford, I've always suspected that IC vehicles converted to battery-electric end up with somewhat more gears than are actually required, due to the wider torque range generally available from an EM.  Of course, since your truck falls into the good-for-towing category of vehicle that you Yanks are so keen on I guess the more gears the better [:D]
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 07/01/2012 19:08:17

Of course, since your truck falls into the good-for-towing category of vehicle that you Yanks are so keen on I guess the more gears the better :D


It's Ford Ranger! (I think they have them in the UK too). I had a four-banger Ranger, and it couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It could barely tow my little tin boat.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 07/01/2012 19:32:54
It's Ford Ranger! (I think they have them in the UK too). I had a four-banger Ranger, and it couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It could barely tow my little tin boat.

Aw, Heck, my old 4-Banger Ford Ranger was a towing/hauling machine. [8D]
If it only had overload springs. [:P]

I could get one car loaded in the bed, and pulling another on a trailer   [:D]

The EV Ranger has a very nice tow hitch.  However, it is very very gutless  [xx(]
I'm also having range problems.  I was getting 35-40 miles this summer.  But, this winter, the range seems to be plummeting to under 20 miles  [:(]
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 07/01/2012 20:54:48

I'm also having range problems.  I was getting 35-40 miles this summer.  But, this winter, the range seems to be plummeting to under 20 miles  :(


Are you running the heater, or do you think the battery capacity is reduced by the cold temps? Is it lead-acid?
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 07/01/2012 21:08:10
Lead Acid...  or AGM.

It should have an option to heat off of the motor, but it doesn't. 
Sometimes I'll hit the electric heater for a few minutes to help defog the windows, but generally don't drive with it on.

I think it is reduced battery capacity from the cold weather.  We'll see what it is like next spring.  I do need to try to equalize the batteries sometime.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 08/01/2012 07:51:42
Can you monitor the voltage on each battery during charge and discharge?

I'm wondering if you might have a couple of dud cells, although, it that were the case, I would think you would see the charge current drop-off too quickly.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: neilep on 08/01/2012 19:42:19
If ewe turn the engine off then this helps to save fuel too whilst coasting !..........which is nice !
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 08/01/2012 20:03:32
If ewe turn the engine off then this helps to save fuel too whilst coasting !..........which is nice !
I've done it a few times.
Make sure you don't lock your steering, or are at least careful to unlock it.
Power steering will loose its assist, but may not be a problem at high speeds.
One gets one chance to pump the brakes before one also looses the power brake boost (but can still brake with more force).
If you have a manual transmission (with synchros), it s easy enough to pop the clutch to restart the engine. 
If, on the other hand, you have an Automatic Transmission in the USA, you may need to stop your vehicle and put it in park to restart, which is a big pain, and wouldn't be worth it, except for the biggest of hills.

A Hybrid does it all for you  [;)]
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: chris on 08/01/2012 22:12:48
200 amps; that's a serious current - surely that's not maintained during steady speed...?
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 08/01/2012 22:37:21
200 amps; that's a serious current - surely that's not maintained during steady speed...?
It is serious current.

200A x 144V.

I generally pull just over 200A while going uphill, and on hard acceleration. 
I avoid the freeway whenever possible, but I've been on the freeway for short hops at times.  Fast driving, but high power consumption.
I prefer to cruise somewhere around 80A. 

In about an hour of driving, I can essentially go from full to empty on 24 batteries.

If you consider power this way.
for conversions, 1KW (VA) = 1.34 HP.

So..
200A x 144V = 28.8 KW.

So...  My Ranger has a max of about 40 HP.  That puts it about the same as the old VW Bugs.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 08/01/2012 23:57:09
200 amps; that's a serious current - surely that's not maintained during steady speed...?

It's relatively small compared to the energy consumed when you burn gasoline.

Clifford's electric Ranger is consuming around 6.5kW while cruising (80x144=6544) which sounds about right. If his Ranger was gasoline powered the engine would produce about 6.5kW under the same conditions.

However, as the engine would likely be around 25% efficient, it would be burning gasoline to produce 26kW.

The equivalent current for a voltage of 144V at that power level would be 181 amps, and if the engine was working hard, the equivalent current could easily be ten times greater.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: peppercorn on 09/01/2012 14:25:33
I'm also having range problems.  I was getting 35-40 miles this summer.  But, this winter, the range seems to be plummeting to under 20 miles  [:(]

I think all battery techs. suffer from reduced efficiency in the cold (something to do with increased internal resistance perhaps?).
What you need is some nice low-value fuel (in terms of capacity to do useful work at cost) that is onboard simply to warm the batteries and the cabin.  The simplest vs cheapest heater would probably be Propane, but it's hardly in keeping with the electric 'values'.
I reckon Torrefied Wood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrefaction) (think efficiently produced charcoal) is a pretty interesting and underutilised source of cheap heat (and even mech work) especially if you want to move said source around (ie. vehicles).
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 10/01/2012 06:01:12
What you need is some nice low-value fuel (in terms of capacity to do useful work at cost) that is onboard simply to warm the batteries and the cabin.
It turns out that I have one of these laying around the house.
 [ Invalid Attachment ]
I hate to think what the covering might be made of.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: peppercorn on 10/01/2012 13:17:57
I hate to think what the covering might be made of.
Oooo! Dreaded asbestos!
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: wolfekeeper on 21/01/2012 06:17:38
Good point PC. So that would mean you might do slightly better if you do stay in gear. Mind you, if you are going to stay in gear, you have to keep changing down if you don't want to stall the engine.
Correct - it should be possible to return a very slight improvement in MPG if staying in gear, but as you infer there is a fairly limited rev range that this will mode support.
I'm possibly the only person in this thread that has actually done this with a real-time MPG meter.

On an old BMW I had the engine had this kind of fuel cut-off. The cut-off works over almost the whole rev range; the only conditions for activation was being above a thousand RPM or so and with your foot off the throttle; and I don't think it did it on a cold engine, because the automatic choke was trying to keep the engine running and warming up.

So all you do to activate it is change down and use engine braking. The fuel MPG just wacks off up to infinite when you do that, and you get better engine braking than you would if it hadn't... until you get low enough revs and then it feeds the fuel back in again to stop the engine stalling, and you get a slight lurch- it's not possible to stall it this way on an automatic.

I'm pretty much certain that the same system is present on very many manual gearbox cars, it's cheap to install for the manufacturer and it improves engine braking performance as well as mileage, you just have to change down and use engine braking to use it.

As others have noted you get slightly better mileage than if you just used the brakes to stop; if you did that, because it was an automatic gearbox, the engine would drop to idle and the fuel wouldn't get cut; you had to deliberately select low gear to pull the revs up to use it.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 21/01/2012 06:31:06

I'm possibly the only person in this thread that has actually done this with a real-time MPG meter.


Oh yeah? I made my own digital MPG meter and stuck it in my VW in 1974.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: wolfekeeper on 21/01/2012 07:01:50
Sure, I'm not saying that, sounds fun, but a 1974 VW probably didn't have a fuel injection system, this cut-off trick is done by the fuel injection system.

I used to routinely do this trick on my beemer, I also did mild hypermiling techniques including this one with it during the tanker strike; a 2.7 liter automatic is not the best type for that though, but it did seem to work!
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: CliffordK on 21/01/2012 08:59:41
I know that my old 84 Renault Encore had an electronic idle speed adjustment screw...
Until something fouled up with the system, and I replaced it with a bolt.

Anyway, I think the car had some kind of electronic in carburetor injection.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: peppercorn on 21/01/2012 14:27:24
I'm possibly the only person in this thread that has actually done this with a real-time MPG meter.

Good to hear it! Shame ya beemer was an automatic though - at least in economy terms.  Some ecomodders go as far as fitting an injector kill-switch - so taking manual control of their fuel feed. It can apparently be of use if using the Pulse & Glide style of motorway driving (if you're courageous enough to do it!).
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 21/01/2012 18:58:44
Sure, I'm not saying that, sounds fun, but a 1974 VW probably didn't have a fuel injection system, this cut-off trick is done by the fuel injection system.


Yes, it had a carb, but it actually did have a fuel shut-off solenoid (althought that was there to make sure the engine would stop when you turned off the ignition!)
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: wolfekeeper on 22/01/2012 06:23:38
I'm also having range problems.  I was getting 35-40 miles this summer.  But, this winter, the range seems to be plummeting to under 20 miles  [:(]
I think all battery techs. suffer from reduced efficiency in the cold (something to do with increased internal resistance perhaps?).
What you need is some nice low-value fuel (in terms of capacity to do useful work at cost) that is onboard simply to warm the batteries and the cabin.  The simplest vs cheapest heater would probably be Propane, but it's hardly in keeping with the electric 'values'.
I reckon Torrefied Wood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrefaction) (think efficiently produced charcoal) is a pretty interesting and underutilised source of cheap heat (and even mech work) especially if you want to move said source around (ie. vehicles).
You can also use electric heaters when plugged in, and the battery may be able to power the heater itself when it's not (with some reduction in range). That's how the Tesla works, it has the same potential problem.
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: peppercorn on 22/01/2012 15:01:49
You can also use electric heaters when plugged in, and the battery may be able to power the heater itself when it's not (with some reduction in range). That's how the Tesla works, it has the same potential problem.

Yes, Tesla have gone for the simplest solution to cabin heating; with the Tesla being marketed as a sports car (esp. as it's a two-seater, usually with a soft top) I doubt the average driver is necessarily too worried about a heater anyway!
The thing to remember is electricity is pretty much the highest value energy source there is - so wasting it on making low-value heat seems rather a crime really!
OTOH, I can see that a (mains) plug-in heater option both to pre-heat the battery-box (improving range) and cabin pre-heat (or even a small onboard P.C.M. module) could represent the best compromise between fuel value and simplicity.
Personally I'd still want a small butane heater or similar for those longer journeys though; at least for a car with a 'proper' tin roof [;D].
Title: Re: Does coasting in neutral use more fuel?
Post by: Geezer on 22/01/2012 18:34:28
Personally I'd still want a small butane heater or similar for those longer journeys though; at least for a car with a 'proper' tin roof ;D .

Ewe could always take a hot-water bottle with ewe.