Did you know Neutral (N) does this?

[snowy_91]

You all sound like you would really hate driving behind me......

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[Wingman335]

Efficiency aside, it sounds like a very unsafe behavior- coasting in neutral on a public road seems dangerous. What if you need to make a quick adjustment due to someone else's terrible driving?

 

[dml105]

Does it actually improve your efficiency to coast? I think it absolutely does.

Why do people think that? You are still burning energy when you stop powering the vehicle forward unless you are in a vacuum while driving on perfect ice.
There will always be aerodynamic friction and tire friction.
Driving on earth requires additional power to maintain speed. You can’t break physics just because you are hypermiling.
Show your math, please.

 

[mkhuffman]

Even though this is a fun experiment, I 100% don’t recommend it as a regular practice, for a few reasons:

1. It’s dangerous. Going in and out of gear takes your attention away from the road. You also may have a situation where you NEED to accelerate to avoid a crash and won’t be able to in neutral or may not react fast enough putting it on drive.

2. People have tested all combinations of drive modes. And there is no winner. How you drive (speed, acceleration and braking) determine efficiency, not the drive mode.

Summary- more dangerous and not any more efficient.

I don't totally disagree with your points, but when I am doing it I have my hand resting on the selector so I am ready to flip it to Drive at any time - no delay. While that is not as fast as just hitting the go-pedal, depending on the stretch of road the risk is very, very small.

The risk is less than looking away from the road for a second IMO, which everyone does. You cannot keep it in Neutral for very long anyway, because you either have to slow for a stop, or speed up to avoid going too slowly.

Drive mode by itself does not make a difference, but your ability to control how much energy you use is easier depending on the drive mode. I have become really good with 1PD in Unbridled, but the car is better at picking the most efficient speed if I let it.

 

[mkhuffman]

Why do people think that? You are still burning energy when you stop powering the vehicle forward unless you are in a vacuum while driving on perfect ice.
There will always be aerodynamic friction and tire friction.
Driving on earth requires additional power to maintain speed. You can’t break physics just because you are hypermiling.
Show your math, please.

Math, smath. But seriously, I never claimed you can violate the laws of physics. I was playing around with the drive mode selector and noticed what it does in Neutral. According to the data I measured, it consumes the same amount of energy coasting as when you are sitting still. It does not get any more efficient than that, right?

 

[mkhuffman]

This isn’t a Prius, get out of here with your hyper-miling lol. I hope you don’t also drive 40mph of the freeway lol.
Btw, all modern cars work that way with the reverse gear (possibly even the parking pawl). Even a manual won’t go into reverse, it’ll just happily grind away lol.

It is fun to see how efficient you can drive the car. It is also fun to drive it like a lunatic. My speeding tickets will tell you I prefer the latter.

 

[Scooby24]

Speaking of which. Nice little warm spell yesterday and today in the midwest. Preconditioned before the gym this morning. Punched it and WHOA power. Welcome back! I've missed you!

 

[Mach1E]

I don't totally disagree with your points, but when I am doing it I have my hand resting on the selector so I am ready to flip it to Drive at any time - no delay. While that is not as fast as just hitting the go-pedal, depending on the stretch of road the risk is very, very small.

The risk is less than looking away from the road for a second IMO, which everyone does. You cannot keep it in Neutral for very long anyway, because you either have to slow for a stop, or speed up to avoid going too slowly.

Drive mode by itself does not make a difference, but your ability to control how much energy you use is easier depending on the drive mode. I have become really good with 1PD in Unbridled, but the car is better at picking the most efficient speed if I let it.

I wasn’t implying it’s a huge risk. Just that it’s a risk.

So if it’s more dangerous and you gain nothing, I will ask “why?”

 

[Mach1E]

Math, smath. But seriously, I never claimed you can violate the laws of physics. I was playing around with the drive mode selector and noticed what it does in Neutral. According to the data I measured, it consumes the same amount of energy coasting as when you are sitting still. It does not get any more efficient than that, right?

In a BEV, it actually DOES get more efficient than that.

Regen consumes “negative energy.”

Regen is why the coasting tricks that hypermilers do for ICE and hybrids are unnecessary for a BEV.

Speed, acceleration and braking determine efficiency. No need for neutral coasting.

Again, whisper accomplishes the coasting thing. And it’s no more or less efficient than unbridled 1PD.

 

[mkhuffman]

Speaking of which. Nice little warm spell yesterday and today in the midwest. Preconditioned before the gym this morning. Punched it and WHOA power. Welcome back! I've missed you!

The other day a Dodge Challenger wanted to race me on the highway. I so wanted to do it, but I was already speeding. He eventually slowed down and I caught up to him, and then followed him off the highway (it was my exit also).

I was behind him at the merge lane, and after he merged, I blew past him in the merge lane on his right. It didn't pull as hard as it usually does because I guess the cold temperatures, but he still had no chance of catching me. Well, at least until I had to turn at the next stop light.

Didn't use Neutral at all on that trip.

 

[dml105]

Math, smath. But seriously, I never claimed you can violate the laws of physics. I was playing around with the drive mode selector and noticed what it does in Neutral. According to the data I measured, it consumes the same amount of energy coasting as when you are sitting still. It does not get any more efficient than that, right?

it converts the same amount of energy from your battery as sitting still, but the total energy in your car is decreasing.

Total energy = E-battery + E-kinetic + E-potential. When in neutral but in motion, your E-kinetic + E-potential is reduced by drag. The car is slowing because it is not converting E-battery into E-kinetic.

When in drive, your E-kinetic is held steady by converting E-battery (or if going down a hill, E-potential).

Where does “coasting” add efficiency?

 

[mkhuffman]

In a BEV, it actually DOES get more efficient than that.

Regen consumes “negative energy.”

Regen is why the coasting tricks that hypermilers do for ICE and hybrids are unnecessary for a BEV.

Speed, acceleration and braking determine efficiency. No need for neutral coasting.

Again, whisper accomplishes the coasting thing. And it’s no more or less efficient than unbridled 1PD.

Oh no! We are getting into the old regen vs. steady speed debate! I am in the steady speed court. Regen cannot recapture all the energy used to get to that speed because there are losses in that process. Coasting is more efficient than regen because there is no energy lost in the regen process.

 

[mkhuffman]

Think about it this way:

how many joules does it take to move your 2000kg vehicle 1 kilometer? It takes 2000

it converts the same amount of energy from your battery as sitting still, but the total energy in your car is decreasing.

Total energy = E-battery + E-kinetic + E-potential. When in neutral but in motion, your E-kinetic + E-potential is reduced by drag. The car is slowing because it is not converting E-battery into E-kinetic.

When in drive, your E-kinetic is held steady by converting E-battery (or if going down a hill, E-potential).

Where does “coasting” add efficiency?

Did I say "add efficiency"? I am pretty sure I said it is the "most efficient" because you are using the same amount of energy coasting as you use sitting still. Yes, sitting still consumes energy. Never said it doesn't.

 

[dml105]

Oh no! We are getting into the old regen vs. steady speed debate! I am in the steady speed court. Regen cannot recapture all the energy used to get to that speed because there are losses in that process. Coasting is more efficient than regen because there is no energy lost in the regen process.

That’s not correct.

The energy lost in getting to speed is drag. Coasting or regenning, that energy is gone for good. Coasting doesn’t get it back.
Now the fact that EVs regen does remove the need for holding a steady speed. Cruise control does not make EVs more efficient the way it does in ICE vehicles as a result.

 

[Mach1E]

Oh no! We are getting into the old regen vs. steady speed debate! I am in the steady speed court. Regen cannot recapture all the energy used to get to that speed because there are losses in that process. Coasting is more efficient than regen because there is no energy lost in the regen process.

No need to debate. It’s been tested with our cars.

Whisper- coasting
Any other mode- regen

They consume the same energy over the same distance.

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