F1 Fanatic

In a modern car you should just leave it in 5th with the clutch unpressed and without applying any throttle. The engine will simply be driven by the momentum of the car, without burning any fuel.
It will slow you down, but down hill it can stop you from using your brakes and save fuel while doing it.
The same can be done while coasting to a stop at a red light or the like.

Always in gear, whichever one is appropriate for the speed. With the throttle closed the engine is kept turning my the vehicle’s momentum but in neutral it burns a little bit of fuel to keep cycling. Engine braking is also kinder to your wheel brakes.

Another reason I had to do it was my old Vectra was prone to stalling when left in neutral, which lost me power steering and braking. I learned to heel-toe in that car out of necessity, since it would often stall when changing down.

With fuel economy its best to play around and see what gives you the best MPG. For instance, if im cruising on a 30mph road, 5th is better MPG then in 6th. And just remember, the heavier the car, the more fuel is used so make sure the boot isnt crammed with needless bits.

at 30 mph, you shouldn’t be anywhere near 6th (or top gear) , which is a super-tall overdrive ratio for highway cruising while the engine just putts along. to get better mileage, keep the engine revs at the beginning of the power band, or in newer cars upshift before the engine switches to high-power mode (vtec, etc.)

the effectiveness of engine braking diminishes with lower revs, so keep the revs higher (lower gear) than if you were accelerating. *not responsible for burnt clutches or other breakage*

in many u.s. states, canadian provinces and so forth it is against the law to keep a car in neutral while operating.

i don’t know the logic behind that rule, i’m guessing it’s safety related and dating back to when manuals where a real pain to operate. technically, holding the clutch in for prolonged periods wears/damages the throw-out bearing on the clutch. i use neutral at lights because i find it lazier than holding the pedal down :P

true, new cars don’t need to warm up nearly as long as older ones. i still wait a minimum of 1 minute, just to make sure the oil is circulating and coating everything that should be coated. another reason new cars are better than old (out of millions) is there’s plenty of heat available almost instantly. ages ago i had a jetta that took so long to warm up i was almost done driving by the time the heat would do anything