SHifting to N - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Armani · 02-17-2009, 02:11 PM

There wasn't really a clear answer to this in the other threads.

I like to shift to N sometimes...like when I get off the highway, I shift to N and cruise to the light and also at long lights when I just catch the red.

I do notice a saving of gas, I can pull 30-40 miles more when I do shift to N.

In other threads ppl said that it takes up more gas or it's bad for your tranny.
I have an i4 without the tiptronic shifting.

So is it bad to do on your tranny? More importantly...is it bad when you do it going 50 or 70 mph? I don't want to hear about how illegal or about the ppl behind me cause I always keep my foot on my break when I see people coming up behind me.

***bandit*** · 02-17-2009, 02:18 PM

I have a v6 with the tiptronic shifting, sequential shifting or whatever other names they have for it. when a light changes or is about to change to red, I downshift to lower gears. This results in me not having to press on my brakes.

A TV news station did a report on a guy who drives his SUV daily and gets like 60mpg or whatever it was. What he does is drive on the highway or local roads and when he gets at a comfortable speed without having to stop, they said that he turns off the car and leaves it in neutral and the car just glides. If he needs to start up the car or need speed, he starts it up and puts it in gear.

In regards to affecting transmission, I dont know. I dont think it would considering tow trucks put cars in neutral when its hauling cars or a car needs to be pushed. I dont know how doing this would be illegal...so as long you're not pissing off people behind you or holding up traffic.

jayrguidaben · 02-17-2009, 02:34 PM

^i think you can do that on manual trans only turning the engine off and turn it on while gliding on the roads.
and i think when hauling cars with a fwd they raise the front of the car so that they won't damage the trans. and for rwd they disconnect the driveshaft.
and for the op i would not do that shifting it to "n" and just cruise on the road. for safety reasons on your trans and to others. you can shift it to n when your in full stop.
just my o2.

Armani · 02-17-2009, 02:37 PM

That doesn't sound safe nor applicable. Unless his highways were straight downhill or something. I wouldn't shift to N on the highway unless it was extreme traffic and I know I wouldn't be moving for a while.

thrawnis · 02-17-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcemureviews

I have a v6 with the tiptronic shifting, sequential shifting or whatever other names they have for it. when a light changes or is about to change to red, I downshift to lower gears. This results in me not having to press on my brakes.

A TV news station did a report on a guy who drives his SUV daily and gets like 60mpg or whatever it was. What he does is drive on the highway or local roads and when he gets at a comfortable speed without having to stop, they said that he turns off the car and leaves it in neutral and the car just glides. If he needs to start up the car or need speed, he starts it up and puts it in gear.

In regards to affecting transmission, I dont know. I dont think it would considering tow trucks put cars in neutral when its hauling cars or a car needs to be pushed. I dont know how doing this would be illegal...so as long you're not pissing off people behind you or holding up traffic.

I would NEVER turn off my car while my car while it is in motion. All power steering, power brakes, ABS, traction control, etc. also shut off which means that, if you are in an emergency situation, you will not have full control of your car.

I don't think dropping into neutral while cruising is a big deal, though you may be causing more wear and tear on the transmission. Not sure, but I've also heard that manual shifting using the tiptronic/manumatic/whatever mode also could cause more wear and tear on the transmission. Keep in mind that if you are in neutral, the engine/transmission is actually helping to slow down the car, but in neutral, you are relying on the brakes entirely to slow it down.

Ultimately, if you are in an uncrowded area, dropping to neutral with the car still on seems ok. But I don't think this is the type of thing you should use constantly.

Armani · 02-17-2009, 02:51 PM

In other cars, the brakes depress and you have to press down the breaks harder to stop. But in the camry, that doesn't seem to be the case. good breaks i guess!

Mr. Miyagi · 02-17-2009, 03:00 PM

i wouldnt shift to neutral while cruising to the stop...if you wanted to do that how come you just didnt get a 5 speed?

jayrguidaben · 02-17-2009, 03:04 PM

to the op just read your manual.

***Punks_Not_Dead5*** · 02-17-2009, 04:10 PM

i turn off the Overdrive when getting off the hwy, or coming up on a stop sign or light..or going downhill..you get the idea.

Saves a ton of gas and a lot of braking

thrawnis · 02-17-2009, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punks_Not_Dead5

i turn off the Overdrive when getting off the hwy, or coming up on a stop sign or light..or going downhill..you get the idea.

Saves a ton of gas and a lot of braking

Saving on braking makes sense, but how does this save on gas? It seems to me that by turning off overdrive, you are increasing RPMs and therefore increasing fuel consumption.

Armani · 02-17-2009, 04:39 PM

I dunno about overdrive or what it is, but when you shift to N, it doesn't consume any fuel ? Seems to make sense.

thrawnis · 02-17-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armani

I dunno about overdrive or what it is, but when you shift to N, it doesn't consume any fuel ? Seems to make sense.

I know this is probably what you meant, but the engine is still consuming fuel. But no more than when it is in Park and idling.

camry4lyfe02 · 02-17-2009, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armani

I dunno about overdrive or what it is, but when you shift to N, it doesn't consume any fuel ? Seems to make sense.

It consumes fuel still... cz the engine is still running. And just like the guy said if u wanna downshift to N everytime u stop, why didn't get standart?.. I don't think Auto was made to shift to Neutral and back.. that's my opinion...

***Punks_Not_Dead5*** · 02-17-2009, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrawnis

Saving on braking makes sense, but how does this save on gas? It seems to me that by turning off overdrive, you are increasing RPMs and therefore increasing fuel consumption.

Car down shifts so you don't have to use the brakes..when you don't use the brakes..you're not wasting fuel. I get 35mpg with my V6 average. hwy/city(if you call country roads city) combined.

touringcamry · 02-17-2009, 08:17 PM

I drive a manual and even I don't do that type of thing. If my wheels can spin my engine faster than 1100 RPMs, my car goes into fuel cut. Shifting into N would cause fuel consumption and I would loose engine braking.