I was just gonna say that. The programming can't quite match my thought process, mood, or circumstances unknown to the car's 'brains'.
Sure, and I get that. It just sounds like he wants both but they're mutually exclusive. Either don't downshift so you don't slow as fast or do downshift and don't complain about slowing down too much. Just don't shift into neutral.
OP, sounds like some excitement. Sorry you learned the hard way how to use the autostick. My autostick is on my trusty '08 Caliber so I wasn't sure if my instructions would be the same, but others here confirm it is, just hold the shifter to the side. While never having your experience, I did once change passenger seat to drivers seat in an old Caravan with my wife, going down the road at 65 mph when the accelerator stuck on her. Just so happens, we did the seat switch precisely to AVOID freewheeling the automatic at 65, which is dangerous on several accounts.
For some of the posts here on freewheeling (coasting in neutral), did any of you ever yell at your kids when they did something really careless, not because you were that mad at them, but sometimes you sense they are going to remember a particular lesson better when you sound half-crazed? NEVER DRIVE WITH YOUR VEHICLE DISCONNECTED FROM YOUR DRIVE TRAIN. EVER. Wow, sometimes I realize how lucky I am to have learned so many things from my Father, who is just an average guy, except that he learned to do just about everything the correct way, because he is that interested in it, and continued to learn throughout his life.
For anyone on here who freewheels, either for hypermiling or any other freakin' reason, my wife and kids are on the road; please don't. Other than being disconnected from acceleration and notably hindering your braking ability, let's see...what else is there; I guess steering. Oh no, wait, here is what Popular Mechanics had to say about the lack of wisdom in coasting downhill or to a stop in neutral, "cars don't handle well in neutral during sharp cornering maneuvers when the engine isn't connected to the drivetrain". So that marks off acceleration, braking, and steering. I don't think coasting affects the airbag functions or safety glass though.
Thanks Yahooligan for the technical info to back up the pointlessness of coasting. Even in old carb cars where the gas use is different, the brakes are not as good!
To me, leaving the car in Drive at all times is similar to freewheeling in many cases (although not as uncontrolled), especially when modern cars do what they can to upshift soon, downshift late, and keep the rpm low for mileage's sake. It's serviceable, but you quickly see the limits of that at speed and/or in slippery conditions. While manuals give you the most hands-on control, the AutoStick allows for an additional measure of control (and therefore safety) when running an auto. You can prep the car by initiating its weight transfers before cornering or braking hard.
It sure is a learning curve, especially if you've been trained to focus on eco-driving, but I think it's worth it. Left to its own devices the car handles well enough, and the NAG1 does downshift effectively compared to what I was used to, but it's not the same as doing your own work. And Sport Mode can save you from an inopportune upshift while cornering, which is also destabilizing (although not as bad as a shift into Neutral).
For some of the posts here on freewheeling (coasting in neutral), did any of you ever yell at your kids when they did something really careless, not because you were that mad at them, but sometimes you sense they are going to remember a particular lesson better when you sound half-crazed? NEVER DRIVE WITH YOUR VEHICLE DISCONNECTED FROM YOUR DRIVE TRAIN. EVER. Wow, sometimes I realize how lucky I am to have learned so many things from my Father, who is just an average guy, except that he learned to do just about everything the correct way, because he is that interested in it, and continued to learn throughout his life.
For anyone on here who freewheels, either for hypermiling or any other freakin' reason, my wife and kids are on the road; please don't. Other than being disconnected from acceleration and notably hindering your braking ability, let's see...what else is there; I guess steering. Oh no, wait, here is what Popular Mechanics had to say about the lack of wisdom in coasting downhill or to a stop in neutral, "cars don't handle well in neutral during sharp cornering maneuvers when the engine isn't connected to the drivetrain". So that marks off acceleration, braking, and steering. I don't think coasting affects the airbag functions or safety glass though.
For one, I would not go chastising people when you don't know their situation. (A lot of that going on lately)
When I do this "extremely dangerous" type of driving it's on the highway in a straight line and I can see far enough in front and behind me for emergency vehicles and people that want to pass. I don't know of a situation where you're doing 70+ on the highway and need to speed-up to avoid a disaster or can't maneuver to another lane.
Obviously, they're times when you do not want to do it. Blind curves, hills, anywhere there's no visibility, bad weather/road conditions, just the common sense stuff.
Originally Posted by ragtop4spto6spd?
I did once change passenger seat to drivers seat in an old Caravan with my wife, going down the road at 65 mph when the accelerator stuck on her. Just so happens, we did the seat switch precisely to AVOID freewheeling the automatic at 65, which is dangerous on several accounts.
Wow. I maybe reading this incorrectly but did you say you swapped seats with the driver while the car was in motion going 65???
And you're telling people "My wife and kids are on the road". Yea, mine too buddy.
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As long as the thread has been refreshed, I'll respond.......
There is a difference between an emergency manuever and habitual poor driving decisions. Just like driving buzzed is a poor decision and catches a lot of grief on this site, just like driving with the left foot out the side window, free-wheeling is a bad decision for the most part. But after checking online, I see how many people are doing it nonetheless. If you want to defend doing it to your own car in large expanses of empty road out west, I won't enter that argument. But you're right, I don't know the locations where people are making the free-wheeling decisions (I'd still view it as a bad decision, and one that really has no point in any case). I do know the factors involved in the emergency manuever I made 20 years ago; circumstances, location, traffic conditions, alternatives considered. No need to go into it here.
Besides the safety factors, I was taught that free-wheeling at highway speeds is bad for the automatic transmission. It's possible that this factor varies from transmission to transmission and model year to model year.
One thing is clear from much reading online, the people who free wheel while driving (and post about it) tend to be either not car folks at all, or focused on their own beliefs in hypermiling without knowing the full picture. The ones who advise against it seem to be the car folks, and able to provide an analytical argument.
All things being considered, I think it is worth being judgmental and vocal on the poor decision in free wheeling at highway speed, just like any other poor driving habit that could affect others. I've not switched drivers again since I did it the one time in an emergency situation, so I already know to try to avoid it if at all possible.
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