Engine Code P1450

[rallytaff]

You are NOT 'driving' if you're coasting. You are not in complete control of your vehicle, you're just a passenger. Think about it. 'putting excessive wear on my clutch by keeping it pushed in for long periods of time'. That's another big NO-NO! It's called riding the clutch and would burn it out in no time.

 

[GabzRK]

haha sure I'll accept it she's probably a better driver than me anyway.. but yeah "It's called riding the clutch and would burn it out in no time" hence why I don't do it

 

[rallytaff]

I won't bore you with my driving experience resume, but after passing my driving test way back in 1967, I have learned the do's and dont's of driving which is why I've survived for so long.

 

[SteveS]

You are NOT 'driving' if you're coasting. You are not in complete control of your vehicle, you're just a passenger. Think about it. 'putting excessive wear on my clutch by keeping it pushed in for long periods of time'. That's another big NO-NO! It's called riding the clutch and would burn it out in no time.

Actually riding the clutch is leaving your left foot on the pedal while driving with no intention to push the clutch pedal. However the light pressure your foot makes on the pedal can partially decrease the pressure on the clutch friction material and lead to slippage and wear. Holding the clutch pedal all the way in wears on the throwout bearing (and in a Fiesta ST the slave cylinder) but doesn't affect the friction material.

 

[GabzRK]

I won't bore you with my driving experience resume, but after passing my driving test way back in 1967, I have learned the do's and dont's of driving which is why I've survived for so long.

Haha you sound a little outdated now, don't you think?

 

[rallytaff]

When you've got nearly 60 years of driving under your belt, you may have something to say. I've passed driving tests on motor cycles up to a 4 ton Army truck with everything in between. I've rallied cars and instructed the military on car control and high speed driving. Wisdom comes with age as you will eventually find out.

 

[Intuit]

The old ancient "how to drive a clutch" debate LoL. The 'tude really isn't necessary, warranted and isn't appreciated.

There's nothing wrong with shifting to neutral and then releasing the clutch pedal to coast. Nothing. Yes, there may be a negligible amount of fuel burned but there's also the trade-off of much lower RPMs for both the transmission and engine. The only time that riding on the engine's compression is warranted, is for long downhill travels, such as down a mountain for example. (avoids overheating the brakes) This conversation is isolated to the Fiesta ST. (not 50 or 80,000 lb vehicle)

 

[GabzRK]

The old ancient "how to drive a clutch" debate LoL. The 'tude really isn't necessary, warranted and isn't appreciated.

There's nothing wrong with shifting to neutral and then releasing the clutch pedal to coast. Nothing. Yes, there may be a negligible amount of fuel burned but there's also the trade-off of much lower RPMs for both the transmission and engine. The only time that riding on the engine's compression is warranted, is for long downhill travels, such as down a mountain for example. (avoids overheating the brakes) This conversation is isolated to the Fiesta ST. (not 50 or 80,000 lb vehicle)

Okay cool, they really had me thinking I was doing unnecessary damage to my car and had me worried. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[Intuit]

Saving wear and tear on the engine is the opposite of the impression you were given. Your driving is fine. SteveS was dead-on. Just avoid holding the clutch pedal down.

 

[SteveS]

The arguments against coasting in neutral, when people try to make them, are that you might go too fast and lose control, or that you end up overheating and wearing out your brakes. The former presumes that your are hell bent on not engaging the engine and are going to coast all the way to the bottom of a steep hill no matter how fast you end up going, and the latter was based in a time when cars were equipped with drum brakes that could barely stop a car without fading and also presumes that when the car gets going to fast you are riding the brake rather than re-engaging the engine.

If you are going down a gentle grade with the engine and transmission engaged on a closed throttle, there really isn't any more fuel being burned than idling in neutral. So there isn't a whole lot of point in coasting. I do coast up to stop lights and put the transmission in neutral to save the slave cylinder now while sitting stationary. If that causes a fractional bit more wear on the brakes, so be it. I can replace a lot of brake pads and rotors for the price of having the transmission pulled and opened to replace the slave cylinder.