Coasting

[Ricardo]

So with gas prices on the rise, I've decided to take up coasting  
Seriously though, I find myself throwing the car into neutral quite a lot, something I never did before owning a convertible. It's mostly the smell of unburnt fuel on deceleration that compels me to shift to neutral instead of working down through the gears. I don't feel there is any reason against this practice, I'd rather wear out brake pads than utilize engine braking, but I'm curious what other views are on this. I live in hilly country so it's actually a significant occurance and I now practice the same lack of shifting even when approaching stop lights.
One of the joys of top down driving in the country where I live is the pleasant smells of hay fields and flowering trees etc., which can quickly be offset by deceleration. The only drawback I can think of, is more time idling, where our cars tend to run rich.
Richard

[BHap]

the only "problem" with coasting is stalling and losing power brakes and/or power steering....

Bob Happe
Pittsburgh, Pa
1970 280SL, white/black 4 speed

[Jonny B]

Another issue with coasting is not being able to react quickly enough to avoid an emergency situation. With the car out of gear, if an avoidance issue (deer on the road - a very real situation here in NE Ohio) or some such at a stop light.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[Ricardo]

Johnny
Know what you are saying regarding deer...lots of them here in west Quebec too and I've hit my share, but I don't think being "in gear" helps with panic stops and I've never had to accelerate to avoid deer, they're usually in front of me
Richard

[graphic66]

A very smart person enlightened me that to downshift to save your brakes actually creates stress and wear in your transmission. What would you rather replace? I had never thought so logicaly. This was in reference to my 406 as my SL is an auto. Now I just slow down with some very cheap brakes and save that big expensive tranny job for later.