I picked up my new Sport AT this past weekend after driving a Civic MT for the past 11 years. I found these forums after googling how to use the paddle shifters, and have been impressed with the wealth of knowledge and tips in here.
Particularly of interest to me are the tips on how to get the most fuel efficiency out of an AT, as it has been so long since I drove one regularly. I don't want to regurgitate stuff that's already available via search, but I do want to post a summary of the AT-specific* eco-tips I've learned reading here over the past couple days. (i.e. leaving out those applicable to all cars, like higher tire pressure, no A/C, etc.) Feel free to let me know what I've missed...
- Switching into Neutral
- At long stoplights
- Whenever coasting with minimal speed loss is appropriate (e.g. going down hills, long off-ramps)
- DFCO (foot off the gas @ 1200+ RPM)
- Whenever coasting with speed loss is appropriate (e.g. to a stop or lower speed zone)
- RPM must stay above ~1200 for DFCO, so use paddle to downshift as necessary to keep RPM above this level
- When starting from stop, pause before accelerating
- Allow car to start moving without gas before applying gas
- Get into the higher gears
- Speed up and/or paddle upshift to get into the more efficient higher gears
(*
OK, these aren't really all AT-specific, but anything related to intentionally shifting gears -- or taking it out of gear entirely -- is less intuitive in an AT)
Linear Mode
