Is it bad to coast in neutral....

[why?]

Originally Posted by Sparcoboy

You are correct, why? is wrong :D

here we go again. There are only two instances where leaving the car in gear will get you better gas mileage, if you are going down a steep enough hill that the car keeps the acceleration anyways, or if you are slowing down to a stop anyways. On a flat road leaving the car in gear will get worse mileage than putting it in neutral will, because you will have to hit the gas pedal more with the engine sucking the energy out of your forward momentum.

In reality a combination of both is the best to get the best gas mileage, depending on the situation you are in and the traffic, etc.

[nopk]

Originally Posted by why?

There are only two instances where leaving the car in gear will get you better gas mileage, if you are going down a steep enough hill that the car keeps the acceleration anyways, or if you are slowing down to a stop anyways.

this is a pretty narrow minded way to look at this, and may encourage people to look at this the wrong way

let me re-word what you're saying:

always leave the car in the most optimal gear, except for when you're just about to go below 1000PRPM in first and stop.

doing this, will ensure you will have the best MPG possible, as being in neutral never helps your MPG