Driving with your engine turned off (good or bad)

[vid6639]

thats not that much of a problem as your brakes dont have boosters running on engine power. they are independant. Only thing you lose is a little control if you need to accelerate and swerve quickly.

[jango]

Originally Posted by kph

By the way, this is a usual practice by some bikers. Around 50 km from my home town, a place called Vagamon, there is a continuous uphill climb for 17km on the way. Some bikers compensate while coming down what they've burned while going up. 17km continuous neutral with engine off. Last week I did it on my bullet, the reason was different though - forgot to check fuel available. There is no fuel bunks there at the place. So came back in neutral and of course it was fun.

@KPH for bikes its still OK. But for cars its nothing but a suicidal stupid act. Engine braking is what is preffered when going down a hill.

OT : waiting for ur B'lore - Kerala write up !! on ur BULL

[Equus]

Yep, not just bad but stupid as well..

[navdeep]

Originally Posted by jango

@KPH for bikes its still OK. But for cars its nothing but a suicidal stupid act. Engine braking is what is preffered when going down a hill.

I think not only engine off but its not recommended with engine on and in neutral. Engine braking is really important while going down the hill. You are in control of your vehicle. It goes same with the bike as well. For bikes its even more dangerous, without engine brakes you might skid when you apply sudden brakes.

[gd1418]

Oh, I didn't know that Alto had power brakes..

Originally Posted by ess_a

Although lot many have already said this, but once more, it was a really foolish thing to do.
Even Alto has power brakes and thats why they got that hard.
You might have saved 4ltrs of fuel and live to tell us about it, but you definitly put your life, your co passengers life, and the the lives of numerous many people on the road in jeopardy and that too at a time when i was RAINING!!. Fell lucky to escape unscathed.

P.S.- This post might sound rude or obnoxious, but boss I had to call a spade a spade. These type of misadventures are NOT DONE.

[gd1418]

For 170 odd rupees, you took sucha great risk? Not done friend, not doen at all...

Originally Posted by manikjeet

did this with my alto, the breaks were way to hard.Had to stand on breaks

saved around 4l of petrol

[gd1418]

That reminds me of the driving lessons imparted to me by my family driver way back in 1973 in our family car Landmaster (some of you may not have heard about it..!!).

After teaching me the nuances of driving of what all he knew, he said one sentence in the last that somehow has remained with me till date and I quote - " Baba (that is what he used to call me), cycle, M/cycle, car etc. are mechanical things and can fail anytime without prior warning. So drive always carefully and within rules".

So kph, though downhill in neutral on a Bullet was fun (you sure had your reasons to do so) but you must have ruined ur brake shoes...

Originally Posted by kph

By the way, this is a usual practice by some bikers. Around 50 km from my home town, a place called Vagamon, there is a continuous uphill climb for 17km on the way. Some bikers compensate while coming down what they've burned while going up. 17km continuous neutral with engine off. Last week I did it on my bullet, the reason was different though - forgot to check fuel available. There is no fuel bunks there at the place. So came back in neutral and of course it was fun.

[jango]

Originally Posted by navdeep

I think not only engine off but its not recommended with engine on and in neutral. Engine braking is really important while going down the hill. You are in control of your vehicle. It goes same with the bike as well. For bikes its even more dangerous, without engine brakes you might skid when you apply sudden brakes.

@ navdeep atleast you can jump off the bike when ur sure that ur gonna fall

[navdeep]

Originally Posted by jango

@ navdeep atleast you can jump off the bike when ur sure that ur gonna fall

Young fellows can always opt for that and fancy their chances but your reaction time increases with age. Last year I was driving pulsar and faced similar situation ( not on hills ) bike slipped as disc and drum brake were not in coordination. I almost saved myself for being badly hurt . I tend to keep my grip on bike bit loose when there no point of return. It has always helped .

[k36]

This reminds me of the terrible time I had (a minute or so) when my cycle breaks failed while going downhill in a Mumbai-Goa cycle trip. The non-availability of engine breaking cost me a tooth.
Please never do this again.

[manaa45]

as everyone has mentioned, it was bad enough for you to drive such a long distance with the engine off. the first thing to get affected woul dbe brakes ans you woul dhave to brake quite often at the turns and curves may be. secondly without the engine running the brakes in an normal car tend to create a friction wtih the brake pads eventually burning them. so it is advisable not to switch off the engine while going downhill as changing brake pads would be a costlier affair then saving 4 ltrs of petrol.

Rest is ur own choice.

Mansi

[tsk1979]

When you go downhill with engine off, you need to use brakes to slow down, this will fade your brakes. The same way as you would go down in neutral gear.
Thats why they say use engine braking.
Doing this for a long time could cause brake failure.

Other issue of booster brakes, atleast in Indica it does not matter. As long as your are coasting above 20kmph, there is no lack of "booster". I think the reason is that the alternator belt is still spinning when the car is coasting, and indica has one belt for Alternator, Power steering and brakes.

[cartech]

Rule of Life & Death: Never switch off engine when on move. 4L of petrol is not worth the loss of life+vehicle and agony for near & dear

[suman]

Guys, I think we scared him off ......

In any case, I would just like to repeat like an echo that it was an extremely STUPID thing to have done. You are lucky nothing untoward happened. I think even cabbies would not have resorted to this practice in the hills, did that 4 litres give you additional pocket money for the month or what? (no offense, I'm just trying to understand the reason behind the proud statement you made)

[Vandal]

In a sentence...not bad for your engine or average...not so good on the safety front. ^^ Its a different thing with bikes, especially the brakes. Believe me it may be fun to do, and you may save up enough for a macdonald's outing for all, but the one time something goes wrong...well I think you see the picture...And that's really all it takes 'one mistake' either yours, or the other guys...