Driving automatic - few questions

[grudas]

This is one aspect I need to get used to/work out how I'm going to approach it - had an auto pickup for the last few weeks previously only driven manual. Currently I'm mostly just sitting on the brake unless it looks like a very long wait.

yeah most of my stops in traffic will be for 10-40s if that so I'll sit on the brake if it's a proper grid lock I'll put in park and foot brake on.

I get blinded by other car brake lights so I do not feel sorry for people behind me.

often put my rear blind up so I can block out their red faces in my rear view.

 

[DereksDontRun]

going from man to auto and never had a problem with wrong foot on wrong pedals, but after a while in an auto and then back to a manual I seem fine until I'm stop/start on a motorway and wondering why I'm still in 6th and struggling to go 10mph.

 

[DereksDontRun]

I get blinded by other car brake lights so I do not feel sorry for people behind me.

surely that's more of a reason to use the park and not stamp on the brake lights? My 1st winter in my old mx5 and realising how tiring it is sat behind strong brake lights (and/or fog lights) and thus I try to make sure not to keep mine on longer than needed, if possible.

 

[grudas]

surely that's more of a reason to use the park and not stamp on the brake lights? My 1st winter in my old mx5 and realising how tiring it is sat behind strong brake lights (and/or fog lights) and thus I try to make sure not to keep mine on longer than needed, if possible.

is it? every 10-30seconds you expect me to push my brake in, put in park.. then push my brake in, put in d.. let off and move off?

might as well drive a manually then as it'll be quicker and easier.

many cars auto-apply the brake and turn the lights on, safety I guess as it increases visibility for cars approaching from behind.

 

[Scania]

Depends on the car, many will have something like hold assist or hill assist which keeps the brake applied for a couple of seconds to prevent roll back as you move from brakes to throttle.

True although I drove a thus equipped car recently that had hill hold / assist but it only worked if you pressed a button to activate it (which is the same for every automatic truck I’ve driven, they have hill hold but you have to activate it first)

 

[Rroff]

surely that's more of a reason to use the park and not stamp on the brake lights? My 1st winter in my old mx5 and realising how tiring it is sat behind strong brake lights (and/or fog lights) and thus I try to make sure not to keep mine on longer than needed, if possible.

You'd love being behind me then - the rear lights probably couldn't be any more in your face up behind in an MX5 :s

 

[Relentless81]

never put in P unless I PARK. Just have to keep foot on the brake to stop it from moving.

I'd have to go p->d-p->.... a million times when in traffic which would make the auto a pointless thing as its most useful in traffic not having to faf around with clutch.

That's what I was thinking, just makes it kind of pointless if your having to do this every time you sit in traffic which is often and one of the reasons I want an auto in the first place

 

[DereksDontRun]

is it? every 10-30seconds you expect me to push my brake in, put in park.. then push my brake in, put in d.. let off and move off?

might as well drive a manually then as it'll be quicker and easier.

many cars auto-apply the brake and turn the lights on, safety I guess as it increases visibility for cars approaching from behind.

come on, you know it's a bit of common sense with it all. We all know times when we expect the stop to be 10-20 seconds, or at the front of traffic light queue, and there's no need to faff with park. But there are other times, when you're a few cars back at a busy t junction and you know it could be a couple minutes for each car to find a space, or the stop-start on a motorway is obviously more stop than start for the next 5mins...

tbh, brake lights in face can be controlled to a degree, as you can choose your gap to the car infront. When in a low 2 seater it's the bright headlights of the SUV behind, shining through the cabin, that are more annoying (and out of your control, as they always feel like they're within inches of the rear bumper).

 

[grudas]

come on, you know it's a bit of common sense with it all. We all know times when we expect the stop to be 10-20 seconds, or at the front of traffic light queue, and there's no need to faff with park. But there are other times, when you're a few cars back at a busy t junction and you know it could be a couple minutes for each car to find a space, or the stop-start on a motorway is obviously more stop than start for the next 5mins...

tbh, brake lights in face can be controlled to a degree, as you can choose your gap to the car infront. When in a low 2 seater it's the bright headlights of the SUV behind, shining through the cabin, that are more annoying (and out of your control, as they always feel like they're within inches of the rear bumper).

well yeah I agree if I sat there for a few minutes I'd pop it in P. But in real world traffic(not gridlock) i'll be moving off every 10-30 seconds so no point putting it in P, that's all I'm saying.

 

[Clarkey]

You don't need to faff with the gearstick in traffic, you don't need to use the handbrake to pull away. The whole point of an automatic is that it is automatic.

 

[TallPaul_S]

You will instinctively press the non-existent clutch the first few times you come to a stop

Once you switch between auto and manual a few times it becomes easy, my car is an auto and the work vans are manual, never have a problem.

Crawling forward at 1-5mph is so much easier, just ease off the brake and it'll creep forward. I put mine into neutral and apply the handbrake if I'm at lights for more than 30-60 seconds (normally roads I drive regularly so I know there's a long wait) but otherwise it's just in drive and foot on brake.

If it's a big engine just watch out when pulling away from cold, mine's a 3.0 so when it's at fast idle and the brakes are cold, it pulls away pretty quick just releasing the brake when pulling away from parked!

 

[Rroff]

If it's a big engine just watch out when pulling away from cold, mine's a 3.0 so when it's at fast idle and the brakes are cold, it pulls away pretty quick just releasing the brake when pulling away from parked!

Yeah something I have to watch out for on mine with a 3L V6 - if I give it a moment though usually settles down pretty quick.

 

[Lustral]

Only use your left foot hard on the break pedal when you want to use the launch control, well at least in my motor.

 

[grudas]

I never use left foot to brake? one foot does it all, other sits on the rest or releases the foot brake lol.

 

[ttaskmaster]

NVM

 

[Clarkey]

Not sure why anyone would be rolling back while pulling away in a manual never mind an auto, just how slow must you have to be on the pedals for that to happen?

 

[ttaskmaster]

NVM

 

[theone8181]

Dispense with your left leg completely [ cutting it off is a rash move and not advisable ] unless you have a foot operated handbrake that is.

Use your right trotter for the go and stop. Simples.

Leave it in P when you park obviously, and don't keep your foot on the brake and leave it in D when idling
for any more than a minute or so, it wears out your friction bands and warps the brake discs .

Not sure how it would warp your discs if your not moving? I've found in my DCT it holds for a few seconds on a hill than can actually roll backwards. On a flat it will just sit still (assuming the brake pedal has been pressed for a few second).

 

[MarkeR]

Pretty much. Makes driving so much easier. Just watch you don't slam the brakes on by accident when slowing down thinking it's the clutch pedal...

When I was buying my Audi (auto) the saleman thought he was a racing driver and tried to left foot brake, I swear I had whiplash from that! Got told in no uncertain terms to stop the car, get out and i'll drive. This was the first time he had driven and auto and it was only 50 mtrs up the road from the showroom

 

[TallPaul_S]

Not sure how it would warp your discs if your not moving? I've found in my DCT it holds for a few seconds on a hill than can actually roll backwards. On a flat it will just sit still (assuming the brake pedal has been pressed for a few second).

It's not normally warping the discs, although it feels like it. If the brakes are hot and you hold the brake on, the pads will leave material where they've been held on, and if there's uneven brake pad material deposited on the discs, at slow speed the pads will grab slightly more on those parts, which results in juddering at slow speeds. Not normally a problem unless the brakes have gotten nice and hot.