I hate all the gears except 3rd

ttaskmaster · 19 Apr 2017 at 16:28

Diesel Octavia - 1st is naff, but the turbo whines from about 1700 in 2nd. 3rd is more like an Afterburner. The rest are just to stop it from shouting so much.

But meh. End of the day, it's a car. I drive it to be warm, dry and in company. If I want to feel good about gears, my bike happily breaks the speed limit in 1st and every higher gear is better than those below it.

Clarkey · 19 Apr 2017 at 16:40

Dunno what kind of cars you lot are driving or how you're driving them? Every manual car I've ever had has had a selection of gears each of which is perfectly fine for use within it's speed range.

matthab · 19 Apr 2017 at 16:40

1st in the DSG is way to short 3rd/4th is where it is at, seems to go on forever.

NooBish AbbZ · 19 Apr 2017 at 17:23

mccarf said:
Automatics

I'm loving my automatic, all the way up to and including 8th

danlightbulb · 19 Apr 2017 at 17:46

Yeah I think I want an automatic tbh. Never had one, but just fed up of changing gear all the bloody time.

My gripe with first is its harshness. I don't really like the sound of engines being revved if Im honest. I'd like very quiet smooth power delivery from 0 mph to 90 mph with minimal effort.

Clarkey · 19 Apr 2017 at 17:51

You need a 530d automatic then.

In fairness though, I had a look at the 2.4 Accord and I can't see what you are struggling with, the 1st and 2nd ratios are completely normal. If there is 'harshness' then either your car is broken or you're bad at driving.

timmeh · 19 Apr 2017 at 17:55

Maybe something with a CVT?

My wife's car has one; it's like driving a 2 tonne moped.

Simon · 19 Apr 2017 at 18:33

You need a 4l v8 and DCT on slush mode if you want effortless.

danlightbulb · 19 Apr 2017 at 20:15

Clarkey said:
You need a 530d automatic then.

In fairness though, I had a look at the 2.4 Accord and I can't see what you are struggling with, the 1st and 2nd ratios are completely normal. If there is 'harshness' then either your car is broken or you're bad at driving.

So you know when you're driving in heavy traffic at between 5 to 15 mph? When you lift off the gas you then get engine braking and when you try to reapply even a tiniest bit of gas you then get a lurch forward. That's what I'm referring to when I say jerky.

I'm sure 1st is long compared to a diesel, in that I could rev all the way to 7k in 1st if I wanted, but I don't like the noise so tend to change up at 3k hence 1st gear then feels relatively short.

I think I'm just fed up with changing gears in traffic tbh and it's tiring to drive at higher revs all the time to make the most of the gears/rev range.

AtreuS · 19 Apr 2017 at 22:52

Dav4 said:
Every car is different. In a decent revvy n/a engine every gear is fine whereas a standard diesel is going to be crap in 1st and 2nd.
My Mondeo ST220 has imo an incredibley long 2nd gear which I regularly stay in until 60mph whereas the more powerful Focus ST I had before it has a short rubbish 2nd gear.

Love my St220.... 1st gear gets you moving ( although she quite happily pulls off in second or even third! ) and 2nd gear gets you onto the motorway at pretty much full speed!

2nd gear really is the warp button on them

adolf hamster · 19 Apr 2017 at 23:42

danlightbulb said:
So you know when you're driving in heavy traffic at between 5 to 15 mph? When you lift off the gas you then get engine braking and when you try to reapply even a tiniest bit of gas you then get a lurch forward. That's what I'm referring to when I say jerky.

i get what you mean, but good throttle control will help, assuming you dont want to be constantly on and off the clutch.

you could try something with a tiny engine, but i'm guessing that's not what your after.

an auto will fix that, very smooth for stop/start traffic, but the price you pay for that is not being particularly engaging to drive on the open road.

alternately get something with a lot of cylinders, then suddenly the upper end of the rev range is a much more pleasant place to be.

Housey · 20 Apr 2017 at 00:44

Mine will pull 50 in first and 80 in 2nd so obviously I never need the other 4.

Kiethton · 20 Apr 2017 at 02:48

Can manage my whole commute in just 1st as it's good for 15k rpm and near 80mph, a little noisy currently though at all revs owing to the huge hole in the exhaust!

I prefer second, enough to get you past a ton very quickly with far less likelihood of unintentional wheelies

Car's an automatic so everything is smooth

Scania · 20 Apr 2017 at 09:14

In a truck I find 8th,9th & 10th the best.

Having two reverse gears is interesting sometimes.

ttaskmaster · 20 Apr 2017 at 10:54

danlightbulb said:
So you know when you're driving in heavy traffic at between 5 to 15 mph? When you lift off the gas you then get engine braking and when you try to reapply even a tiniest bit of gas you then get a lurch forward. That's what I'm referring to when I say jerky.

I find many manual cars can be like that... I also find most of my friends can drive the very same ones buttery smooth (except Matt, who is a bit special).
It's not the car - It's just getting the feel for the clutch/throttle balance and control. Took me a couple of weeks to get my own Octy right, especially as it has no throttle cable. Now, I drive it so well now I could almost say "Like a Bowss" every time I change gear... but I haven't watched enough Car Throttle videos to qualify for that, yet!

danlightbulb said:
I'm sure 1st is long compared to a diesel, in that I could rev all the way to 7k in 1st if I wanted, but I don't like the noise so tend to change up at 3k hence 1st gear then feels relatively short.

I could redline mine, but again it sounds horrid... unless I'm misbehaving.
A tip I've heard from numerous driver-instructy sources is to try and keep the revs below 2k, for good, safe, sensible, gentle, economic, smooth driving... seems to work for me when I'm not in Hoon mode.

Having come from driving automatic cars before, though, I'd actually not want another automatic again if I had the choice.

HoneyBadger · 20 Apr 2017 at 11:05

3rd gear was the best in my 306 GTi-6 all those years ago!

Jonnycoupe · 20 Apr 2017 at 11:06

3rd is my top speed gear.

Skillmister · 20 Apr 2017 at 11:14

Mine does 80+ in 3rd so I don't know why they gave it 6 gears, havn't used any of the higher ones

Skillmister · 20 Apr 2017 at 11:15

Scania said:
In a truck I find 8th,9th & 10th the best.

Having two reverse gears is interesting sometimes.

I learnt to drive a tractor a few weeks back, 3 gear sticks, 2 throttles and 2 brakes was an experience :eek:

lordrobs · 20 Apr 2017 at 11:23

Housey said:
Mine will pull 50 in first and 80 in 2nd so obviously I never need the other 4.

I remember as a kid there was an old couple who lived about 10 houses down. When the old fella passed away his wife started driving their car which was some old Talbot that we'd only ever known her husband to drive. Anyway, she seemed to think that the purpose of the gearbox was simply to make the car go faster and would happily drive the car around the village with the throttle pinned to the floor in first gear because it went quick enough without having to use second. Poor thing sounded like it was going to explode but she carried on using it occasionally for years.