I hate all the gears except 3rd

AtreuS said:
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 :p
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3rd is the warp button with the ST220 since there's no electronic torque limiting going on like there is in 1st and 2nd :p

I think the same applies to my current Mondeo as well since it's quick through 1st/2nd but it really leaps forward through 3rd.
 
AtreuS said:
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 :p
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Yes I love going up motorway slip roads in 2nd but I find 3rd quite short. 4th is also a really long good gear
 
I am quite surprised at number of people who remember Daff cars - Thought I was the only old codger on here - I had the 44 Estate - early one with 6v electrics and twin belts- Gave me total limited slip dif - so good in snow - Was a good little car at time and I never had any trouble with spring brake shoe clutch system - Shame about rust though.

I now have powershift on my Focus and find it smooth as silk.

Regarding smooth manual gear changes I do struggle with new cars of last 20 years where the flywheel has got lighter - in old days those heavy flywheels didn't lose spin so changes were smooth where today as soon as you lift off throttle the engine revs drop quickly. Or perhaps it's me :eek:
 
DXP55 said:
I am quite surprised at number of people who remember Daff cars - Thought I was the only old codger on here - I had the 44 Estate - early one with 6v electrics and twin belts- Gave me total limited slip dif - so good in snow - Was a good little car at time and I never had any trouble with spring brake shoe clutch system - Shame about rust though.

I now have powershift on my Focus and find it smooth as silk.

Regarding smooth manual gear changes I do struggle with new cars of last 20 years where the flywheel has got lighter - in old days those heavy flywheels didn't lose spin so changes were smooth where today as soon as you lift off throttle the engine revs drop quickly. Or perhaps it's me :eek:
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It's definitely you, modern DMF have a lot more inertia than traditional ones, and loads of newer stuff has a programmed in rev-hang during upshifts.
 
lordrobs said:
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.
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Old people for you, they be mentals
 
Clarkey said:
It's definitely you, modern DMF have a lot more inertia than traditional ones, and loads of newer stuff has a programmed in rev-hang during upshifts.
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Never had a car with DMF or a car with rev-hanger - in fact I can't remember last car with a flywheel except my Ford Zodiac Mk2 :):)
 
The biggest problem I found when I last drove a manual, is that the revs in 3rd gear were just a tad high to maintain 30 MPH comfortably in town, whereas 4th gear was a tad lumpy. Probably why many people shamelessly flaunt the law and drive at 35 MPH in a 30 zone. ISTR that was the case with most manuals I owned over the years.

Automatic all the way for me!
 
Rainmaker said:
GTFO. :p
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Revs cost money and I'm old enough now to care more about mpg than mph... not that I don't care about the latter, as the cop following me a few nights back will attest!

Vern1961 said:
The biggest problem I found when I last drove a manual, is that the revs in 3rd gear were just a tad high to maintain 30 MPH comfortably in town, whereas 4th gear was a tad lumpy.
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Mine is bang on perfect in that respect.
Most of my bikes have felt the same and even the Mrs's auto is like that, but you'll find the balance comes with time.
 
Vern1961 said:
The biggest problem I found when I last drove a manual, is that the revs in 3rd gear were just a tad high to maintain 30 MPH comfortably in town, whereas 4th gear was a tad lumpy. Probably why many people shamelessly flaunt the law and drive at 35 MPH in a 30 zone. ISTR that was the case with most manuals I owned over the years.

Automatic all the way for me!
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Back in the late 70's I had a car with a switchable "Overdrive" which worked in 3rd and 4th.

Town driving was best achieved by selecting third and switching the overdrive in or out depending on circumstances.
 
My grandparents Almera Tino (bought new in 2005) has a three speed slushbox automatic with switchable overdrive...
 
Rainmaker said:
GTFO. :p
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LOL it sounds fantastic. But when I'm sitting in traffic on the m6 lucky to be travelling 40mph then I don't want a car that sounds like that.

What car has the best of all worlds? Revvy and powerful when you're on the open road, quiet and easy and effortless when crawling on the motorway?
 
danlightbulb said:
LOL it sounds fantastic. But when I'm sitting in traffic on the m6 lucky to be travelling 40mph then I don't want a car that sounds like that.

What car has the best of all worlds? Revvy and powerful when you're on the open road, quiet and easy and effortless when crawling on the motorway?
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A decent turbo petrol has to be in with a shout, surely. I don't mean a 1.0, but 2.0 plus. My 2.0 TSI (220ps) has indirect/port injection as well as direct injection, so it's silent and effortless to drive at low speeds (with peak torque right from 1,500rpm through to 4,500rpm for easy low speed drivability), but will rev happily right to the 7k red line when you're on an empty country road. Best of both worlds.
 
Couldn't a TVR Cerbera do 70mph in 1st? Maybe thats the car you need. Never need to change gear :D

(Just remember to carry a good supply of brown trousers)
 
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Nasher said:
Couldn't a TVR Cerbera do 70mph in 1st? Maybe thats the car you need. Never need to change gear :D

(Just remember to carry a good supply of brown trousers)
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I think it was more like 55MPH in 1st, and 90MPH in 2nd. Still unusual though! :p
 
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