just drove for the first time :D

[saitrix]

Instructor always had a go at me if I didnt go into fith after 40...

Accelling upto 50, I normally stay in 4th I will admit.. better accelleration.

In the Focus I never accelerated in 5th, that was my cruising gear, unless I was on the motorway. Do a similar thing in the Dolomite, I only use overdrive when I'm cruising. Using all 4 gears for acceleration then once up to speed when I'm in 3rd or 4th stick on overdrive.

 

[pitchfork]

I learned to drive before I got proper lessons.
Took me ages to learn the right technique to pass the test but I honestly think you should drive the way which feels most natural

I accelerate as fast as I can wheras I find most go at a steadier pace. Never had an accident.

 

[MajorMaccas]

No No NO Engine braking.

Yes, I used to do it, it was effective, but really, brake pads are cheaper than clutches.

Now, I just brake with the clutch up, or clutch down if I need to brake harder.

I only use engine braking in 2nd if I really need to stop quickly.


On a different side note, a little known fact that WILL save your fuel, acceleration.

Now, when posed the question "What's the most fuel efficient way of accelerating?" nearly everyone will say slowly. No no no! Most fuel efficient way of accelerating is to leave it in a low gear, usually 2nd, until you get to your desired speed or the limiter, then change to the highest gear you can (4th/5th) to maintain that speed.

You may say I'm crazy, but you'll still try it. Trust me, it works, and this is coming from someone who drives a 2.2VTi (VTEC) Honda Prelude, which will rev to 8k RPM! And that really drinks the fuel, but at the same time it goes!

The only trouble with this, it can make you look like a boyracer, which I don't like, but in a 30 limit, I accelerate in 1st from standing, very quickly (foot on the floor) to 30 in a couple of seconds, then into 4th and cruise. It has saved a lot of fuel over the more common method of going through the gears. And the gear selection is near seamless, just let the revs drop, then cover the gas and let the clutch up quite quickly, and it'll just cruise at 30 lol.

 

[NarChaDBaueR]

Ive got my first driving lesson tomorrow!!! :]] Cant wait!

 

[Dashik]

Best laugh in a long time reading this thread! If the OP is not confused he will be now!

How about he gets proper lessons from a reputable instructor and learns to do it right? Safer and cheaper in the long run and he might live long enough to gain experiance. Coupled with loads of LEGAL private practice he'll be driving in no time. Saw some really good replys here and some carp

 

[Dashik]

No No NO Engine braking.

Yes, I used to do it, it was effective, but really, brake pads are cheaper than clutches.

Now, I just brake with the clutch up, or clutch down if I need to brake harder.

I only use engine braking in 2nd if I really need to stop quickly.


On a different side note, a little known fact that WILL save your fuel, acceleration.

Now, when posed the question "What's the most fuel efficient way of accelerating?" nearly everyone will say slowly. No no no! Most fuel efficient way of accelerating is to leave it in a low gear, usually 2nd, until you get to your desired speed or the limiter, then change to the highest gear you can (4th/5th) to maintain that speed.

You may say I'm crazy, but you'll still try it. Trust me, it works, and this is coming from someone who drives a 2.2VTi (VTEC) Honda Prelude, which will rev to 8k RPM! And that really drinks the fuel, but at the same time it goes!

The only trouble with this, it can make you look like a boyracer, which I don't like, but in a 30 limit, I accelerate in 1st from standing, very quickly (foot on the floor) to 30 in a couple of seconds, then into 4th and cruise. It has saved a lot of fuel over the more common method of going through the gears. And the gear selection is near seamless, just let the revs drop, then cover the gas and let the clutch up quite quickly, and it'll just cruise at 30 lol.

Some good stuff there, I personally teach to use 1st for moving off then around 15mph+ 2nd then 3rd at 30mph then hold the gear and change to 5th at 50 if the conditions allow. Bear in mind thats learners etc. I hold it in 3rd much longer.......

 

[MajorMaccas]

Best laugh in a long time reading this thread! If the OP is not confused he will be now!

How about he gets proper lessons from a reputable instructor and learns to do it right? Safer and cheaper in the long run and he might live long enough to gain experiance. Coupled with loads of LEGAL private practice he'll be driving in no time. Saw some really good replys here and some carp

I'm gonna bet the OP is not actually 17 yet, or doesn't have a provisional.

I think it's a bit stupid for the owner of the car to let him have at it for however long without telling him the basics of what to do. Unless it was a £50 throwaway lol. You could quite easily burn out the clutch (most common problem without tuition), end up with the gearbox in your lap from not downing the clutch on gear change, or changing down at too higher speed (although newer boxes won't let u). Aside from that, there's the safety aspect, you could very very easily lost control and, without knowledge of exactly what operates what, find it very hard to regain it. However, the brake is always a stronger force than an engine with no gas.

 

[Dashik]

Well he did say he was on private land so if its true then it is legal, I can teach somebody underage on private land with the landowners premission and I'm fully insured to do so but tbh No Chance!

Obviously as I'm an ADI i would reccommend you take professional instruction but all I can say is before I was an ADI I smiled nicely and shelled out a largish sume of cash to make sure my partner could drive safely when she passed. Now I dont worry about her driving.

 

[MajorMaccas]

My ADI was stunned at my first car (I'm 19, it's in my sig).

Said it was awesome lol.

It's all the same really though, just more powerful than his 1.2 Micra

The clutch is MUCH tighter, and thus, after racking up over 1k miles in mine with L plates, when I went on a lesson, he commented on how silky my changes were, since the bite point on the micra's clutch is about 1/3 of the travel, where as mine took a bit more effort to get aclimatised.

 

[Dashik]

LOL, not sure I'd be prepared to put up with the insurance tbh! I like my Mini Cooper. In fact I like the Mini so much I'm going to get a Cooper S next time for teaching in!

 

[Rojin]

No No NO Engine braking.

Yes, I used to do it, it was effective, but really, brake pads are cheaper than clutches.

Now, I just brake with the clutch up, or clutch down if I need to brake harder.

I only use engine braking in 2nd if I really need to stop quickly.

Sorry but utter tripe, "only used engine braking when stopping quickly?" Last place it should ever be used, that is what the brakes are for... Engine braking is for bringing the car down to a slower speed as you approach a stopping point, trying to imply that it burns out your clutch is laughable. It's basic driving and learning it whilst driving in normal conditions will help when moving on to more "brisk" cross country driving.

 

[MajorMaccas]

The petrol is quite awful though, it really needs a 6th gear

75MPH - 4k RPM.

Dad's mondeo 2.0 16V Ghia X Automatic - 100MPH - 3,500RPM :O

At 100, my VTEC is kicking in (5,500RPM), which when you think is taking 2.2 Litres of fuel/air mix, 5,500 times every minute, it boggles the mind, and the bank balance

 

[Tommy B]

No No NO Engine braking.

Yes, I used to do it, it was effective, but really, brake pads are cheaper than clutches.

Now, I just brake with the clutch up, or clutch down if I need to brake harder.

I only use engine braking in 2nd if I really need to stop quickly.


On a different side note, a little known fact that WILL save your fuel, acceleration.

Now, when posed the question "What's the most fuel efficient way of accelerating?" nearly everyone will say slowly. No no no! Most fuel efficient way of accelerating is to leave it in a low gear, usually 2nd, until you get to your desired speed or the limiter, then change to the highest gear you can (4th/5th) to maintain that speed.

You may say I'm crazy, but you'll still try it. Trust me, it works, and this is coming from someone who drives a 2.2VTi (VTEC) Honda Prelude, which will rev to 8k RPM! And that really drinks the fuel, but at the same time it goes!

The only trouble with this, it can make you look like a boyracer, which I don't like, but in a 30 limit, I accelerate in 1st from standing, very quickly (foot on the floor) to 30 in a couple of seconds, then into 4th and cruise. It has saved a lot of fuel over the more common method of going through the gears. And the gear selection is near seamless, just let the revs drop, then cover the gas and let the clutch up quite quickly, and it'll just cruise at 30 lol.

I quite often use 2nd gear to get up to 35 and then straight into 4th/5th.

Always wondered if it wastes or saves petrol though.

 

[MajorMaccas]

Sorry but utter tripe, "only used engine braking when stopping quickly?" Last place it should ever be used, that is what the brakes are for... Engine braking is for bring the car down to a slower speed as you approach a stopping point, trying to imply that it burns out your clutch is laughable. It's basic driving and learning it whilst driving in normal conditions will help when moving on to more "brisk" cross country driving.

quoted for truth from my ADI, so s t f u

When slowing down from a motorway, I used to brake gently, then go down through the gears, bring the clutch up slowly on each. My ADI said he was impressed that I had taught myself that (he hadn't said anything about how to do it, it just seemed logical to me), but he said at the end of the day, brake pads are cheaper than clutches, which is what you're slipping when the engine is being sped up from idle to match the speed at the wheels.

Alternatively, you could bring the clutch up faster, but then you put much more strain on the gearbox, on the opposite direction the gears are designed to transfer energy through. Basically, engine braking put more strain on more components than footbraking alone does. Thus, cheaper

 

[MajorMaccas]

I quite often use 2nd gear to get up to 35 and then straight into 4th/5th.

Always wondered if it wastes or saves petrol though.

It's because the engine is at a much higher RPM, but for a shorter time, than if you went up through the gears normally.

I could easily demonstrate the break-even point on a graph, but it's because you rev in a low gear to your desired speed then cruise at 1500-2000 RPM, rather than accelerate through the gears at RPM's that are always higher than 1500-2000, thus using more fuel even though it goes against your common sense.

 

[Dashik]

Hmmm seems i missed a bit in my earlier post. Its Speed then Gear.

So you accellerate then change to the appropriate gear or alternatively you brake until you are going slow enough and then change to the gear you need.

Engine braking is now regarded as an expensive and quick way to wear out the clutch and brake pads are much cheaper.

The perils of an early finish, a late start tommorrow and plenty of red wine

 

[Rojin]

Well in 18 years of driving I've only had a clutch go on me twice and I know for sure both times were due to me launching the motor far too often. Our driving styles differ obviously. You seem to contradict yourself (probably just bad context of posting though) "clutch down to stop quicker, or use 2nd gear engine braking when I need to stop quick"? You can take you "ADI"'s word as gospel or wait until you've got a few years driving under your belt and make up your own mind

You're doing fine using the engine to slow down into braking points, you don't leave it hanging on the clutch for long, yes brake pads are cheap but once you get a nice sounding motor (which tbh you should know about with your current ride ) then using the gears becomes second nature and a much more enjoyable driving experience.

 

[Dashik]

Well in 18 years of driving I've only had a clutch go on me twice and I know for sure both times were due to me launching the motor far too often. Our driving styles differ obviously. You seem to contradict yourself (probably just bad context of posting though) "clutch down to stop quicker, or use 2nd gear engine braking when I need to stop quick"? You can take you "ADI"'s word as gospel or wait until you've got a few years driving under your belt and make up your own mind

You're doing fine using the engine to slow down into braking points, you don't leave it hanging on the clutch for long, yes brake pads are cheap but once you get a nice sounding motor (which tbh you should know about with your current ride ) then using the gears becomes second nature and a much more enjoyable driving experience.

Heh, so you think your experiance makes up for knowlegde ? So why do experianced drivers still tailgate?

Trouble with experiance is that she's a harsh Mistress, She gives the test first then the lesson!

the trouble with using the gears to slow the car is there's a risk that you change down to early and lock the driving wheels. Where as if you wait until you reach the right speed you retain much more control and a better line if braking into a corner etc. Also it less gear changes so less wear and tear!

Try roadcraft or any good driving manual racing or otherwise and they all say the sane thing. Right gear, right speed, right place, right time!

 

[MajorMaccas]

Well, I know that my clutch will last longer than at least 2 of my mates.

They both do the same thing, on a hill or gentle slope, where I would use the footbrake + clutch down (test would use handbrake), I then bring the clutch up to the bite point just as I let off the brake so it doesn't roll back, then hope onto the gas, so it doesn't stall. This all happens in under half a second, and doesn't wear the clutch since there's little slipping involved.

My mates however, sit on the bite point, revving slightly, about 2k RPM, not rolling back, but not moving forward. This is both using more fuel (why 2k RPM when you could just idle at 500), and is wearing his clutch out very quickly, since he's just sitting there slipping it for 4-5 mins at a time at traffic lights.

Retard lol

 

[Dashik]

Well, I know that my clutch will last longer than at least 2 of my mates.

They both do the same thing, on a hill or gentle slope, where I would use the footbrake + clutch down (test would use handbrake), I then bring the clutch up to the bite point just as I let off the brake so it doesn't roll back, then hope onto the gas, so it doesn't stall. This all happens in under half a second, and doesn't wear the clutch since there's little slipping involved.

My mates however, sit on the bite point, revving slightly, about 2k RPM, not rolling back, but not moving forward. This is both using more fuel (why 2k RPM when you could just idle at 500), and is wearing his clutch out very quickly, since he's just sitting there slipping it for 4-5 mins at a time at traffic lights.

Retard lol

He's hardly a retard as he can drive, Both from a technical and safety point hes much better at moving off than you. He can accelerate faster when he lets the handbrake off and hes much less likely to stall or roll back into the car behind etc.

Once he gets more confident he will also be able to bring the clutch up to the bite just before the handbrake is released and wont spend a few mins waiting for the lights etc. Whose retarded?