just drove for the first time :D

Dashik said:
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!
]

eh? So I tailgate now do I? :confused: I don't understand what you are saying, knowledge is only gained through experience, what is the point you are trying to make? I did try not to come over as patronising but apologies if I failed. :)

Depending on the driving conditions you use the appropriate technique, some corners I just drop down through the gears and hit the apex cleanly, others I clearly have to brake before the corner to obtain the correct speed to enter it. What I was objecting to was that engine braking is an evil thing. Dropping down through the gears, engine popping, is a very much enjoyable part of cross country driving. It shouldn't be dismissed.
 
Who said you tailgate? It was an example of how experiance is not always the best method of developing driving skills.

I agree with your point about using engine brakeing but I remain to be convinced abiut the downshiftinh and brakeing.
 
Dashik said:
Who said you tailgate? It was an example of how experiance is not always the best method of developing driving skills.

Apologies then, I see where you're coming from now. Although once a tailgater has experienced a sudden stop and hence collision they soon learn! ;)

edit: ooh nice Ninja edit as well :D
 
Dashik said:
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?

You read it wrong, my mate doesn't use the handbrake or footbrake, he slips the clutch at the bite point to stop him rolling back. This causes excessive wear on the clutch when he's doing this for 4-5 mins at some lights.

I use the footbrake on gentle slopes, then hop on the gas with the clutch at the bite point before my car roles back because it's a gentle slope. If it's steeper I will use the handbrake to ensure I don't role back at all.

My way is the good way, and my ADI said I was good at dancing on the pedals but for my test I would have to use the handbrake everywhere, so I did lol.

Ninja: Basically I substitute the footbrake for the handbrake on gentler slopes, since it's easier. I still use my handbrake on more steep gradients.

My mates don't use any brakes, instead using the clutch slipping to hold the car.
 
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Cyberstrike2027 said:
You read it wrong

Possibly, its late and I had some nice wine :D

My way is the good way, and my ADI said I was good at dancing on the pedals but for my test I would have to use the handbrake everywhere, so I did lol.

LOL you think so? It's not really for the reasons I mentioned in the prevous post but you keep on telling yourself that. I think I'll go and see where it tells me all about getting people to dance on pedals........

I suspect your ADI was being polite and not wanting an argument with somebody who thinks they know what they are doing.

Oh and as well as being an ADI I've been driving for nearly 25 years and I CAN use the handbrake and controls properly without any strange danceing...... :D
 
Rojin said:
Apologies then, I see where you're coming from now. Although once a tailgater has experienced a sudden stop and hence collision they soon learn! ;)

edit: ooh nice Ninja edit as well :D

NP :D Funnily enough you'd think that would'nt you? In actual fact you are more likley to do the same thing again within 3 years hence why the insurance goes up after an accident rather than down! Once bitten is not twice shy unfortunatly!
 
saitrix said:
And that is what it is like when I goto driving a modern car now. :p The brake pedals on modern cars are so light compared to my Dolomite.

All this talk of gas would make me think we were american...
damn true, first time i drove my mums jazz I head butted the steering wheel :rolleyes:. I was just shovelling the cars around on the drive, no seatbelt. pressed the brake and bam, game over LOL
 
AcidHell2 said:
damn true, first time i drove my mums jazz I head butted the steering wheel :rolleyes:. I was just shovelling the cars around on the drive, no seatbelt. pressed the brake and bam, game over LOL


Arf :D Pupils do it all the time in the Cooper! Get in after driving mum's puddle jumper, press pedal, discover brakes that work!!! ;)
 
Dashik said:
Possibly, its late and I had some nice wine :D



LOL you think so? It's not really for the reasons I mentioned in the prevous post but you keep on telling yourself that. I think I'll go and see where it tells me all about getting people to dance on pedals........

I suspect your ADI was being polite and not wanting an argument with somebody who thinks they know what they are doing.

Oh and as well as being an ADI I've been driving for nearly 25 years and I CAN use the handbrake and controls properly without any strange danceing...... :D

I'm just lazy and handbrake use is last resort. As i said I substitute in my footbrake in place of it.
 
It has been suggested that "block changing" down is the best way of getting to an appropriate speed for a corner, even when racing. If that was the case, why are most really, really fast cars fitted with sequential boxes rather than H-Pattern ones? If it really was smoother/faster to block change down going into a corner, why doesn't Valentino Rossi do it on his bike, where smoothness is king of everything?

I always have and always will go down through the gears when setting myself up for a corner. Only someone that doesnt know what they are about has any danger of properly locking up the wheels doing so. Also, clutch wear is negligible at best over the lifetime of it, compared to the continuous expense of replacing cooked brake pads/disks.

I was taught the "new" way of doing all this block change nonsense but its far more logical and natural to change gear sequentially, irrelevant of cost.
 
Dashik said:
And thats why you get to pay £3.5k for insurance.


:mad:

My point was wear and tear on the car, not how lazy I am. And I'm much more certain the £3.5k is due to how fast I move the car, not what I use to stop it.
 
Cyberstrike2027 said:
:mad:

My point was wear and tear on the car, not how lazy I am. And I'm much more certain the £3.5k is due to how fast I move the car, not what I use to stop it.

Did your insurance company assess your driving style before quoting you? :confused:

More likely that they know the average driver of your age in a car like that will bend it around a tree or an unfortunate passing car. ;)
 
Cyberstrike2027 said:
:mad:

My point was wear and tear on the car, not how lazy I am. And I'm much more certain the £3.5k is due to how fast I move the car, not what I use to stop it.

My comment was on the risk you take over silly things in general. why not use the handbrake? Its not that hard and removes a lot of risk.
 
DRZ said:
Did your insurance company assess your driving style before quoting you? :confused:

More likely that they know the average driver of your age in a car like that will bend it around a tree or an unfortunate passing car. ;)

Precisely!

And no, they didn't, I didn't know any did. :confused:
 
slipping clutch for the win on hills. always done it, never knackered a clutch out yet, touch wood.. I know it's a bad habbit, but I cant help it.
 
Cyberstrike2027 said:
Precisely!

And no, they didn't, I didn't know any did. :confused:

I don't know of any that do either, I was just wondering why you mentioned your driving style in relation to your insurance cost :p
 
Dashik said:
My comment was on the risk you take over silly things in general. why not use the handbrake? Its not that hard and removes a lot of risk.

There's no risk involved, I was coming up a hill today, started gently and got steadily steeper. An artic was behind me, and you know how close they get, and not once in about 10 mins of stop-start traffic up this hill did I roll back.

And neither did I rest on the bite point of my clutch which was what I was on about in the first place.
 
West said:
Takes a little while to get used to the whole clutch thing, eventually it becomes second nature.

Starting the car.. Neutral, Clutch down, turn key. Even if its in gear as long as your foot is down on the clutch pedal you wont jolt forward.

Let ya car idle a few secs, clutch down, select first gear, clutch up a few revvs and off you go (Remembering all of your MSM bits of course ;) )

When it comes to gear selection, you use the gear reletive to your speed, so if your doing 40+ you should be using 5th, around 30 use 4th and so on.

Stopping I find it easier to look ahead, decide if you think your going to stop, brake using the engine, so drop your gears from 5>4>3>2 and if neccacary back down to first if you have to stop..

Screw changing down like that, If im approaching a traffic lights and the lights are red ill stay in gear or maybe change down one just before I come to a stop ill just stick it into neutral normally just before the engine struggles (Its second nature, I know exactly when now) and gradually slow down with my brakes, almost 100% of people I know do this. Why put strain on the engine like that when I can let the cheaply replaceable brakes do it for me?, If im turning a cornor obviously ill use gearing to slow me down with a mixture of braking, it's really hard to say what id do in a lot of situations because every situation is different.
 
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