Just had my first simulator lesson

Ex-RoNiN

Ex-RoNiN

Ex-RoNiN

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
12,354
...and the real one starts at 6 :eek: :D

So get off the streets ;)

1 questions - when switching from 1st to 2nd gear, what do I need to do to get the gear to change smoothly, when I did it I usually ended up with very high revs before speed picked up - do I need to let go of clutch faster?

Also, how important is clutch when braking?

Finally - does it matter how I steer, or do I need to follow that push pull system?
 
Changing gear smoothly no-one will be able to explain, it'll just take a bit of practice.

Clutch is only needed to disengage the engine when slow enough that the engine would stall, you shouldnt push the clutch down at any other time other than changing gear.

Yes it does matter how you steer for the test. They dont like you crossing your arms etc. In the real world it obviously doesnt matter at all, but as you are learning it would be best to avoid picking up any bad habbits and use their system from the start.
 
penski said:
Change to second at 10mph, third at 20mph and fourth at 30mph and you'll do fine.

*n
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Yup, thats it.

The importance of the clutch with braking is that you leave it till you are as close to a stop as possible... all it does is disengage the engine so that you can reset to first and pull off again, I imagine your instructor will have you practicing this most in your first lesson.

Best thing to remember is that its gonna take practice, and eventually you will get it :)
 
From stationary:

Press clutch to floor, hold.
Engage 1st gear.
Press accelerator to floor, hold.
Wait 1 sec.
Release clutch as quickly as you can whilst keeping the accelerator to the floor.
















The above is a joke, do NOT do it!
 
Tesla said:
From stationary:

Press clutch to floor, hold.
Engage 1st gear.
Press accelerator to floor, hold.
Wait 1 sec.
Release clutch as quickly as you can whilst keeping the accelerator to the floor.

The above is a joke, do NOT do it!
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LOL :) I was sitting here for abut 5 minutes wondering what would happen if I did that, not understanding tat it would infact not be an advisable thing to do :o
 
Sirrel Squirrel said:
Simulator :eek: that's a bit fancy innit?
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Thats what i was thinking..

Blimey.. back in the days of my learning to drive they chucked me in the car and said get a move on kid.. ive got places to go, people to see..

Back when Penski was learning to drive they didnt even have wheels and they had to push the car!.. Thats why he has such unorthodox opinions. (concerning vehicles that is)
 
gord said:
Back when Penski was learning to drive they didnt even have wheels and they had to push the car!.. Thats why he has such wrong. (concerning vehicles that is)
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Fixed :p aww im only joking penski
 
gord said:
Back when Penski was learning to drive they didnt even have wheels and they had to push the car!.. Thats why he has such unorthodox opinions. (concerning vehicles that is)
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Back'n mah day, w' din't have nowt tut feed t' 'orse.

W' got man from t'next village t'stuff 'im nd ah nailed wood t' ees 'oofs.

Wait'd 'tul decembur 'n ah took me test slidin down t'green!

*n
 
Well, I made it back alive, and it was great fun :D Changing gears was the least of my worries, didn't have any trouble at all, so was probably dodgy simulator.

Using the clutch is tricky to the point of being annoying, but I did my 3 point turns and parallel parking fairly well I think :D

All these were no problem, apart from the clutch (and my stalling numerous times) and the not turning wheel when not turning.

You were right, practise is everything. Can't wait to have my next go :D
 
jamoor said:
so is a simulator realistic then or what?
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The cockpit looked it, but:

- the graphics were poo
- sluggish response
- wobbly gears
- dodgy pedals

And most importantly - no feeling from the car! You couldn't tell from the sound whether you reached the biting point or not, all you had was some dodgy bar on the screen, and the bad graphics didn't help you at all with distance measurement and all that. To make matters worse, the way the simulator explained things was really useless, my instructor (top bloke, ex-Navy) was much more helpful.
 
RandomTom said:
You did all that in your first lesson? ooh la la!
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Yeah, I've driven before in an automatic in Greece (doesn't mean all that much when it comes to road awareness and road safety mind :D ), so the guy decided to skip a few things :cool: Apparently he was impressed with me, and the parallel parking was amazing, did 3, 1 I botched, but the other 2 I managed to park about 6-8 inches from the curb - fantastic, though the instructor put it down to luck :p :D
 
.:MBK:. said:
or a thrashed yaris...damn i hated my instructors car
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Lol, I learned in 4 Cars..

First car was a 55 Plate Renault Clio with a dodgy clutch and wobbly steering.. then an 06 Focus.. just a tank in all respects.. Then my old L Reg Cinquecento, and I passed in my Daewoo Lanos X Reg...

What a track record I here you say 0.o
 
West said:
Lol, I learned in 4 Cars..

First car was a 55 Plate Renault Clio with a dodgy clutch and wobbly steering.. then an 06 Focus.. just a tank in all respects.. Then my old L Reg Cinquecento, and I passed in my Daewoo Lanos X Reg...

What a track record I here you say 0.o
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I guess in that respect I'm quite lucky. I learnt in a 04 focus and then When I passed I used an 03 fiesta. To all intents and purposes, they are the same car with regards to biting point etc imo.

I've been driving over 18 months and I still find it horrible going from 1st to 2nd sometimes. Its the hardest to get right imo. :). Also dont forget that it may feel a little jerky to you, but the passengers may not feel it, which is the important bit ;) especially when the examiners concerned.
 
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