Manual gearchanging

DXP55

DXP55

DXP55

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2013
Posts
6,929
Location
Shropshire
My first two cars in 70's were auto - my last three were auto and in 30 yrs in between I drove manual so know how it's done.

Today my neighbour took me out in his Mazda MX5 - nice motor - electric roof- leather - the works.

Pulled away change to second -dunk - foot straight off clutch - same with all gears - every time -dunk and head nod on my part - made my neck ache - Now he was a postie in a van before he retired so it that why he does it ?

Anyone know of anyone else that does it?

That poor clutch and gearbox :):)

dave:p
 
What's worst is people who seemingly refuse to use 1st gear when pulling away from a standstill, my dad does it all the time and you can sometimes feel the car struggling not to stall. WHY?!?!?
 
Last edited:
MK3 MX5?

Has a notoriously notchy 2nd gear and quite a snappy clutch. I always had trouble shifting smoothly, especially when "pushing on" shall we say.

It also has a clutch switch which retards the engine power while the clutch is depressed to protect the drive-train when shifting; the result was a bit of a lurch when dropping to clutch to switch to second gear, almost like someone had dabbed the brakes, so don't be too hard on your friend :)
 
shauncr91 said:
What's worst is people who seemingly refuse to use 2nd gear when pulling away from a standstill, my dad does it all the time and you can sometimes feel the car struggling not to stall. WHY?!?!?
Click to expand...

Why would you use 2nd gear to pull away from a standstill when 1st is perfectly designed for this job :confused:
 
It's hard to believe that after well over 100 years of motoring the majority of cars still require you to shove one lever with your foot & another with your hand in order to make the car move, I find the relaxed drive of a modern fuel efficient automatic is hard to beat, particularly in heavy stop/start traffic
 
Usher said:
It's hard to believe that after well over 100 years of motoring the majority of cars still require you to shove one lever with your foot & another with your hand in order to make the car move, I find the relaxed drive of a modern fuel efficient automatic is hard to beat, particularly in heavy stop/start traffic
Click to expand...

There's no doubt that technically for day to day driving, an automatic is the best option.

However, there's often more to driving than just getting from A-B. Many of us drive our cars for fun, and a good manual gearbox is often part of the appeal.
 
Usher said:
It's hard to believe that after well over 100 years of motoring the majority of cars still require you to shove one lever with your foot & another with your hand in order to make the car move, I find the relaxed drive of a modern fuel efficient automatic is hard to beat, particularly in heavy stop/start traffic
Click to expand...

There's nothing more pleasing then a perfect heel-toe downshift before a bend and shifting through the gears quickly when accelerating hard though.

If you have no interest in driving then obviously the above doesn't matter.
 
shauncr91 said:
There's nothing more pleasing then a perfect heel-toe downshift before a bend and shifting through the gears quickly when accelerating hard though.

If you have no interest in driving then obviously the above doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
Paddle shift is just as fun IMO. Love S-tronic/DSG
 
[TW]Fox;25864274 said:
Why not? It can be smoother and cuts a gearchange out. I sometimes do it. Car doesn't struggle.
Click to expand...

Perhaps because your car has enough power not to feel it, on a small engined car you can feel them struggle and have to give a lot of revs.

It's hard to believe that after well over 100 years of motoring the majority of cars still require you to shove one lever with your foot & another with your hand in order to make the car move, I find the relaxed drive of a modern fuel efficient automatic is hard to beat, particularly in heavy stop/start traffic
Click to expand...

Maybe because people choose to buy a manual, not everyone wants a lazybox.
 
shauncr91 said:
There's nothing more pleasing then a perfect heel-toe downshift before a bend and shifting through the gears quickly when accelerating hard though.

If you have no interest in driving then obviously the above doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

The engine is computer-managed in all manner of different ways, so why not the gearbox?

Nothing more pleasing than tapping the left paddle a couple of times, having the engine blip automatically and then accelerating hard through. I love the S-tronic gearboxes.
 
[TW]Fox;25864274 said:
Why not? It can be smoother and cuts a gearchange out. I sometimes do it. Car doesn't struggle.
Click to expand...

Also puts more stress and wear on the clutch surely?


I agree it can be smoother but you need a decent engine for it.

Pulling off in 1st in my car is slow enough :P
 
The_Abyss said:
The engine is computer-managed in all manner of different ways, so why not the gearbox?

Nothing more pleasing than tapping the left paddle a couple of times, having the engine blip automatically and then accelerating hard through. I love the S-tronic gearboxes.
Click to expand...

Because part of the fun is being skilful enough to master it yourself and having complete control over the mechanics of it.

I'm not saying a paddle shift can't be fun, and I've no doubt that it would make me much faster, but a manual shift gives a sense of involvement some of us like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom