Third Gear

Lopéz said:
3rd won't power you out of anything either at 25mph - not quickly enough to make a difference anyway.

Do you walk down the road tensed and ready to burst into a sprint incase someone drops a grand piano from a 3rd floor window? :D
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Guess it depends on the car.. I drive cars like I do a bike, always in a gear that gives instant pickup should I need it, just in town mind you as faster speeds don't warrant it.. maybe not the best way from a fuel efficiency point of view, but from a safety point of view it's deffo best (and it sounds good lol)

Don't have gears on my legs afaik ;), if I did would be in 2nd / 3rd
 
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See on a bike, I can totally see your point. You are small enough to jump out of tight spots etc. But if you're driving a car in town and someone decides they want a piece of you, there isn't really much you can do.

What are you gonna do? Power out of the situation straight into the builders van in front of you? :D
 
Lopéz said:
What sort of emergency are you having at 25mph where you need to power out of trouble?
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Ditchfinders on the rear on a wet road in a FWD car round a tight corner or roundabout? There is another thread all about it this week ;)

But i do feel the same tbh. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet tho is if you need to do an emergency stop. If the car is basically at idle already in 5th gear at 30mph (still maintain this is too higher gear in most cars but for other reasons) then if you do an emergency stop there is more chance you will stall as will have had much less time to catch the engine than if you were in say 3rd/4th in the same situation.
 
G_D said:
Ditchfinders on the rear on a wet road in a FWD car round a tight corner or roundabout? There is another thread all about it this week ;)
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True, but that isn't just ambling along is it, you're performing a maneuver and a lower gear is entirely appropriate :)
 
I always stick it in 4th in 30 zones in my Focus. I can easily put it in 5th and it has no trouble.

Strangely in my instructors Diesel Focus the engine would start to struggle in 4th id i dropped below 30, 25mph and the car was verging on stalling. Probably something to do with the turbo? So i'd always be in 3rd in 30 zones in My instructors Focus.
 
Crikey if i put it in 4th at 30 the car just refuses to do anything end up using more pedal to keep it there than you do using 3rd, same for 40 in 5th.
 
BigglesPiP said:
When I saw this thread I thought ITV were doing a mediocre motoring show.
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So did I.

For what it's worth, I stick our 1.6l Petrol 307 in 4th at 30mph cruise. However my instructor has a 1.6l Diesel 307 and this struggles a bit doing 30mph in 4th. Have to leave it in 3rd until I'm doing ~35mph before it's happy in 4th.

Entirely depends on the car how I see it :)

Jon
 
usually use 4th gear at 30, although i usually end up going along at about 35 (knocking small children out of the way) where 5th gear is comfortable, just starts to give a bit of a struggle at bang on 30.
 
markyp23 said:
Is that before or after Jesus appears and offers to let you sell The Sun his story?
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I assume your trying to infer that clutch cables do not snap. I take it you've either not driven many cars with a cable clutch or not been driving very long.

Clutch cables do snap quite a lot. I can recall changing at least 7 since I started driving.
 
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