How To Drive Like A Driving Instructor | Gears
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2022
- It's been awhile since I did one of my "one take" "How To Drive Like a Driving Instructor" videos and in this video I go into detail with changing gear. With approximately 20 years until the final manual driving test will be conducted we've still got some things to sort out.
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I went through a brief period when I would narrate my driving (yes, whilst there was no one in the car). I was essentially talking to myself. I found it made me focus more.
Funnily enough, when you do blue-light emergency response driver training you are required to narrate outloud everything you see and think as you drive as part of the tests
@@GeorgeThoughts Unfortunately, I have tried narrating my driving but find it a big distraction to the point where I lose concentration on what I am doing. I rarely have a conversation to any passenger in the car simply because I cannot concentrate on the two things at once i.e. driving and talking!
I did that as well, but that was on the recommendation from watching a series called "Canada's Worst Driver". The instructor tells everyone to narrate their driving, because it helps.
@@GeorgeThoughts FWIW not always, I didn't do any commentary drives for my blue lights. However I do find talking out loud, especially when trying to decide on how to negotiate a hazard, does help. For example I might be slowing for red lights from a position where the route through isn't obvious, and talk to myself through it until I decide whether it's a 'siren off/hold back' or siren on piercer go through slowly situation.
It has to become automatic. A silent track in the driver's mind.
Passed my test on Friday with 2 minors having watched your videos religiously for 6 weeks, they really helped me with general attitude and slowing down to give me time to think. The 2 minors were both control - gears so you're a couple days late for me hehe. Thank you for all the work you have put in to providing free online instruction, it's very appreciated.
Congratulations!
I was surprised you didn't mention the difference between diesel and petrol cars, Ash. I was once a passenger with a friend-an experienced driver-in their new car which was a diesel. He was revving the engine excessively between gears during acceleration. I asked if this was his first diesel and he said, "yes". I then explained the greater torque of a diesel engine and suggested it wasn't necessary to rev the engine and he could change gears much earlier. He immediately took my advice and we had a much quieter journey from that moment on.
I like watching these sorts of videos because
I like my street view
And to watch all the roads and also the area around Liverpool is to me brilliant !
Having driven an automatic (BMW i3) for over 8 years now and using it for 98% of my daily driving, I find it reassuring that when I occasionally hop in to what used to be my daily driver, (Ford Galaxy TDCi manual) I can instantly adapt to the requirement for gear changes without even giving it a second thought. This means that the, hopefully good, habits around gear and clutch control have been well and truly burned into my subconscious over the previous 27 years of driving a manual car. I say this to emphasise the importance of learning the skills portrayed in this video from the outset because, once committed to our memory, good habits like these become fixed and harder to change, as are bad habits if incorrectly learned.
Just done my first mock test, need to work on my gears coming up to junctions and roundabouts. Come home, cuppa tea and a little TH-cam. This came up! Exactly what my instructor was saying (I’m a visual learner) thank you Ashley!
I learned with a three speed gearbox and very low powered engine and was taught to do all the braking and gear changing before committing to the turn, a lesson well learned for motorcycles and three wheelers later on. I often block change, hanging on to 3rd for a bit longer and popping straight into 5th works well. The clutch dip and carrying on in the same gear was interesting, I do that a lot and always felt it was a bad habit! I have also found on my 2015 Berlingo van, ignoring the 'change up now' light produces far better economy in fairly gentle driving. I can get over 60mpg as an average, by listening to the engine, rather than high 40's changing gear when the van thinks it best.
As always, an interesting watch, I've been driving for nearly forty years and still learn all the time.
when I did the advanced, one aspect that was taught was the rev counter, how to drive with it. (i.e.) know the gear, speed, and revs without using the speedometer. These days I'm plodding around in a 1.2 Corsa, bliss. Nice video Ashley, I'm loving the Drive Like series, thanks
I have a manual car but quite often change gear without using the clutch. Listen to the engine revs and change gear, up and down.I find it is a much smoother ride for my my passenger and me. I would add beginner drivers shouldn't try this. :)
Thank Ashley, this answered a question about auto/manual tests after 2030 I asked recently in comments on another of your videos. Took and passed my motorcycle and then the car test in the mid 1970's. On the Bike I had to learn how to double declutch when changing gear (No Synchro). After passing the Car test in a full synchro car I could only afford a 1962 Austin A60 which didn't have synchro on 1st and the brakes were poor compared to modern disc braked cars. That combo meant careful planning for braking and gears and whether to slow and stay in 2nd, double declutch for 1st or full stop in 2nd and then select 1st to pull away. Those early planning lessons are still in use and are more relevant with the much increased traffic levels. Current car is a lot easier, though It tries to prompt me to change up with a little green up arrow on the dash. I usually ignore it because it only suits flat roads. Engine note is best. Haven't tried an EV yet but no doubt the advances in control of speed will be a pleasant surprise? Talking of engine note it always amazes when people say 'I didn't know I was over the speed limit'. If aware of the gear you are in and familiar with the sounds of the engine you should be able to stay under but near all the time, using regular speedo checks for confirmation.
I passed my test about 6 months ago... this was not something I was taught and in fact was thinking about how i struggle to change gear to 2nd and keeping in control of my vehicle when pulling out of my road the other day. This is definitely a video that i will watch a few times and I'm sure its a video a lot of people will need to see.
I had this problem specifically because my instructor would complain if I didn't shift up to 2nd when my main focus was controlling the car (especially around roundabouts). Every time I shifted up out of pressure from my instructor I could myself losing full control of the car.
@@matt-ko4cc
Me too. I'm way better without an instructor which shouldn't be the case. I'd already been on the road for 20 years on a motorbike but my instructor insisted on coaching me every second I was driving. It was a constant distraction and I binned her off after an incident she caused on an easy roundabout I was very familiar with.
Getting used to steering one handed is nerve racking even for experienced road users especially when an instructor insists on having two hands on the wheel lol. Anticipation is key, thinking ahead and getting your hands ready for a turn.
Another great video! I've just started my advanced driving with IAM. Only had one lesson so far but just from the first lesson I have taken note of the completely different gear changing scenario. My observer pointed out a few things to work on :) the difference gear changes at the propper time given the scenario make for a much much smoother and more controlled drive :)
Another spot on video Ashley, many thanks!
I like your content. You have made me think about my driving and I've no doubt that I'm more thoughtful and safer as a result. Thanks.
It's lovely watching you driving!
Thank you! 😃
I passed my test in march this year and I really enjoy driving especially a manual so I am hoping it stays around for a while. For me anyway I think I have more control in a manual and feel more connected to the car. Plus there is nothing better than being smooth in a manual.
Learn to heel and toe, driving is dead without it.
@@goon_eg1089 yea I already have the first time I tried it tho I almost went through the windshield 🤣🤣
Some cars have a gear change indicator on the dashboard but these can be less than ideal to follow. For one thing, they can't read the road and the traffic situation. My understanding is that they work exclusively on analysing engine load / revs and even on those parameters, they can still make a less than ideal recommendation.
the ones I remember come on at a certain RPM regardless of any other factors.
Thanks Ashley
That was a really useful refresher. Got my PDI part 2 coming up in a couple of weeks and I will be practicing those tips.
Another fantastic video keep up the good work Astley fab job.
Loads of learning points packed into that video, Ashley! It merits watching two or even three times, because the lessons come thick and fast as you scan and plan for different road and traffic situations.
I was thinking it would be useful to discuss block changes... then you did it! Nice one.
One tip I found useful on gear changes: instead of a one stage process (changing gear from the initial gear to the desired gear) think of each change as a two stage process. Move from your present gear into neutral, then chose the desired gear. By thus taking two steps in my head instead of one, I find gear changes are smoother and less jerked.
That’s a tip I often teach learners 👍
@@ashley_neal nice one. I picked that tip up from a Police Driver's book so not everyone knows it and their changes are not as smooth as yours. Good to hear you are getting that one out there!
Great tips for improving the quality of driving, thanks 👍.
a couple notes: steering while stopped, particularly if you're on the brakes, is less than optimal. it's better on the tires, road, and steering hardware to steer as you're doing your initial creep. it's also best, if you're sitting at a stop, to have the steering pointed in a direction that if you DO take a hit from a car behind, it will send you straight forward instead of turning you into oncoming traffic.
it should also be mentioned, that the physical motion of switching gears should be firmly in muscle memory. learner drivers will obviously have to think about their hand motions, but an experienced driver should be able to switch gears without thinking about anything but when and what gear.
9:48, the fact I had recognized the road before you spoke about it , proves how much I remember the video, especially how stupid the other people were 😂
which video?
Ah yes Miss Congeniality.
I bought another manual as my daily right now, and i'll keep my manual 3 litre carlton (Opel Omega in europe) because it has gotten pretty rare in its condition with one previous owner only and basically no harm or rust on the bodywork. I see the change towards automatic gearboxes due to hybrids and of course BEV's and i guess there will come a time that i will have gears changed for me.
I just hope it will not be tomorrow. 😌
Thanks for the informative video, as always.
Good advice. I find myself grabbing for second when I pull right onto a road from a Junction. I always think I should have driven further in first gear before changing
I've done some 1st to 5th changes before, where I just belt it up to 30, press the clutch and wait for the revs to fall from limit to 1300 (to be kind to the synchros) and then cruise in 5th. Usually I go from 2nd though when I don't need extreme RPM. I don't do this if the engine is not warm.
I tend to shift to 5th gear when both of these are true: My speed exceeds 30 mph and my instantaneous mpg is above 35 (and also I am not needing to stop any time soon).
Full load in 5th is about 28 mpg. If I'm at 95 mpg which is typical for level road at 30 or even 25 then 5th gear can be used with the engine barely above idle, until I come to a hill or need to rapidly accelerate. I avoid high loads with the RPM below 1500.
When I'm going down a hill, it will be the highest gear that controls the speed. If I need to press the accelerator to get the engine out of it's own way then I'm burning fuel to do the job of gravity so go up a gear. As for coasting, and "lack of control", if even 5th gear is slowing the car down and I do not wish to slow the car down a hill I will coast in neutral rather than using the accelerator to counteract the engine's own resistance I don't want. If neutral is too slow I will give it quick spurts in 5th with the accelerator before going back into neutral. I'm not saying this is textbook just what I do. The situation of going faster and faster down a hill and having to brake so much they overheat or I come off the road (the thing the "don't coast" articles warn about) is actually a situation where I'd just go in a low gear and let the engine dissipate the speed. It's useless to coast in this scenario. I use it when I'd otherwise press the accelerator because I want to go faster down the hill because it's not steep enough to get me going as fast as I want to go.
An annoying thing in my car is DFCO doesn't trigger until about 2400 RPM so sometimes going into gear down a hill will use MORE fuel by a small amount until the RPM climbs enough to trigger that "999 mpg" on the display.
In a hazardous area too high a gear means I have to keep declutching and changing if there are frequent stops and slowing down likely, so a lower gear is better - might use a bit more fuel but easier. The above methods "use the least fuel", but are not A the most convenient, safe and easy for a novice driver in a hazard rich environment.
I've found some drivers absolutely dawdle their way up to speed (e.g. a full minute to reach 50 mph) and I can go into 5th really early if I'm stuck behind one of them.
Track driving is about having the most power available at all times. You simply select the lowest gear that does not exceed the rev limit for that speed (apart from round a corner where you could pick a higher gear if you wanted as this is the only time you aren't at full acceleration or full braking. Always being in the "pounce" gear on public roads is wasteful of fuel. Typically motorcyclists do this quite a bit in the youtube videos I've seen. Do I really need to be in 2nd in a 40 ready to gun it round the pensioner I've been stuck behind for 10 miles? Or can I just go in 5th until I actually get a chance to gun it round the pensioner?
Sadly the first driving instructor I had, kept using the clutch so I didn’t stall,rather than let me stall and why I was stalling. It ultimately made me fail my driving test. I took a couple of days to think what I should do. Give up after having 37 hours of manual lessons or go automatic. After thinking long and hard and cars are going hybrid or electric then most new cars will be automatic like you said in the video. I only needed 11 hours with a different instructor in a automatic car from a different driving school and I passed.
Thank you as always. I feel having the flexibility is important. If you are skilled in a manual you can drive an automatic but not necessarily the other way around. So yes for now that’s good to have. But in ten years it will be much harder to justify.
All good information Ashley. I changed my car recently from a Nissan Micra to a 2015 Hyundai I20 and the difference in gear changing between them is quite different, the Micra was very nippy but the Hyundai needs higher revs before a gear change.
Going from a 2 litre diesel to a 1.1 petrol - yes, much less torque in the lower revs.
I try to avoid changing gear when I'm on a priority road and have a side road to my left. Just in case someone suddenly appears from that side road and overshoots the Give Way / Stop line. Better to be in gear and have drive connected for better response to either slow down or speed up to clear the "overshooter". Of course hand in hand with that is to position further out towards the centre of the road if oncoming traffic conditions dictate.
Will watch again
Also on sitting at a light in neutral, everyone should get into that habit anyway because they might end up driving a car with Stop-Start, in which case you have to do that to get the benefits of Stop-Start.
I will also say it's strange to say "it's not the gear that fix the scenario" because I had it forced into me "engine breaking", and even to this day I will just asses in front of me and if I have the space and approaching a red light, for example, I will just let go of the accelerator let revs drop to 1.2k and downshift, or use brakes and gears to slow down on approach so that I'm trying to be in 1st as little as possible (so 2nd gear crawl) because starting to moving something is much harder then accelerating once moving in physics
I have a manual license, but have only driven automatic hybrids and EVs since. That was nearly 10 years ago, so I'm not sure I'd remember how to drive manual nowadays! Loads of people I know aren't confident drivers, or just dislike it. And I tell them all to just get an automatic car!! It's so silly that the UK has this manual-first culture for no reason. It's just stubborness and tradition, aka resistance to change. Automatic takes so much of the stress out of driving and is safer for the majority imo.
I find it interesting that some people buy their car new with a manual gearbox. They enjoy all the new technologies but still shift gears on their own.
I got my license at the end of last year and always had a lot of problems with moving off in driving school, manual is really a lot of work and I am also still in the learning phase. My 2012 VW up! also has a very funny gear ratio, the 1st gear is extremely short so that at 40 km/h you already hit the rev limiter. 2cd is also shorter and the 3rd, 4th and 5th are very long.
As a result, as soon as I get the car moving, I have to shift into 2nd gear to avoid revving the engine unnecessarily high, and when I get on the motorway I am better off in 2nd gear and shifting mid way in 3rd. However, this also means that I have to apply throttle when shifting from 3rd to 2nd in order to compensate for the high difference in the gear ratio. But heal and toe doesn't work with this car.
1st gear is generally short in most vehicles and it's just used to get you moving. 3,4,5 and 6 (if it's got it) are longer for the reason that they are driving gears. 3&4 will be normal driving in most cars at 30 to 40 m.p.h. 5 &6 are usually only used on faster roads like motorways or dual carriageways. A good rule of thumb is just x10 each gear 1st = 10mph. 2nd =20 mph and so on. I'm sure you already know this but I just thought it might help. Sound is honestly the best way to sort gears. Just change when it feels right as every car you drive will feel different and you'll need to get the hang of it again.
I learned to drive with no synchromesh in first gear, and only two higher gears to choose from. Now three of my my cars are automatic, and I am delighted not to have to bother about porridge stirring.
On holiday I hire cars with manual gearboxes, and the only advantage I find with manuals is being able to anticipate the correct gear for a hairpin bend when ascending mountain passes - it is important to get the gear right before corner entry otherwise you'll be struggling to change down when steering around a bend that needs both hands.
I really enjoy driving a manual gearbox for fun, but I do appreciate having less work to do with an automatic in stop and go traffic.
At 9:50: "Who remembers that stretch of road. That was a bit of a debacle". The temporary lights and the lady in the red top that put in a privacy complaint to have her face blurred out, right? How could we ever forget! Some of the other motorists at the far end were less than ideal too and didn't have a full understanding of the situation, trying to "Blame the learner".
Ashley teaching speed management Reg Local style is so fun to watch
One of the issues with modern cars is that the sound proofing systems are so good that the engine is very often not audible until higher revs, this is compounded by road noise from the low profile tyres that are now favorite. I have another problem with our Skoda that has a fly by wire throttle that is all too easy to rev the engine without realising that the throttle has been pressed.
Also, the driver must understand where the engine is comfortable in providing motive power and this is a direct function of the available torque (defn. the capability to do work) Many cars are diesel that have torque curves that start low down in the rev range and peter out early. It used to be that petrol engines had their peak torque higher up with the sportiest higher still. indeed, sports bikes have very high peak torque revs, which means that the appropriate gear change point is much higher. Understanding the torque characteristics of your vehicle is important to ensure that the smoothest use of the engine is made without undue strain due to too low revs and too high revs that will accelerate wear. Interestingly, our Skoda has a turbo petrol engine that has been designed with a peak torque that is only at 1800rpm that is almost diesel like. Generally, the gear changing is carried out between 1200-2000rpm to match the torque curve.
The other issue with our car is that as the speed drops on the overrun the fuel injection shuts off until around 800-900rpm when it kicks back in to maintain an idle speed so that slowing down to say a red traffic light in 6th gear means it will kick in at about 30mph and the torque at that engine speed is sufficient to drive the vehicle forward.. Thus to ensure that the vehicle slows progressively lower gears ought to be selected so as not have unwanted drive and minimise fuel consumption. of course declutching the engine would prevent the drive but from 30mph that is excessive.
BMW used to run an international driver training course for their performance range of vehicles run by world renowned ex- rally drivers and one of their recommendations was that if the car brakes away at the front or the rear due to adverse road conditions then the best way to retrieve it was to declutch the gears and lose the drive to allow the tyres and suspension the maximum opportunity to re-establish stability. I've used this and can vouch that it works.
A mini roundabout I know with good visibility from one approach to the others, I can take it in third gear if there's no traffic, but if I'm not quite at least 95% switched on, I'll go for second gear. This requires a bit of self reflective honesty to know to take it easy sometimes. We're not robots, so our approach to known points shouldn't be robotic either. Nice video.
I noted that Ashley on a few mini roundabouts slowed to the point where he treated the mini roundabout as a solid obstruction even though no vehicles were in sight and the roundabout was a painted disc. All that does is scrub the tyres unnecessarily and waste fuel due to extra acceleration. Having discussed the design of mini-roundabouts with senior highway engineers, they are there to define priority not as a quasi-obstruction and it is legitimate to drive over the painted disc, that does not mean they should be ignored and should always be treated with caution to give priority to those turning right..
@@clivewilliams3661 From the riveting read that is the DfT's Mini-roundabouts: good practice guidance…
“The four main reasons why practitioners consider mini-roundabouts as a potential option are:
• to improve the operation of an existing junction;
• as an accident remedial measure;
• as part of a traffic calming scheme; or
• to provide an access to a new development.”
Mini-roundabouts are designed to slow traffic, especially as priority to the right is only given to traffic circulating on the roundabout carriageway. So you always need to approach with a speed that enables you to stop in case a vehicle enters the roundabout ahead of you before you’ve reached the roundabout carriageway.
@@shm5547 I thoroughly agree to all the points raised but none of that requires that the approaching vehicle should treat the mini roundabout as a solid obstruction, which has to be manoeuvred around. Indeed, manoeuvring around the disc will mean that the control of the car is lessened as the vehicle is turned left, then right and left again within a very short distance. Clearly, a smart car with its very short wheelbase finds it an easy manoeuvre but a 15m, 38T Artic has no hope of carrying it out and then you look at various vehicles with progressively smaller wheelbases until you find another one that can comfortably copes with the turn around the disc. so why should only short wheelbase vehicles and drivers be disadvantaged in having to carry out the manoeuvre? In addition to the 4+ wheeled vehicles, manoeuvring a large motorcycle around the disc is decidedly sketchy as the weight and turning lock makes them very unstable in tight turns and flipping from lock to lock.
If all the approaches to the mini-roundabout are fully visible and there is no approaching traffic or pedestrians then why slow down?
@@clivewilliams3661 It's unusual for all approaches (to the right and left) to be fully visible, so the requirement for vehicles to not straight-line it is done to force a reduction in approach speed. The mini-roundabout is used as a traffic-calming measure.
A HGV has an exception to drive over the marking, but they still have to be ready to stop if a car appears on the roundabout ahead of them. From the TSRGD:
"a vehicle proceeding through the junction must keep to the left of the white circle ..., unless the size of the vehicle or the layout of the junction makes it impracticable to do so; and
no vehicle is to proceed past the [white circle] marking in a manner, or at a time, likely to endanger any person, or to cause the driver of another vehicle to change its speed or course in order to avoid an accident"
@@shm5547 As you approach a mini-roundabout you ought to do so cautiously knowing that the priority is from the right also, it is rightly expected that you should be proceeding having good visibility so as to account for the other traffic. Given that then if the primary function was as a traffic calming measure then the objective has been achieved and driving over the white disc will actually be safer given that the driver is not having to manoeuvre around it.
In your penultimate paragraph the size of the vehicle has an effect on whether it is practical and then we come to the question of what is practical. I own a Skoda Superb that has a long wheelbase, which I have to account for when turning - this is considered a 'normal car' but to negotiate many mini roundabouts without putting a tyre on the white disc I would have to exhibit some harsh and very slow manoeuvres.
So long as the requirements in the final paragraph are met, driving over the white disc should not cause any issue
I was taught many years ago by an ex-policeman (Intermediate Qual, he said) and we used to drive around a small estate like a rabbit warren. His instructions were - gas (rather than accelerate), clutch, gears, gas, clutch gears. Or brake, clutch, gears. Up and down, 1-2-3-4-3-2-3-4-3-4-3-2-3-etc. It certainly taught you how to change gears quickly and drive as economically as possible.
I've just recently bought a newer car that tells me to change up to higher gear. Thank you, but I'll decide when! I haven't found a way of switching it off yet! 🤬
Postscript: it's always interesting to read other people's views on how they drive and in most cases I wouldn't say they were wrong. A while back Ashley did a video on slowing down to stop and changing gear etc., which he didn't. He remained in a high gear until the engine couldn't run very well and then stepped on the clutch, so he wasn't 'coasting'. In modern fuel cars this is good since it saves more fuel than coming down through the gears. However, you should always have it in mind what gear you will need at the speed you are doing if the problem clears so you can find that gear quickly. A lower gear and higher revs is better than a higher gear and struggling to accelerate, I would say, but that's my opinion.
Really good video however as an advanced driver, there are a couple of points I would make.
The 'higher gear' thing is a big no-no. It's fine for the likes of a motorway, dual carriageway or long good visibility A roads, however once your into a situation of constantly changing hazards, we are taught to prioritise the most appropriately flexible gear for the situation. As you say however the gear is completely dependent on the situation.
You mentioned 2000+ as being the upchange, this is at least 1000 lower than we are trained, so for a 30mph road I am never higher than 3rd gear. This is because the most likely thing is I will be slowing down so it immediately stops the need to change down for every speed change. Most of the time 3rd is used until 40mph, although obviously a down change isn't needed if slowing from 40mph/4th to 30, but any further a change down would be likely.
The other thing you touch on, but I feel you could have explained a bit more clearly is cornering. I think you do it the same as I've been taught, however I don't feel the explanation wasn't too clear.
The underlying premise we always look for is that the engine must be 'pulling', even in a constant speed situation the moment the engine isn't engaged (essentially idling) control is reduced. So for a corner we do exactly as you describe, then press enough throttle to stabilise the car for the corner and maintaining speed through the corner. We call it throttle sense, just to be clear however this is not what most people would call 'engine braking', but simply adjusting speed with the throttle without braking or changing gear to maintain the car in a nice balance. Approaching hazards I'll often lose significant speed purely by lifting off and gently easing the speed down with braking only if stopping or the hazard changes. I think this is what you do too, but didn't feel it was explained clearly. Like you say we get the speed done, then change gear, then steer for the hazard.
Thank you, that was great. Learnt a lot. Will be watching it again. I’m 69 going for my test.
I drove crash gearbox vehicles for years in the '60's/'70's and you had to double de clutch to get every year which needed a lot of planning and get the revs right on down changes otherwise you would crunch the gears.
I'm sure it was a video with Jackie Stewart I saw years ago where he said the only thing you should do in a corner is steer. You should always set your speed and gear appropriately before you start steering. Only start accelerating once you can see your way out of the corner and only change gear when you have finished steering. He was talking about racing but the same applies on the roads.
Good advice!
Hi Ashley, my grandad is 74 years old on 5th August and he absolutely loves watching your videos. He always lets me know when you've uploaded and has watched every video you've uploaded in the past 2 years. It would mean the world if you could send a video message to me wishing him happy birthday!
Happy birthday!!
I always had the habit of changing down gears when I decelerate when coming to a stop (unless I had to do an emergency stop obviously )but you have, as per your advice in previous videos , put a (partial) stop to that . Yes it is hard to break a habit I will be honest . Never drove an automatic but I am reassured that it will be another 20 years before manual cars will be out of fashion ,since I can't see me driving after that time when I will be in my 80's
I have a habit of going into neutral a few miles an hour before a stop (traffic light for example) but yet i still keep the clutch down for the stop also. No idea why i go into neutral early, it's just something i do sometimes.
When I learned how to drive I was always taught to be in the right gear right time combining engine breaking with foot braking and to be in control at all times and to be in the right gear to pull away in a smooth way and not to coast with my foot depressing the couch and then trying to sort it all out afterwards
Thanks for another great video. I wanted to ask about taking the gear as early as you do for roundabouts because it seems it could end up making you do a second gear change if there turns out to be more traffic than you is visible initially. Most of the roundabouts had decent vision but, for example, at the mini roundabout at 8:15 it seems that you ony get enough vision into the leg of the roundabout to the right quite close to the give way line. Would it not be better in that case to wait for the view and then select the gear, even if that change is closer to the roundabout?
Great video! I'm hard of hearing and engine's are right in the frequency I can't hear very well. I tend to go for feeling over sound if I don't have a hearing aid in. Any tips for deaf/hard of hearing manual drivers?
It definitely depends on what vehicle your driving to when you change gears. Most diesel pull in pretty much any gear but in a petrol I find you’ve got to go down a gear if you’re going up a bit of steeper road
Where'd you get that from. If you're driving up a steep hill with a diesel car, you would still need to typically gear down to 2nd.
@AshleyNeal. What are you using as side cams? I am using Viofo 119 Pro Duo fro front and rear and would like to add HD side recording as well.
My Škoda Yeti did 54 mpg on the 21 mile run back from work. There was a small amount of dual carriageway but in the main it was rural. My method is to watch the instant fuel consumption trying to maintain 40+
As a learner I think it's always a bit scary when doing 5 to 3 before roundbout on dual carriage ways, worrying that break a bit hard may stall the car.
One thing I tend to do is coast far too early as I’m decelerating (long rural roads, 60 limits, steady bends).
So I’ll go from 60/5th gear to braking and clutch down around ~45mph ready for 4th gear. But I won’t bring the gear back in for a while.
Well aware it’s habitual but how would I break that cycle? Cheers Ashley.
Perfectly timed video for me... I just replaced my Automatic car for a manual, planning for the gears has me struggling to remember what I learned.
What are you're thought's on manual paddle shifters will that help drivers focus more on the road cuss its few things less I.E Clutch down, then change gear, then lift? just curious since the topic is on manual cars.
The area where you drove seemed to be fairly flat, another area I think worth keeping in mind are hills, shifting down early enough before your car runs out of steam climbing up the hill. Especially if the road climbing up the hill is bendy or there are junctions and you need to focus on your steering.
Great points! 👍
Picking the right gear at the right time is also important when cycling. There are a few nuances that make it a little different than in a car. Modern bikes usually have the gear shifters accessible from the handlebars without moving your hands, but I learned to ride in the days when putting them on the down-tube was more usual, and it was necessary to ride one-handed for a few seconds to change gear. To minimise these occasions, I would often start in the lowest gear available, rapidly accelerate to the point where I could change up, then throw the lever over 3 gears at once, into the second-highest gear. The modern arrangement makes that technique unnecessary.
The first big difference is that the range of pedal cadences most riders can usefully employ is much narrower than the range of engine speeds a car can handle. A typical bike has long cranks, about 170mm, which encourage a fairly slow cadence around 60rpm. You can push that up to 70 or so to delay a change up, or slog along down to 50 or 45, but below that you'll find that changing down actually lets you go faster by putting you back in a favourable "power band". This assumes you have your bike properly set up so that your leg is nearly straight at low pedal, and your knee is roughly over the crank axle at half-stroke. Consequently a typical 24-speed bike has about 12 distinct gear ratios about 15% apart, so changing up from 70 or down from 50 gets you back to 60rpm. A bike with markedly fewer gears might have them more widely spaced, especially one with only a 3-speed hub. *However,* unlike a car you can still turn the pedals in an excessively high gear, it just results in less acceleration or hill-climbing force; you don't actually stall by slow pedalling, but by insufficient forward speed for balancing.
The next big difference is that a derailleur gear can only be changed when the pedals are turning forward, but change more easily when the tension on the pedals is relieved at least partly. This means you can't switch to your preferred starting gear when you've already stopped, so you have to anticipate the stop and change down beforehand. The same goes for steep hills - you have to change down before the need for the lower ratio becomes critical, or you might not have the momentum to complete the change before you're going too slowly to balance. This is less of a problem with hub gears, which can normally be changed at a stand and are easiest to change with the pedals momentarily stopped. For this reason, many "city bikes" are sold with hub gears, but touring and sports bikes - which tend to spend less time negotiating urban hazards - are usually sold with the more efficient derailleurs.
Consequently you need to look ahead and anticipate when a lower gear *might become* necessary, and proactively change gear accordingly. On the open road this will mostly be a function of terrain and gradient, while in an urban environment you also have to consider traffic and road layout.
There's a special consideration for the typical 2x or 3x derailleur layout (as in my 24-speed hybrid or any normal sports bike). Generally, changing the front gear is more difficult and takes longer than the rear one, but each front gear has very close to twice (in a triple crankset) or three times (in a modern double crankset) the effect of each rear gear. But there is usually enough overlap between the gears that you can find essentially the same gear ratio in adjacent front gears, by compensating with two or three rear gears the other way. So while I normally use 1-4 low, 3-6 middle, and 5-8 high, I have the often useful options of 2-middle instead of 4-low, 5-low instead of 3-middle, 7-middle instead of 5-high, and 4-high instead of 6-middle - useful because I can quickly select them from and then return to the normal range of rear gears without going through the awkward shift of front gears.
Related to the above point, a useful technique for more gradually accelerating or slowing through the gears is the "double shift", where you change up at the front and down at the rear simultaneously, or vice versa. This can have the effect of a single gear change, while also leaving you in the different front gear in anticipation of conditions further ahead. On most gear systems, you accomplish this by moving both levers in the same direction, or pulling the same lever on each side; eg. on a Shimano STI "trigger shift", you would pull the small levers on both sides to perform an upward double-shift, and push the larger ones to perform a downward one. It's worth practicing.
Quite the informative read, and very well worded making it easy to follow along and read all of it at a comfortable pace. Have a like :D
Double shifting completely unloads a bicycle chain ‘front and rear’ at same time, which risks the chain coming off altogether and possibly getting jammed in mech.
@@trick700 Only if your gears are very badly adjusted in the first place. I've never had any problem with double shifting, despite my derailleurs being slightly mismatched to the gear set actually fitted. I've had more trouble with a single front chainring with no derailleur there at all!
To get the most acceleration out of a push bike, change gear between 110 and 140 rpm off the lights until you are up to cruise, then you can go back to your 70 rpm (unless you are going fastest sustained speed which might be at about 90 rpm). It's good for getting bridge humps out of the way.
If you're changing gear at 70 rpm you'll build up a big queue of motorists (okay you'll probably do that anyway sometimes). 40-50 rpm is okay for easy riding, especially on bike paths where you don't have the pressure to go fast of the public road. Don't you just love it when you don't have to ride like Christ Froome to keep motorised vehicles happy? If you come to a hill you might want a lower gear for more power without strain.
I do find 175 mm cranks a bit long. I tried 155 mm and they felt quite short to start with but I quite liked them when I got the saddle in the correct position.
Yes, you do have to pre-empt your gear and get it down to about 40" for the next stop, or you will have a very slow and wobbly start!
@@TimpBizkit Worth pointing out that the cadence numbers you quote *only* apply to short 155mm cranks. The standard 170mm cranks work better at lower cadences, and the average cyclist will have a lot of trouble getting over 90rpm with any power; by that point it's better to change up two or even three gears.
Trying to keep up with motor traffic is a losing game in any case. Expect to be overtaken, and make it easy to do so safely.
Hi Ashley, thank you so much for this video. It’s really highlighted problems I have I tend to rush my Manoeuvres because I’m always too busy trying to catch my gears and you are bang on the nail! I always feel the need to change up when the engine revs are high and it’s just become second nature. With your helpful insight I will look towards changing this tomorrow.
Steering THEN gearing is what i was taught!
Do you have any thoughts about driving an automatic in manual? I just got a Skoda Karoq which has that option
Is it worth the bother?
I did my test in an auto & I wouldn’t change it, but learning in a manual is important for many people I.e cost of a first car so until there more autos than manuals the test should stay the same as it is
I have been in situations where there was no other driver who could make a manual go down the road, and that did give me cause to consider that as long as there are manuals, people should be taught to at least make them function, even if they aren't going to become proficient.
We purposely requested trainging in a manual tranmission vehicle when working up for our German driving licenses. 4:54: "Bleib in fahrspur". Here in Germany too many folks have really terrible lane-keeping discipline. You can argue that the on-coming vehicle didn't impact our intsructor's way, but it's a habit and a poor habit and should be extimnguished. I routinely use dynamic braking and anticipation to control my speed, using braking only for trim. I get rediculous low fuel consumption, and if I posted how long my brake pads and clutches last, you would think I was lying. I grew up in the mountains where if you rely on your brakes to control your vehicle, you risk losing your brakes altogether.
even 3,500-4,000 RPM is deep in the comfortable range of modern engines. Look where your red line is, if you think you're over-revving. Using too low a gear in hard accellartaion can cause undue main bearing wear. Observe the shift queues, they're _mostly_ right.
I have a question…when in situations where you de-clutch in 1st or 2nd gear and reengage the same gear, is your car rolling out of gear? Is rolling out of gear at slow speeds a technique, if the situation allows?
Looking forward to you doing a "Drive like a Private Hire driver" video: Jumping red lights, pulling out into queuing traffic & performing U turns in front of other road users.
that should be an april 1 er, sorry, a 1 april video.
I watched a London black cab do a u-turn through red lights on a pedestrian crossing today, turning and crossing right over the black and white stripes! They continually stop on crossings, sometimes creeping through a red light to get there. And it seems that absolutely none of them know how to indicate that they're pulling in. It's always hazard lights on just to keep all of us pedestrians guessing, then leaning on their horns when we don't jump out of their way.
I remember, when learning, I used to constantly have the following argument with my mum when going up a local hill to our town - a road that I still do everyday.
Mum: "OMG, listen to the engine, you should change up to 4th!"
Me: "If I change into 4th now, the car won't get up the hill because it's too steep"
Mum: "But the revs"
And so on and so on...mum is a good driver in many ways but it did make me chuckle and I still make reference to that whenever we go up there on a day out. I always learn a few pointers
from these vids, love it. It's a shame I have to cut down my fun runs at the moment due to the cost of Petrol, but at least it's just beginning to nudge down a little.
I always find hills interesting, how unprepared many people are for them. Every time I drive the A34 in Oxfordshire (some decent climbs in there) I find cars flying past me (presumably in highest gear) on the approach, then dying as they climb up the hill because they didn't shift down in time.
Ashley did a video about a year ago about using the correct gear going up the"steepest hill" in Liverpool and the correct gear to be in when starting off on such hill
@@thomaselliot2257 oh, thanks for pointing that out, didn't remember that. Will have to search that out.
Can I ask does same apply for an eco boost engine, as reving them can apparently damage the engine more easily but agree in general what you say .. I had a constant disagreement with a Driving instructor who used to have a go at me, saying I should steer on a corner and change gear at same time , when I thought steering was my main priority
Hey Ashley, I was just wondering if you could talk a bit about rev matching when changing down gears? Is it something you do or do you always just allow the car to sort this at the biting point. Myself driving an older car this can be a bit jerky so I rev match when I slow - say coming up to a round about, or a left turn in a 40 limit where I want to be in 2nd before the turn.
Rev matching is definitely good practice, it's a skill but a worthwhile from. Sustained changes on the upshift smooth out that change a lot. Most of the time downshifting is done at a time of no speed change so a simple change is sufficient but learning to double declutch your downshifts is a worthwhile advanced skill. If you need a lower gear to maintain momentum it's a LOT smoother if you can do a double de clutched downchange. It's not a taught skill, even at advanced driving, but a great skill to get a positive feedback from instructors.
Wow, so many speed humps. Do you notice any impact on the inside shoulders of your tyres? We only have a few around our way, and I have been told better to drive over the centre of the hump (slowly) to protect tyres.
That was bothering me all the way through the first part of the video. When I'm driving in southeast London there are many areas where 20 is the speed limit and there are almost always speed humps and those 'slow down!' indicators by the side of the road. It doesn't take long to learn to drive with your wheels astride the humps and to assess whether parked cars are going to make this impossible thus requiring a slower speed. It's not just tyres that are protected but also the suspension in older cars like mine, and also stability in wet weather.
If you find it difficult to drive smoothly over humps, you can use an approach similar to that used when going through pinch points: briefly look at the hump so you can centre the car then look up and beyond the hump as you pass over it. Just as staring at a pinch point post is likely to make you bump into it, staring at a hump is likely to take your wheels over the highest point of the bump, thus risking damage and instability.
Good video, but didn't quite like your 'Stop' sign scenario. I've been teaching students since the late 70s. On approach to a 'Stop' sign, I get my students to stop in the gear they approach in. Ask themselves "Have I stopped?" If the answer is yes, then select their moving off gear. If they change gear on approach to a 'Stop' sign they are very likely to 'creep' through without a full stop ping procedure. Never had a fail at a stop sign yet. Good job though...
At 19:40 with the Range Rover reversing out of a driveway and onto a through road. Bad idea. Far more preferable and safer to have reversed into the driveway to be able to drive out head first. In fact, is there a relatively new rule about that? Good use of horn by Ash in that situation though it made me wonder if the RR would then chase after him, given the way some road users mistakenly react to correct use of horn.
absolutely. if your driveway would force you to back blindly onto a road, back into the driveway. one of my vast collection of bits of trivia is that a statistically significant number of crashes volunteer firefighters are involved in, is backing over a family member while trying to back out of their driveway to respond to an incident.
if you have time to back into parking, it's a good idea to do so, because you may be in a hurry to leave.
@@kenbrown2808 Interesting bit of trivia. I know that it's pretty much house rules for fire trucks to back into the station to be ready for an emergency. Of course, when arriving AT an emergency, back in parking would not be a priority, as it will be more important to attend the actual incident ASAP. I'd imagine though there would be several fire crew members in one vehicle, so you would think they would have the resources to have a helper for backing out, as well as a friendly reminder to the family members "OK folks we're going to back out of here now so if you could please stand clear of the fire truck and have any kids with you"/
Not sure how new it is, but rule 201 of the HC does indeed read:
"Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can."
I'm generally baffled how few people reverse into their driveway or parking spaces. I live in a block of flats, I'd say on average only about 10-20% of the cars in our car park are reversed into the parking bays. Whenever possible I reverse into parking spaces, be it at home, at the supermarket, at work or in a multi-storey. I just find it so much safer and more convenient to just drive out with good visibility instead of having to reverse out.
And there's another positive side effect to reversing into a parking space (or your driveway for that matter): If there's an issue with your car it's much easier to access for the mechanic from the front. Keeps them happier and might even get you back on the road quicker.
@@ibs5080 I think Ken is referring to volunteer fire fighters at home, reversing their personal cars out of their personal driveway in order to drive to the fire station when their pager has gone off. Similar things probably apply to lifeboat volunteers (most of them are crewed by volunteers who drop whatever they're doing to race to the pier to jump on the boat for a callout) and other volunteer emergency services.
@@ArminGrewe Ah yes, I understand now. The key is in the word " volunteer" right? I should have picked up on that. So how would you rate my observational skills so far? Yikes, right? 🙂
Setting off in 2nd may be fine in an obviously powerful car like your golf , but a much less powerful car may struggle to pick up and move off without juddering or in a bad case even stall … I appreciate that you have not completely stopped before moving away , but even so perhaps 1st would be the safer option
Most times, in even low powered cars, first gear at low speed is too jerky. I only use first if pulling away from stationary but, yes, I would use first gear more than second in that scenario. On a rolling scenario, where the car has not fully stopped, I would default to second.
the number of cars going forward into their drives. Do you encourage your students to reverse into their drives especially on main roads? I certainly was.
On a two way road, if traffic is relatively light I try to time my gear changes when oncoming traffic is relatively far away, just in case something goes wrong with the oncoming vehicle. Sometimes this means changing gear "in between" oncoming vehicles. Of course, this is not always possible but if I have the choice, I will excercise that option. See from around 6:49 with one oncoming car.
Something like what? How is being in a lower gear going to help you?!
@@hennnnerz I think he means it's better not to be in the middle of a gear change if the oncoming car intrudes on your lane. With both hands on the steering wheel, you have more control for steering away from the hazard; plus you can more easily flash the headlamps and/or sound the horn. If a hand is off the steering wheel to make the gear change, that would be quite awkward!
Personally, unless an oncoming driver or vehicle is giving me cause for particular concern, I just do the gear change rather than defer it. But I appreciate the logic.
I watched the likes increase in real time! Fun! Hello, everyone!
24:43 - keeping right in his lane to reduce risk for narrow pavement with wheelie bins on it and dog walker facing away from traffic, with dogs next to road and on a fairly loose lead. It doesn't matter how brilliant you think your dog is (or children), please please please put yourself between them and the road.
Good point!
Hi, Ashley. Could you make a video, please about why drivers should not have stuff having from the rear view mirror or anything else blocking the windscreen. Also, the need to move the head slightly at junctions to remove the black spot caused by the front door pillars. Oh, one more thing, so many people talking to a passenger or camera and finding the need to look away from the road ahead. I see it all the time in documentaries and movies. No need.
I will miss gears , I really like gears . Having driven automatic also I prefer gears but yes you’re right they will be all eventually. And yes older cars some will be perfectly usable , but that’s not necessarily environmentally the best. However for older car owners to be able to afford newer cars the prices and general affordability of all aspects need change . There the crux rests .👍
Bet most of us in the comment section have never owned a new car.
I don't like automatics, but I do like cars without a gearbox (eg. electric cars).
When you drive an automatic then you feel the change in gear, but with an electric car you don't have that, it's just a smooth acceleration or deceleration.
When I drive around town, I now only use 1st, 2nd & 3rd (up to 30 mph). _Why?_ It gives me more time to pay attention to what is important, namely looking outside through the windows, looking for hazards rather than constantly speedo gazing... You see, the by product of "strict" speed enforcement where they want to nick you for doing 32 or 34 is you start speedo gazing to keep the speed down rather than let it drift up. FWIW, my fuel consumption figures are very good anyway (I am not "leadfoot" reincarnated) - just that 3rd gear means I need to pay less attention to my speedo than looking out the window.
In my case, I also use gearing as part of braking. My car is a diesel, and it has to be dropped to a lower gear to provide effective engine braking (there is no butterfly valve in a diesel; in one sense, the throttle is always wide open). So when I approach a bend, I will often drop the gear earlier than I might with a petrol engine to increase that engine braking. It saves money; I'm stil only onl my second set of front brake pads at 110,000 miles. It's also energy efficient. In general, I try and avoid using brakes when driving down an open road, but will use them more in traffic, even if it's only gently to illuminate the brake lights.
I was always told to anticipate and get the car in the right gear ahead of when its needed. I'm also one of those stubborn, old-fashioned types who goes down the gearbox approaching traffic lights and roundabouts and am always in a gear I can drive off in.
All diesels have a butterfly valve on the throttle as far as I know otherwise there would be no engine braking at all and for which diesels are famous.
I was taught to down shift in order to a) be in the right gear to be able to control the vehicle at any point and b) to add engine braking to assist the vehicle brakes that could be on the limit given particular circumstances, but modern brakes don't need that help.
Even though I drive competitively I am unusually kind to brakes. Our last car had the original front pads in until 85,000miles when I decided to change them and they probably had at least another 10,000miles before they got to the wear limit. Note that the original equipment pads are spec'd as to be soft compound to bed in quickly and therefore ought to wear faster than the spares replacement. I agree that if you look far ahead as well as anticipate well then there is less need for brakes. Also, using your brakes means that you are wasting fuel as they motion into heat that is then dissipated to the atmosphere. it took fuel to get to that motion and will take fuel to get there again after braking.
I've always found Diesels have better engine braking than Petrols, anyway I also take it as a personal challenge to use the brakes as little as possible. I also use start doing rev matched downshifts towards roundabouts and traffic lights. It winds the idiots behind me up which is a bonus what they don't realise is because of me they often don't even have to stop at the lights because by the time I get there they have changed and I'm either rolling in 1st or 2nd ready to go.
@@clivewilliams3661 You have been misinformed. Diesels do not have butterfly valves, at least not in the usual sense, and for that reason the engine braking is a lot less than in a petrol engine (and I've had two). In effect, a high proportion of the energy used in the compression stroke is returned in the power stroke (even if there's no fuel), so it's a sort of pneumatic spring.
For this reason, diesels are famous for not having good engine braking unless fitted with something like a "Jake Brake" which vents the compressed gasses rather than pushing back down on the piston. Jake brakes are incredibly noisy, so there are other sorts of exhaust brake which are less objectionable. Note, this is all for "big rigs", not the average car.
There is still some energy loss though. The air undergoes adiabatic compression on the compression stroke, and some of that energy will be lost to the cylinder walls, reducing the downward pressure on the pistons on overrun.
What you have to do to get good engine braking on a normal diesel car is put the vehicle in a lower gear, and then there is extra energy lost from the adiabatic compression (which happens more often and dumps more heat into the cylinder surrounds). Also, there are increased pumping loses with the higher RPM, there's some back pressure from the turbo. So it does considerably increase the effect.
Where a butterfly valve might be used on some diesels is along with an ECG as part of pollution control. it would be ECU controlled and isn't coupled to the throttle as a method of controlling power.
Diesels work very differently to petrol engines; they do not have a stochiometric chemistry, so mostly they are running very lean and burn hot (which is which is why they produce lots of NOx). The amount of power produced is controlled by the amount of fuel injected, not by the volume of air/fuel. That is why they do not have butterfly valves.
@@gravemind6536 Diesels must have better engine braking as their compression ratio/pressures define it. A petrol engine has a typical compression ratio of ~9 : 1 whereas a direct injection diesel is ~16.5:1 and an indirect injection ~22.5:1, therefore, you have twice(ish) the amount of compression to overcome with the vehicle motion in a diesel.
@@TheEulerID I accept that diesels don't have a throttle butterfly valve in the normal sense the confusion is that most modern engine have what is called a throttle body that has a butterfly, whose primary function is to smooth engine shut down. Because the engine is drawing in (or being forced) air all the time when the 'throttle' is closed i.e the fuel is shut off the engine has to compress that air without any explosion to drive the piston down. The cylinder pressures produced in a diesel range from ~180% to 250% of that produced in a petrol engine, which by itself means that the diesel engine will slow much quicker than a petrol engine. The energy used to compress the air in a diesel engine on the overrun can only come from the kinetic energy of the vehicle. Indeed, where the petrol engine has a throttle butterfly the difference is more marked because the shut throttle allows very little air in so that the compression pressure is significantly less.
I understand your explanation but having replaced a petrol engine with a diesel (only) in one vehicle the noticeable difference was with the engine braking that was a boon off-road
My son is learning in a car with an auto handbrake; engages with the push of a button disengages as you pull off, makes hill starts a cinch. So what does manual really mean?
Had an argument with an American who insisted a flappy paddle gearchange was a manual even though the car did not have a clutch pedal.
Preventing break - gear overlap is a good skill to learn but tricky to master.
Have you been told to avoid it or also the reasons why you might be better doing so?
Wouldn't get far driving like an instructor, they spend most of the time in the passenger seat.
Thoughts on engine breaking?
Basically changing the gear earlier to aid slowing and manoeuvring/turning in the correct gear vs changing only after prolonged breaking. Times for both maybe?
Roadcraft (subtitle: The Police Driver's Handbook) used to advocate engine braking to reduce speed but some years ago was changed to advocate using the brakes proper. I don't know their particular rationale for doing so, but I would say that learning to engine brake well and smoothly is hard to do, unless done expertly it puts more strain on expensive mechanical components (brake pads are cheap, clutch rebuilds are not) and uses a tiny bit more fuel. Done clumsily it puts sudden pulses of force into the wheels which can provoke loss of control, and you can't 'ease off' a gear change once it's done, the way that you can ease off the brakes. Done perfectly engine braking provides slightly more control, especially keeping the option to accelerate 'on hand' without a gear change, but the costs and risks while you're learning to do it expertly almost certainly outweigh the benefits.
I _was_ taught in the days when engine braking was the recommended approach and still do it as a matter of habit most of the time. But consider this: if I'm feeling a bit tired, or a bit under the weather, I'll switch to the modern "brake with the brakes, _then_ change gear" because it's easier and involves less cognitive load. I'll also swap to the modern approach if conditions are poor and require more concentration. So, if someone who is highly comfortable with the technique and can do it 'automatically' feels this way about it then it probably speaks against the technique as a new skill to acquire for day-to-day driving.
Obviously there is still a place on the public roads for using engine braking going downhill to minimise brake wear and keep your brakes proper from overheating and fading so that they are still effective when you need them.
It's a different story if you're racing on a track where the marginal extra bit of control and time saved by having your gear engaged and running in advance can be a winner, but best save the "racing changes" for the track, eh?
Roadcraft's advice will probably evolve as "one foot braking" in hybrids and electric cars becomes more commonplace, if not in fact becoming the norm.
@@ianmason. If you engine brake the person behind you doesn't have the same information as if you were using your brakes.
@@hennnnerz A good point but it's about signalling, not about braking, the two things are not necessarily linked. If you are, like me, a habitual engine braker, then you need to develop the observation skills to know when it's time to deliberately use your brake lights as an explicit signal, not as a mere side-effect of braking. In fact I think I'd go so far as to say that one should develop that mindset anyway, and consider the lightest possible pressure on the brake purely for signalling purposes in some circumstances where coming off the gas is all the deceleration you need but there's someone around who needs telling what you're doing.
@@hennnnerz If people using engine braking is causing them problems they are following to close.
It's a BIG no-no, for two reasons. Firstly the gear you are in should be one where lifting off the throttle does slow the car, too high a gear will cause a vehicle to not lose speed when lifting off (amongst other control issues). Secondly changing down mid braking carries a significant risk of destablising the vehicle with little effect on braking.
Remember the brakes are perfectly capable of locking up all 4 wheels, therefore they can slow the vehicle to a stop in the shortest distance the tyres are capable of. So all you are doing using engine braking is reducing control of the vehicle and potentially increasing wear on the drive train.
We (advanced drivers) DO use the throttle to slow, however because we are in the correct gear at the time we don't need to change down so it's fine. Quite often approaching things like red lights, I'll start my slowing phase purely with reduced throttle, only braking if I need to towards the end.
do you have to have two hands on steering wheel at all times
I think a lot of it these days is to try and save fuel. The prices are high and i myself are guilty of selecting higher gears to keep the car 2000 revs maximum. It does mess up flexibility like power and engine braking.
I've noticed this habit of changing through the gears once the car gets to 2000 each time makes acceleration slow which is bad for a junction onto a national speed limit road. Also being in too high of a gear reduces engine braking so i notice myself catching people up and i don't want to be like that.
Also being in too high of a gear means changing more gears in the long term as you'll have to change back down to the "appropriate" gear anyway once you see a hazard.
Unfortunately it is very hard to meet stricter efficiency and emissions regulations requirements with a manual box, cos you are almost always going to be in the gear that gives the best control and not the higher gear that gives better efficiency. They also don't mate so well with hybrid drivetrains. I expect manuals to be banned in most european countries within the next 10 years.
Re Do I feel triggered to change gear just because the engine note is high? One situation where I would say Yes to that is when negotiating a large or spiral roundabout whereby I build up enough speed to "justify" 3rd gear part way through the roundabout. Of course, this means having to coordinate steering, gear changing and indicating all around the same time. The gear changing and indicating part in particular can be a challenge and needs coordination, given that in the Uk with right hand drive, both the gear shift and the indicator stalk are on the left. There was a time many decades ago when Uk indicator stalks were on the right but those days are long gone.
I thought the side indicators are on was manufacturer specific. The Toyotas I used to drive had indicators on the right. Is it now mandatory for them to be on the left in the UK?
@@cactusbase3088 Hello there. I just googled this subject but some conflicting information out there. My understanding is that the EU legislated for left hand indicator stalks in the early 1980s though I do recall Japanese cars still having them on the right. Perhaps due to some exemption because the Japanese themselves have right hand drive cars for their home market, since they also drive on the left.
Hi Ashley,
I have a question. Perhaps not related to the subject matter of your video. I am currently a learner driver who has taken my driving test twice with an unsuccessful result each time. First unsuccessful result was for approach speed junctions - too slow approaching roundabouts specifically. Fixed that mistake comfortably. My second unsuccessful result was a dangerous fault for a meeting situation and not judging correctly so the examiner needed to steer away from a parked car.
This issue of clearance and meeting situations was also prominent on my first driving test for which I got a couple of driving faults.
I am working on this with my instructor now but I was wondering if you have any recommendations to help with my judgment in meeting situations. I occasionally struggle to work out how much space I have available, particularly where there is a meeting situation with vehicles on both sides of the road and a steep hill going upwards - as was the case with my meeting situation mistake.
Kind regards,
Matt
Hi Matt,
People usually struggle with meeting situations for one main reason, they tend to stare at the oncoming vehicle rather than looking at the space available. It's obviously hard to tell because I've not seen you drive approximately 9 out of 10 problems like this can be fixed by assessing your space available. If the space is big, continue, and if it's small slow down and stop if necessary.
I hope that helps
@@ashley_neal Yes, thank you
Ford rang me a few days ago. Said they had the perfect car for me. A mild hybrid , that means it is automatic. I've been driving manuals for 40 years, never attempted to drive automatic. Seems that soon buyers of new cars will have no choice. I was also told that Ford, like many manufacturers have stopped making 3 door cars.
I'm not sure the beep towards the Land Rover is a good idea because its so unusual, the beep may get misconstrued to mean "come on out", I may be wrong perhaps its a good practice but it's something I've never done, the moving over so he can see us as early as possible and if doesn't spot us we are less likely to collide I get and do.
I paused the video and made the comment before you talked about it some more, now I like it even less because it can "trigger people", you don't wanna liven up the wrong people and get them bent out of shape either, thats when they're more likely to start doing irrational things, just my opinion, I'm not a driving instructor but I have been driving 28 yrs and a lot of miles in lorries, I almost certainly have some bad habits that I'm not aware of, I'm sure if you went out with me you'd pick out all kinds of faults lol
I can see last manual lessons being about 2040 to maybe 2050 at a push. But as for manuals and fuel driven vehicles on the road? Well that's something else. I have never owned a new car in my life! And I know that my Honda, with some TLC, will live another 20 years or so government and wallet permitting (she's 15 years old and has under 100k on clock).
Petrol in the northern Highlands when I last checked was £1.85 a litre. The charger station here I haven't a clue but that's due to not knowing what a kw is the equivalent of. Is 1kw the equivalent of 1 litre?
For me, it's more practical to keep hold of my Honda as long as possible as I simply cannot afford an EV (hybrids or hydrogen cars I don't know) as things stand and the lack of range is a massive problem for me.
I live to use the engine and gears when breaking .
I was a bit miffed that I had a minor fault for "being in the wrong gear". By 'wrong gear' they meant I was in second while driving down a long straight, but the thing is I was driving at roughly 20 km/h (about 12 mph) because I was stuck behind a couple learner drivers (and learner drivers here like to drive extremely slow). I'm just not sure being in 3rd at that speed is actually that appropriate.
Second seems right as you would have very little acceleration in third, but perhaps his/her thinking was that as you could see it was a long straight, and were presumably not intending to overtake, you might as well take the opportunity to select third. It does seem a little picky, though.
90% of cars would be juddering and be close to stalling if they were in 3rd gear at 12mph. So either you're lying about the speed or your examiner is insane lol.
I wouldn't mind a hybrid 👌
What do you think about rev-matching on downshifts?
It comes from when gear boxes didn't have synchromesh is some or all gears, although it can reduce the stress on the clutch I don't think it really achieves anything in a modern car, all your really doing is reducing the speed difference between the clutch plate and flywheel before releasing, means you can release the clutch very quickly (like a switch) and still get a smooth change.
Uses more fuel as well, when you blip the throttle you squirt in a jet of petrol.
Think that's more relevant to motorcycles and not most other vehicles.
@@hikaru9624 It's relevant to anything with driven wheels and a gearbox. A jolt through the drivetrain on a marginal surface can cause a skid.
@@blzebub2 can't say I've ever heard of rev matching in my life say for when gear changing was brought up with motorcycles. I suspect it's cause most drivers slow down and listen to the revs drop before dropping a gear in cars and so on.
I drive an Audi RS6 with a Tiptronic Paddle Shift box, 95% of the time I have it in semi-automatic mode as I prefer to have control over the gearing of the car, I also tend to use a lot of engine braking over wheel brakes as it not only saves wear on mega expensive discs and pads it also gives me better control overall. Something that I've personally observed over the years and more so of late is the lack of attention from other less educated drivers shown in terms of distance from the vehicle in front and the reliance on brake lights as a cue to slow down, I recently got a mouthful off some crazed stereotypical Nissan Juke Karen who nearly went into the back of me as I was slowing on an approach to a junction, accused me of slamming my brakes on at the last moment when in actual fact I dropped a few cogs and staged my speed on the approach and applied gentle braking in the last few yards to stop car - If the gap between you and the vehicle front is closing then they must be slowing, brakes are for stopping and gears combined with throttle control are for slowing and speeding up.
Yep, I do exactly that all the time. Although I must say, the Audi RS6 with mega expensive discs and pads was a detail we didn’t need.😉😁
What do you do in this scenario, when you are turning left , with your indicator on , coming off a round about , and there's a junction going into the supermarket
just off the roundabout
at the bottom of the road that you are on
BEFORE you want to accelerate up your road ?
If you can understand what I'm on about
I am no good at explaining things " LOL 🤣😂
Because the driver standing at the junction coming out of the supermarket thinks you've got your indicator on to go left into the supermarket
When really you want to go straight on
Because you just come off the roundabout
As soon as you start to make your turn and your wheels are facing that direction just take the indicators off. The driver coming out of the supermarket should know that you never rely on other cars indicators. If it's a van there could be a cyclist or biker behind it so don't pull out until you are 100% sure it's safe to do so.
@@saundersdachicken6197 thanks 👍
For instructional videos like this it would be helpful if the forward facing camera was not wide angle as it tends to distort distances and hence speeds. This makes it more difficult to relate what is being said with what can be seen