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| Thread ID: 107057 | 2010-02-02 20:51:00 | Use of 5th gear??? | Billy T (70) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 854698 | 2010-02-02 21:25:00 | I drive in 5th in Taupo sometimes, it can save on fuel and keeps the revs lower. LL But because less torque is generated, isn't it possible you need to put more pressure on the accelerator to maintain the revs (at 50km/h for example)? Eg the highest gear on a bike, even though you pedal less revs, you need to use more pressure to push the pedal down, compared to a lower gear where you pedal faster, but because it is easier, you are biking at a more relaxed pace...? |
utopian201 (6245) | ||
| 854699 | 2010-02-02 21:38:00 | Never go out of 3rd around town, Can't spin the wheels in 4th.:lol: And I never use 5th at all, In 4th I hit the 180km/h restriction as it is, and 5th just means a sluggish drive. When ya put your foot down you need your wagon to boogie. Having said that, I hold her in 3rd for passing, she screams up to 140km/h. |
Metla (12) | ||
| 854700 | 2010-02-02 21:59:00 | Never used 5th at less than 70kph in any car I've owned. - Lugging an car due to throttle demand on an under revving engine is detrimental to it, and is easily done by uneducated drivers. Engines are built to rev! | seltsam (13470) | ||
| 854701 | 2010-02-02 22:21:00 | Of course, if your car happened to be a Trabant, at 50KmH you wouldn't be in 5th, you'd be on a trailer, truck or train | R2x1 (4628) | ||
| 854702 | 2010-02-02 22:41:00 | Never used 5th at less than 70kph in any car I've owned. - Lugging an car due to throttle demand on an under revving engine is detrimental to it, and is easily done by uneducated drivers. Engines are built to rev! Again it depends on the car. 5th around town does not under rev all cars. |
--Wolf-- (128) | ||
| 854703 | 2010-02-02 23:54:00 | Never used 5th at less than 70kph in any car I've owned. - Lugging an car due to throttle demand on an under revving engine is detrimental to it, and is easily done by uneducated drivers. Engines are built to rev! I don't think revs have any bearing on bad engine use. (except for going over the red line) Load is the thing that wears things out... under or over. Going uphill in 3rd gear at low revs is no good when the car needs to be in 2nd. The opposite also applies. It is all to do with your driving skills and knowledge, rather than what darned gear you are in. I drive 2 different school vans daily. At 50kph, one is happy in 5th, the other needs to be in 4th. Ken |
kenj (9738) | ||
| 854704 | 2010-02-03 00:17:00 | It's all about the torque range. Gotta go with the feel. You probably wouldn't be able to do 3th in a mazda rotary at 50 :p On the other hand, in my old man's landcruiser you barely need to slip the clutch to get going from 3rd. No one could justify a failing someone for this. |
Cato (6936) | ||
| 854705 | 2010-02-03 00:37:00 | Find out more about the clown who would fail someone for selecting an overdriven gear. Report him to the police or transport department he isnt fit for the job get his testing licence revoked. When I went for my class 4 I made a real hash of the gears in an Autocar truck tester said he didnt care about missed gear changes. |
prefect (6291) | ||
| 854706 | 2010-02-03 00:39:00 | Interesting comments so far, and good to hear that 5th is not a problem in driving tests. On the other aspect of general gear usage which has been commented on, I have a Mazda 6 (2.3 litre) and it has more than enough torque to cruise comfortably around town on average slopes and inclines at 50k in 5th with four adults in it and it flies uphill and down dale, again on average slopes, with just me. Before this I had Mazda 626 2.0 litre cars and wagons for more than 15 years and they had more than enough torque to do likewise. I regularly short-shift 1>3>5, and if starting downhill from lights I've been known to go 1>3 or 1>4, or in extremes (good straight downhill run) 2>5. I had an older Honda Integra for short while in the mid 90s and that was a bit short on torque, but that was an older model and I don't know what the more recent production is like. In just about all conditions around town 1>2 gets me up to 50 with the normal traffic flow then I drop into 5th. Just because a car has 5 or six gears doesn't mean you have to use them all, any more than you have to drive at 180kph because that is the top speed your car will do. I've never heard of anybody in recent times going back through all the gears when slowing down either, that dates back to the days of engine braking when brakes were less efficient and brake fade common. I brake to the appropriate speed and shift to the correct gear, be that 5>3 or 5>2. So, I still don't know what the driving instructor was on about. Cheers Billy 8-{) Of course, if your car happened to be a Trabant, at 50KmH you wouldn't be in 5th, you'd be on a trailer, truck or train. LOL :) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 854707 | 2010-02-03 00:49:00 | I always use engine braking and compliment it with the brakes, Never would I stay in top gear and heave to on the brakes alone. It means you can keep the engine in the torque range which not only gives you more control of the wagon but also has the benefit of ensuring you are in a usable gear when you have finished braking, rather then needing to change gear after braking and before accelerating. This is a required skill when driving a manual, especially in heavy traffic and on roads with elavtion changes and corners. | Metla (12) | ||
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