Driving styles

Currently reading:
Driving styles

steedy27

New member
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
106
Points
37
Alright All

I have passed my test for about a month now woo!! and my mate took me for a little spin in his car and i realised that he misses gears E.g From 2-4 and 3-5 ect i ask him and he said that he was tought that way:confused: My driving instructor made me use all the gears in sequence apart from slowing down....
Is there any actual reason to do this .. does it incease wear in anyparts ect

Sorry random i no!!
 
wouldn't do much for your fuel consumption, plus you're making the engine work harder than it needs to. I would think the clutch would suffer a bit too.
 
if going off a roundabout onto a dual carriageway I usually go 2nd - 65-70mph then just chuck it in 5th
 
If i'm pulling out into traffic and its a bit fine then i'll use 1,2,5...use the first 2 to match the road speed of the traffic then straight to 5 once im not accelerating
 
its called a block change, your instructor should make you familiar with it, there are situations where it is appropriate.

the main use of block changing is when you shift down through the gears. going 5,4,3,2,1, on approach to a stop is considered bad practice because it diverts attention from the road and creates unneccessary tasks and causes excess wear on the clutch and gearbox. a block change down from 5th or 4th to 2nd or 1st is usually the most common use of block changing. you are expected to do that on your test and the examiner should check to see if you are doing it. for example if you are approaching a junction where you know you wil need to stop, you apply the brake with it in 5th or 4th (depending on the situation) and you do not change gear until you get your speed right down, then change directly into 1st. changing down through each gear in that situation is considered a bad habit and unneccessary.

when you are taught block changes you are also taught brake gear overlap, which is appropriate for use during your block change down and an important part of maintaining control of the car. i guess you were not taught this either if you were not taught block changes?

a block change up the gears is not required on a test, or considered good practice in general, however it is recommended that if you hit the limit of a gear you block change up 2 gears, but that is a recommendation designed for average drivers (think your mother here) and it is not something i would do unless i was taking it easy AND i was in a situaiton where i was forced to leave it in a certain gear for longer than i usually would when taking it easy. for example you leave it in 1st to the rev limiter because you're pulling away while going round a very tight bend and need to get up to speed, so i hit 30mph in 1st and then slip it into 3rd, missing out 2nd.
 
Last edited:
i thought about it for years, then i realised i would have to work 12 hour shifts to match my current wages, and it would only be a matter of time before some 17 year old girl got me in lots of trouble for teaching her some special manovers :D
 
Back
Top