Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Xerxys Guide to driving a manual transmission vehicle.

new man · 05-19-2009, 05:37 PM

Couple things to clarify here and a couple misconceptions to clear up.

First of all, if you always throw the clutch in when starting the car, then you never have to worry about whether the car has an ignition cutoff switch or not. It's very simple to do the easy thing.

Second, reverse is no way in hell near a third gear ratio. For example, the Acura RSX has a first gear ratio of 3.267. Third gear is 1.517. Reverse is 3.583. It is shorter than first gear. My Integra's reverse is slightly longer than first gear, but still far shorter than second. If you want a real-world example, my Integra can hit 80+ in third gear, but can no way in hell do that in reverse.

Brake pads are cheaper than clutches. Don't downshift to engine brake. Even racers don't use engine braking, because the abrupt shift in weight will destabilize the car. This same point applies to driving in the snow. Engine braking to try to slow down IS A BAD IDEA! in the snow or ice. If you have FWD or RWD car, when you engine brake you shift the weight and only slow down with two wheels. You now have one end of the car more firmly planted and the other end is free to move. When you brake, all four wheels work to slow you down. If you have antilock brakes, then all the better. Let the ABS do it's job. You might have VSA, in which case the VSA will try to stabilize the car when you engine brake. However, simple systems simply use the ABS to control skids anyways, by selectively grabbing individual wheels. Far more cars on the road have ABS than VSA systems.
And one more point related to this. I grew up outside of DC, and have lived in CO for the past two years. By and large, snow is far worse in MD. You have ten times as many people crowding the roads, and the snow tends to come in very moist and heavy right around the freezing temperature. Which means it packs down and ices very quickly. It is so easy driving in CO snow because it tends to come in dry and fuffy. The colder it is, the drier it is. So people do not drive in snow better here. They would have no fucking clue what to do in DC snow. Plus, out here many people have snow tires. I still hear Boulderites driving around in May with their studded tires on. HELLO! Compounds designed to be flexible in cold temperatures get smeary in hot temps. You will shred your tires driving on hot pavement.
I taught my wife to drive stick. Around DC.

05-19-2009, 05:37 PM	#38 (permalink)
new man Banned	Couple things to clarify here and a couple misconceptions to clear up. First of all, if you always throw the clutch in when starting the car, then you never have to worry about whether the car has an ignition cutoff switch or not. It's very simple to do the easy thing. Second, reverse is no way in hell near a third gear ratio. For example, the Acura RSX has a first gear ratio of 3.267. Third gear is 1.517. Reverse is 3.583. It is shorter than first gear. My Integra's reverse is slightly longer than first gear, but still far shorter than second. If you want a real-world example, my Integra can hit 80+ in third gear, but can no way in hell do that in reverse. Brake pads are cheaper than clutches. Don't downshift to engine brake. Even racers don't use engine braking, because the abrupt shift in weight will destabilize the car. This same point applies to driving in the snow. Engine braking to try to slow down IS A BAD IDEA! in the snow or ice. If you have FWD or RWD car, when you engine brake you shift the weight and only slow down with two wheels. You now have one end of the car more firmly planted and the other end is free to move. When you brake, all four wheels work to slow you down. If you have antilock brakes, then all the better. Let the ABS do it's job. You might have VSA, in which case the VSA will try to stabilize the car when you engine brake. However, simple systems simply use the ABS to control skids anyways, by selectively grabbing individual wheels. Far more cars on the road have ABS than VSA systems. And one more point related to this. I grew up outside of DC, and have lived in CO for the past two years. By and large, snow is far worse in MD. You have ten times as many people crowding the roads, and the snow tends to come in very moist and heavy right around the freezing temperature. Which means it packs down and ices very quickly. It is so easy driving in CO snow because it tends to come in dry and fuffy. The colder it is, the drier it is. So people do not drive in snow better here. They would have no fucking clue what to do in DC snow. Plus, out here many people have snow tires. I still hear Boulderites driving around in May with their studded tires on. HELLO! Compounds designed to be flexible in cold temperatures get smeary in hot temps. You will shred your tires driving on hot pavement. I taught my wife to drive stick. Around DC.