and this thread, in a nutshell, demonstrates why the last American F1 champion was 33 years ago, and why the last non-American winner of the Indy 500 was... last year. And the year before. And the year before that...
Interesting discussion. I don't think anyone I know drives an automatic over here in Britain. I've certainly never met anyone who learned to drive in one. To be honest, I don't even think I've ever seen or been in an automatic. Actually, that's wrong: my granddad had one briefly in the 80s but that's the only one I've ever been in.
I take it learning to drive in an automatic is predominant over there?
I've had 2 auto's in my long history of cars and I would have one again. It has to be in the right car though. Both were large capacity V6's (2.8 petrol and 3.0 diesel) and they were lovely to drive. One foot to go/stop and one hand to steer
About all driving classes here are done on stick shifts. It used to be that if you got taught on automatics, your license would have a note saying you were only licenses to drive automatics.
I have an 89 honda civic and I dont down shift any time I need to break or corner I throw it in neutral and then brake and regear. The reason is that the clutch and transmission are more expensive than break pads. When I drive a truck though I gear down and double clutch where needed.
I think that for city driving and heavy traffic, an automatic gearbox is the more comfortable option. I currently have one and I have to say I do enjoy it. Before I had a manual, and admittedly manual is more fun when driving on a country road or something like that. But at the moment I almost exclusively drive in the city so the automatic is just fine.
But, after having driven a Ferrari 458 last year, I think the future belongs to the dual clutch transmission. It was the first car that I've driven with such a gearbox and I have to say that those things are just marvelous, and one can always shift by using the paddles on the steering wheel.
Jaz
Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself - Confucius
Interesting discussion. I don't think anyone I know drives an automatic over here in Britain. I've certainly never met anyone who learned to drive in one. To be honest, I don't even think I've ever seen or been in an automatic. Actually, that's wrong: my granddad had one briefly in the 80s but that's the only one I've ever been in.
I take it learning to drive in an automatic is predominant over there?
It's so bad over here that the military trucks are going to automatic transmissions. So many people have never driven anything with a clutch so it's easier to re-equip the trucks with autos.
What's even worse is they are now coming out with cars that parallel park themselves. A relatively simple maneuver that most people can't seem to master...
4H_V-man
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What's even worse is they are now coming out with cars that parallel park themselves. A relatively simple maneuver that most people can't seem to master...
I just saw an advert on TV with a car that did that about five minutes ago! Mental! Something about that approach just seems like the beginning of a really bad idea. The same car comes with a sensor that brakes for you if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. Hope it puts those brakes on gently: I wouldn't want them to interrupt anyones snooze!
What's even worse is they are now coming out with cars that parallel park themselves. A relatively simple maneuver that most people can't seem to master...
I expect that within the next 20 years or so we'll start to see "automatic driver" options on cars. In 50 years it may be as common as automatic transmissions are today.
I for one hope so. Even though I have a relatively short commute it's still an hour each day wasted.
i agree about the get the feel part down, i drive a eaton fullon (sp?) 18 speed tranny in my semi, i dont look at the tack or speedometer anymore, i shift all 18 up and down by feel alone.
I taught myself to drive stick in a '78 Pinto. Just because it was a Pinto, people tended to keep a good distance behind it.
For the uninitiated, there was a certain year when the Pinto had a faulty gas tank design that didn't require too much rear impact for it to explode. Here is a scene from the World War 2 parody movie Top Secret to illustrate this trait:
It's so bad over here that the military trucks are going to automatic transmissions. So many people have never driven anything with a clutch so it's easier to re-equip the trucks with autos.
The main reason is that today's automatics are just as strong and reliable as a stick. It also means 1 less thing for a soldier to do in the heat of battle. I'd rather have my rifle pointing out the window and using my right hand to return fire, rather than shifting.
I've seen automatics killed from plowing snow, but that's because people slam them from drive to reverse and back. That worked fine in the old days, but with computer controlled automatics a little more finesse is needed. You finish your push, shift, raise/lower the blade to give the tranny time to go into gear, and then give it fuel.
Also, if a truck only has the transmission cooler in the radiator, install the biggest aftermarket model that will fit behind the grille. A thermostat to keep fluid from going through the aftermarket cooler until it's warmed up is a good idea, too.
Phil
“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
The trick Papaw showed me is real simple. Keep your left heel on the floor when the clutch is in all the way and pivot your foot on it. Let the pedal slip up and down your foot. You can control it engaging easier. To this day I still do this when accelerating away from a stoplight, from a full stop, and I've owned several high-performance V-8 cars over the years, two of which had competition clutches installed.
Miao, Cat
I tried this in my pickup just now, and either you can flex your foot all the way back so your toes touch your shin or the throw on my F350's clutch pedal is a lot longer than yours LOL. The nice thing about a diesel is I can pretty much just lift my foot off the clutch with no feathering at all and it goes with no shuddering or fuss - and that's in 2nd gear (2.37:1) in a ~7000lb truck. Even loaded down with about 3000lb of snow on the bed I only had to use 1st gear (4.14:1) when starting on a hill.
Phil
“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
i agree about the get the feel part down, i drive a eaton fullon (sp?) 18 speed tranny in my semi, i dont look at the tack or speedometer anymore, i shift all 18 up and down by feel alone.
Yep, used to do the same with a 13 speed. It's all about understanding the piece of equipment you're operating.
4H_V-man
System Specs: MSI 870 A-G54 AMD X4 Phenom II @ 3.4 ghz 8 Gb DDR3 1333 RAM 1 Tb Western Digital 250 Gb Western Digital 320 Gb Seagate Radeon HD 6970 graphics Thermaltake 650 Modualar power supply Thermaltake Element V full tower