First time driving an automatic (W.T.F)

[Mischief007]

If you are a car guy, you should be able to get into anything in wheels and within 10 minutes know how to drive it. Yeah I fiddle for the clutch when I get into my parent's vehicles but I never "jam" the brakes hard like some here have stated.

 

[ESPNSTI]

:lol:... I'm sure all LFSer's know this but I drive with my right foot only even on "computer games pedals", in games like LFS, I couldn't get braking with my left foot right, I found it harder to control my braking pressure so I still drive with my right foot in games as well :lol:

You may want to give left foot braking a try again in LFS Andy, it will help reduce understeer with the GTI.
It is a bit weird to me that I have no problem with my left foot braking in LFS, but in real life I do.

 

[Momentum57]

Wow what a great conversation with a myriad of topics. From breaking to transmissions this has touched on it all even driver error.

First on the subject of transmissions: manual is nice and you think is really cool, but to be frank it?s for people who like to play with dicks. Look after driving a golf manual as a day to day, I just have to say it?s not worth all the work. Out of my driveway to a stop sign not 15 yards away another stop sign 60 yards away not even out of my neighborhood. Counting iv got a bout 9 stops between me and the market and none of the roads are above 35 speed limit plus traffic.

I think that a stick is great for the highway or if you have some open roads to flog it, but in traffic, it?s like jerking off with Novocain. Tiptronic as VW calls it and everyone has it where you can place your auto in to manual mode is probably perfect for average moron who wants to play with something. Floppy paddle is similar to this and I am sure varies with car maker on usability.

For a historical point or rather a note I recently had the privilege of driving a vintage corvette with shifter on the steering column. Now I know may of you are going to say ?what a pile? but I have to say it was really great, clutch and with a flick of your middle and fourth finger you have changed gear. I know its old and sounds dumb but Honda keeps bringing up that higher is better so there.

Second on the subject of braking left foot is to swing the rear out a bit and help with cornering, I am a fan of saying if you have to brake your not driving. Seriously think about it, when you?re on the highway you watch 3 hundred yards away and in traffic you can lift off and never have to brake. Now if you tailgate and have an 8 on your window you think that the person in front of you is all you have look at and if you intimidate them enough they will move until they brake and you have to jam on your brake sending you into a rage your not a good driver.

On some cars and trucks there is no a handbrake they are located as a small pedal on the far left of the vehicle. This is all covered in your ?Drive any vehicle to kill your friends handbook?

 

[bone]

^ever thought of joining another forum?

 

[Mad Cow]

I get confused with automatics like that too, I always forget that D4 is the right gear. And I still don't understand what the hell overdrive does.:???:

 

[andyhui01]

You may want to give left foot braking a try again in LFS Andy, it will help reduce understeer with the GTI.
It is a bit weird to me that I have no problem with my left foot braking in LFS, but in real life I do.

I just tried today on BWGP because I pretty much had the track to myself, my foot could either floor the brake pedal or completely off the brake pedal, couldn't release half while I turn in like a normally do with my right foot. Maybe a little practice might help :lol:

 

[Mischief007]

I get confused with automatics like that too, I always forget that D4 is the right gear. And I still don't understand what the hell overdrive does.:???:

Lets the car rev lower once the torque converter locks up when you are going a steady speed. So, fuel economy.

 

[geeman]

It is a bit weird to me that I have no problem with my left foot braking in LFS, but in real life I do.

Same with me. I guess you just don't notice how hard you are actually braking in a game because there is no forces pushing you forward from the sudden deacceleration. Also the brake pedal works differently in real life than with basic computer pedals. Computer pedals are position sensitive and their movement is quite big compared to real life. In real life brake pedal is usually pressure sensitive, it moves only a little distance.

 

[YF19pilot]

I just tried today on BWGP because I pretty much had the track to myself, my foot could either floor the brake pedal or completely off the brake pedal, couldn't release half while I turn in like a normally do with my right foot. Maybe a little practice might help :lol:

Lets the car rev lower once the torque converter locks up when you are going a steady speed. So, fuel economy.

Like what Mischief said, but just want to add that most automatics are 4 speeds, or have shorter gearings. So overdrive is like having a psuedo 5th gear. Best thing to compare it to is the 6th gear on the Dodge Viper. Although the Viper can achieve its top speed in 5th, the 6th allows it to run more economically...if you can call a Viper at top speed economical.

 

[watto]

Automatics are the most simple and boring way of driving a car.

It's not hard. Put it in D, handbrake off, foot off brake pedal, foot on accelerator.

This is an extreme case of driver error... Or not taking the time to familiarise yourself with a car you'd never driven before BEFORE you'd turned the ignition on.

Twilight spoon, what country are you from??

 

[llpc60]

Wow what a great conversation with a myriad of topics. From breaking to transmissions this has touched on it all even driver error.

First on the subject of transmissions: manual is nice and you think is really cool, but to be frank it?s for people who like to play with dicks. Look after driving a golf manual as a day to day, I just have to say it?s not worth all the work. Out of my driveway to a stop sign not 15 yards away another stop sign 60 yards away not even out of my neighborhood. Counting iv got a bout 9 stops between me and the market and none of the roads are above 35 speed limit plus traffic.

I think that a stick is great for the highway or if you have some open roads to flog it, but in traffic, it?s like jerking off with Novocain. Tiptronic as VW calls it and everyone has it where you can place your auto in to manual mode is probably perfect for average moron who wants to play with something. Floppy paddle is similar to this and I am sure varies with car maker on usability.

For a historical point or rather a note I recently had the privilege of driving a vintage corvette with shifter on the steering column. Now I know may of you are going to say ?what a pile? but I have to say it was really great, clutch and with a flick of your middle and fourth finger you have changed gear. I know its old and sounds dumb but Honda keeps bringing up that higher is better so there.

Second on the subject of braking left foot is to swing the rear out a bit and help with cornering, I am a fan of saying if you have to brake your not driving. Seriously think about it, when you?re on the highway you watch 3 hundred yards away and in traffic you can lift off and never have to brake. Now if you tailgate and have an 8 on your window you think that the person in front of you is all you have look at and if you intimidate them enough they will move until they brake and you have to jam on your brake sending you into a rage your not a good driver.

On some cars and trucks there is no a handbrake they are located as a small pedal on the far left of the vehicle. This is all covered in your ?Drive any vehicle to kill your friends handbook?

you have the right to think whatever you want to think, and say whatever you want too, so Im not in any way telling you to stfu or that you shouldnt think those things.........but..

man you are a fucking dumbass, jesus!

 

[Viper007Bond]

man you are a fucking dumbass, jesus!

Play nice, noob.

 

[Blind_Io]

Wow what a great conversation with a myriad of topics. From breaking to transmissions this has touched on it all even driver error.

First on the subject of transmissions: manual is nice and you think is really cool, but to be frank it?s for people who like to play with dicks. Look after driving a golf manual as a day to day, I just have to say it?s not worth all the work. Out of my driveway to a stop sign not 15 yards away another stop sign 60 yards away not even out of my neighborhood. Counting iv got a bout 9 stops between me and the market and none of the roads are above 35 speed limit plus traffic.

I think that a stick is great for the highway or if you have some open roads to flog it, but in traffic, it?s like jerking off with Novocain. Tiptronic as VW calls it and everyone has it where you can place your auto in to manual mode is probably perfect for average moron who wants to play with something. Floppy paddle is similar to this and I am sure varies with car maker on usability.

For a historical point or rather a note I recently had the privilege of driving a vintage corvette with shifter on the steering column. Now I know may of you are going to say ?what a pile? but I have to say it was really great, clutch and with a flick of your middle and fourth finger you have changed gear. I know its old and sounds dumb but Honda keeps bringing up that higher is better so there.

Second on the subject of braking left foot is to swing the rear out a bit and help with cornering, I am a fan of saying if you have to brake your not driving. Seriously think about it, when you?re on the highway you watch 3 hundred yards away and in traffic you can lift off and never have to brake. Now if you tailgate and have an 8 on your window you think that the person in front of you is all you have look at and if you intimidate them enough they will move until they brake and you have to jam on your brake sending you into a rage your not a good driver.

On some cars and trucks there is no a handbrake they are located as a small pedal on the far left of the vehicle. This is all covered in your ?Drive any vehicle to kill your friends handbook?

Ok, there are valid reasons to drive a clutch. I specifically wanted a clutch because I knew the area I would be living has very short on-ramps and crazy drivers. The car I bought has a tiny 4-cyl engine, which is great for economy but not for acceleration. I was going from a 4.0L down to less than 2.0L and I wanted a clutch to maximize acceleration for safety reasons.

Second is gas mileage. An automatic transmission is always slipping a bit, even when you are just cruising. This means you are wasting energy, a manual does not have this problem and if driven economically can get much better mileage than an equivalent automatic.

Now, as someone who's first and present car had (have) manual transmissions, and had two automatics in between, I can say that any driver worth a damn does not even think about shifting. When driving in town or rush hour traffic I don't even notice shifting, it's just second nature. If you have to think that hard about what you are doing then you should be in an automatic so you can devote more attention to the road. You seem to think a manual is fine as long as you are not shifting gears, then you have missed the point. I can drive my car and not have to think about shifting, I can carry on a conversation, sing along to my iPod or whatever I want. If I drive an automatic I feel like something is missing, I feel detached from the driving experience and I certainly don't feel the thrill of taking an automatic up the twisty Highway 1 the way I do with my manual. Shifting isn't an inconvenience, it heightens the experience and makes driving more fun.

Finally, let me address your juvenile references to the similarities between a manual and a penis. Actually, no, I won't because I refuse to stoop that low. Grow up, and come back when you are A) old enough to drive and B) old enough to not giggle at biology texts.

The best performance cars throughout history have been very simple, with as little as possible between the driver, the machine and the road. I may have to put up with computerized nannying in some respects, but driving a manual, even in an economy car like my Civic, makes driving more fun. My car is not particularly fast, nor does it have great grip, but I can take it up Highway 1 and bully Mustangs into letting me pass. I can chuck it into corners and take it right to the limit, and although it will never be a sports car it's still fun. Driving any car to it's limit is fun because you know that it's you, the driver, doing the work, not the car. You can't have that experience with an automatic.

 

[MadCow809]

Alright, since my car's in the shop, I used that as an excuse to borrow this old guy's E Class. I had a few friends along, none of whom were familiar with automatics or Mercs.

Starting the car took a while, it was a diesel so I knew I had to wait for the engine to heat up. I knew some light would go off, but nothing did. Eventually when I tried to start it, it wouldn't. After a whole load of witchcraft, it starts....just.

Then the parking brake gave us problems, it was missing. We looked in all the parking brake-ish places, and nothing. Then I notice this handle near the door, I pull it and icon turns off. Good, but how would I get it back on if I was on a slope...let's move on.

Next we have an argument on whether the gear should be in D4 or D1. Both seem logical so do the only sensible thing and drive in reverse. Anyway, th car seems really sluggish when starting out, and we have another argument on whether of not I've turned the parking brake off.

We set off and get to a speedbump, my foot grazes the brake and I almost fly through the windshield. WTF!? My dick is less sensitive than the Merc's POS brakes.

Knowing this, I try to be very careful not to go fast, but I noticed that it's not changing gears. maybe D4 was the right one. Another screeching halt and I get it in D4, it works.

Now by this point we were all seriously worried and decided to justuse another car, but turning the car around wasn't going to be easy. And I sure as hell didnt want to start experimenting with the reverse gear. Now where's the heck's the indicator? Aw screw it.

A few minutes later we were turned around and heading back to the speedbump, I dab the brake, grinding halt, WHILE THERE WAS SOMEONE BEHIND US. God bless him, he stopped in time. We appologize and get moving at about 2mph.

Dead silence on the way back, we park the thing. Have a few shots of jager to calm the nerves and drive off in a MANUAL toyota. Never again.

</rant>
<fear of autos>

you suck at driving... that is all..

normally... mercedes' hand brake is situated on the left, you have to press it with your left foot and the release handle is under the light switch.

as to do with brakes.. you shouldnt have a problem with modern brakes, they are normally pretty sensitive and is power assisted, all you need is some time to get used to it (5-10 min maximum) and finally.. gearbox, D stands for Drive, where the gearbox automatically changes ur gears according to the vehicle speed and throttle position. D1 stands for 1st gear, D2 for 2nd gear and so on.. you only need to put the autobox in D1/D2 if you are trying to get up a steep hill.

btw.. dont blame the autobox for your incompetence.

 

[chaos386]

First on the subject of transmissions: manual is nice and you think is really cool, but to be frank it?s for people who like to play with dicks. Look after driving a golf manual as a day to day, I just have to say it?s not worth all the work. Out of my driveway to a stop sign not 15 yards away another stop sign 60 yards away not even out of my neighborhood. Counting iv got a bout 9 stops between me and the market and none of the roads are above 35 speed limit plus traffic.

I like to drive manuals because I get bored driving automatics, and I develop bad habits to keep my mind engaged (Look Ma! No hands!).

Second on the subject of braking left foot is to swing the rear out a bit and help with cornering, I am a fan of saying if you have to brake your not driving. Seriously think about it, when you?re on the highway you watch 3 hundred yards away and in traffic you can lift off and never have to brake. Now if you tailgate and have an 8 on your window you think that the person in front of you is all you have look at and if you intimidate them enough they will move until they brake and you have to jam on your brake sending you into a rage your not a good driver.

So I guess you just blaze through stop signs and traffic signals? While I agree that it's always good to be prepared and leave plenty of space in front of you, it's not a good idea to assume that you'll never need to use the brakes. Also, it's kind of hard to leave 300 yards in front of you during rush-hour traffic.