Explain me this, Forums Dot Final Gear Dot Com.

Most cars are actually designed to run pretty slowly in 2nd;

Exactly. Most cars are actually designed so they can start in second gear (starting on snow in the winter).

That Subaru gearbox is really weird though, if you can't drive at 25 in 2nd gear....even if you have a long 1st gear, you should be able to drive in 2nd at that speed. I guess Subaru didn't think this through.

I see a lot of people with VW's commenting here...VW's have notoriously short 1st gears. It's actually painful to your ears to do 25mph in 1st gear in a VW Polo or Golf (maybe not the GTI).

You live in america, most of those people don't know what manuals are :lol:
Those are books, right? :lol:
 
VW's have notoriously short 1st gears. It's actually painful to your ears to do 25mph in 1st gear in a VW Polo or Golf
Of course it is, that's right at the rev limiter.
On my old Passat (1.8l petrol), 1st gear hit the rev limiter (~6,200 rpm) at 40 kph (25 mph). 2nd would go up to 80 kph, 3rd to 120, 4th to about 160, 5th to just over 200. I could do 50 kph in 5th gear easily.
I don't think that's particularly short - in fact, the 5 gears were evenly distributed over the range of speed the car could do.
 
I say we bring back the 4 speed manual then. 1st gear eliminates all the grief resulting from driving <25mph in five and six speed manuals.
 
Wait, now that I think of it, That's pretty much how my dad's lawnmower works. You set the throttle, then never touch it again and control speed with the transmission (which is a gearstick on a continuous slider).
 
I say we bring back the 4 speed manual then. 1st gear eliminates all the grief resulting from driving <25mph in five and six speed manuals.

I remember driving my dad's old Citroen AX 1.1...4 speed. If you really trash it, It would do 40mph in 1st gear at the rev limiter. An impossibility with the Polo.
 
I drive an N/A Impreza - there's nothing weird about the gearbox.

You have a GC Impreza. The original poster has a GG Impreza. Almost totally different cars, and almost certainly having different gearboxes.
 
It's interesting reading all the ideas people have on here...

The coasting in neutral is the one that surprises me most, I was always taught *never* to do that. The wheels should be connected to the engine at all times, and you should be in the most appropriate gear for the situation.

Weird gear ratios aside, at 25mph 3rd or perhaps 4th depending on the car is fine, 2nd shouldn't be an issue.

And when slowing down, I use the brakes but leave the car in whatever gear it was in until just before the point the engine would be fighting the brakes- I then change into the appropriate gear (be it 1st if stopping, or 2nd/3rd if carrying on) matching the revs as I do so.

Mate of mine has just completed some police driver training, and he was taught to only do one thing at once (i.e. never change gear while braking, never brake while cornering, never change gear while cornering etc etc) - makes sense, as it increases traction and grip by giving the tyres one thing to worry about...
 
I have been driving since I was 17 nearly all Manual cars - Hang on quick maths. ... 37 years of experience. I reckon the Police method only ever do one thing at once, if at all possible is a good approach.

Breaking on the engine can be done but you need to know what you are doing and the transmission - it has to be learned or you can break it - bigger the engine more stress on the clutch do be very careful - it is not necessary so, I'd avoid.
 
I used to have an 06 Impreza 2.5i and i could drive around in 2nd at 1000rpm in parking lots with no problems.
You can go really slow in 2nd. I may fell like its going to stall but as long as your are moving it wont.
 
Are you serious? 25 mph, that's 40 kph. I'm switching to 4th gear at that speed. If your engine and transmission are stock, you should be able to drive in 2nd or 3rd gear at that speed without any problems whatsoever. Or Spectre is right and you have a very non-practical gearbox.
What he said.

Putting it in fifth at 40 km/h is labouring it a bit but it works too. Your gearbox is dodgy. Or you need to practice more :p
 
My Dad, who taught me to drive, was taught on cars that didn't have a fourth gear much less an automatic. :) My initial training was a smidge off in the Mustang II we had for me to learn on. Dad would rev it up high in third, even on the highway. Me? I grew to love fourth quick.

Here's a question, while we're talking the do-it-yerself transmission: Popping the clutch. Acceptable? Heresy? If you've got to in an emergency? Heck, can you do it on modern vehicles? Last thing I drove with a manual was a Ford Ranger, with a 6 cylinder and five-speed about 10 years ago.
 
Wait, now that I think of it, That's pretty much how my dad's lawnmower works. You set the throttle, then never touch it again and control speed with the transmission (which is a gearstick on a continuous slider).

That's a hydrostatic transmission. They are actually very interesting if you ever feel nerdy enough to read about them....
 
Rotary = smooth and relatively quiet no matter what RPM. So 4-5krpm in first is ok :)
 
Rotary = smooth and relatively quiet no matter what RPM. So 4-5krpm in first is ok :)

Very true. 4k while cruising on the freeway doesn't feel weird, except at the gas station. 'Course I can't really talk about gas mileage.
 
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