A few Questions - skipping gears- coasting

Kurva

My younger cousin has just passed the 6 month time frame before he can apply - but had a few questions im not too sure about myself

Are tester picky about:

* skipping gears ( 5th to 3rd and stopping in 3rd)

he's using my car and it is very fast thru the gears so there isn't really time to cycle down, besides i know he ends up coasting if he tries to shift down to 2nd instead of stopping in 3rd

* letting the car roll forward in neutral
either stopped at lights or slowing down for upcomming lights

( i think there was a few other things too - illl edit if there was)

and on a lighter note - has anyone tried bribing the tester with wine, gift vouchers or mentioning your discount card at work etc...

Permabear

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DriveSkill

Kurva wrote: »

Are tester picky about:

* skipping gears ( 5th to 3rd and stopping in 3rd)

he's using my car and it is very fast thru the gears so there isn't really time to cycle down, besides i know he ends up coasting if he tries to shift down to 2nd instead of stopping in 3rd

Perfectly acceptable to go from 5th -> 3rd or 4th -> 2nd etc. Its called 'block changing' and is fine for the test and in normal driving. You can also stop in any gear so while some people prefer to come to 3rd or 2nd there is no requirement to do so - up to you (or your cousin in this case )

Kurva wrote: »

* letting the car roll forward in neutral
either stopped at lights or slowing down for upcomming lights

This is a definite no no, its coasting!! You should never put the car into neutral until you have actually stopped.

Alanstrainor

Skipping gears while cycling down through the gears is perfectly fine, ie going from say, 4th to 2nd, is fine, some might even say it's preferred. As for stopping in a high gear, again it's perfectly fine, and some would say it's better to come to a stop in a high gear as it puts less stress on your transmission, clutch, engine etc.
Now as for moving while in neutral, under no circumstances should the car be moving while in neutral.
And just to note for others on this forum, you may apply before the 6 months are up, however on the day of your test you must have held your license for at least 6 months.

[EDIT] Beaten, by not one, but two boardsies....talk about slow aye!

Kurva

Yeah i taught it would be ok skipping gears on the downshift - it didn't fail me

Ive a fierce habit of letting it edge forward in neutral - and it was he who pointed it out

I know where i picked it up too - there are two deadspots on my normal journey where I could be at the lights for a few mins facing downhill, board to the britches

still its the only bad habit im aware of anyway

slade_x

Kurva wrote: »

besides i know he ends up coasting if he tries to shift down to 2nd instead of stopping in 3rd

You can still have control over the vehicle if while shifting down, you cover the footbrake. just cover the brake gently just enough to slow you a bit, shift down a gear and while you bring up the clutch come off the footbrake.

And as a tipp approach roundabouts in 2nd.

madaboutcars

You should approach roundabouts, ramps, turn offs from main roads to minor roads etc in second. Ideally you should also stop the car in 2nd, unless you never had the chance to get up to 2nd or in an emergency where any gear will do.

And I was told to cycle down through the gears i.e. 4th to 3rd to 2nd(but not first!) when you know you're going to be coming to a stop/slowing down like at traffic lights, roundabouts etc.

Although the braking systems in modern cars has improved a lot so it really is wearing your clutch and gearbox out for no good reason(although there is more engine braking in lower gears which is presumably why they like you to go down the gears one by one in the test and of course this was more important when cars had smaller and less powerful brakes than they do today!) IMO, so when coming to a stop just go on the brakes and only press the clutch in when the engine sounds like it will cut out!

And at 50 kph on a flat road in a 50 kph zone means 4th gear too!

Drive at the speed limit when conditions permit as well or else they'll fault you for not making progress.

Alanstrainor

madaboutcars wrote: »

You should approach roundabouts, ramps, turn offs from main roads to minor roads etc in second. Ideally you should also stop the car in 2nd, unless you never had the chance to get up to 2nd or in an emergency where any gear will do.

That's not universally true, although it makes things simpler saying broad statements, like all roundabouts should be approached in 2nd, it should be noted that there is no hard fast rule that will work in every situation. You should be in the right gear for the situation, which will depend on a lot of things, most namely, speed, hills, weight of car/baggage/passengers .etc.
As for stopping the car in second, and the whole debate about whether to change down through the gears or stop in a higher gear, both are accepted for test purposes. But the cycling down through the gears method really is the old fashioned way of doing things, meant to help slow the car with engine breaking as well as breaks. However the mantra that's often repeated on this forum is:
"Gears to go, Brakes to slow!"

And it will depend on the car you drive as to what gear you should be in at 50km/h, just for arguments sake, the likes of a BMW M3 would quite happily drive at 50km/h in 2nd gear, and would keep 4th more excessive speeds.:D

Kurva

"Gears to go, Brakes to Slow"

I remember being told that when I started out - still stuck with me

and on the roundabout thing - theres one down here in cork - a tiny tiny little one - on victoria road

but if your entering from the centre park road direction its up-hill which used to scare the crap out of me when i started out - i used always stop and into 1st gear incase i stalled on it - it was 1 year prior to the opening of the Jack Lynch Tunnel so no avoiding it at the time



Thanx for the replies anyway

I didn't want to go telling him the wrong things before he gets the test date

besides he's driving a car that I'm the owner and main insured driver of - so i don't want him messing it up

the test or the car

madaboutcars

Alanstrainor wrote: »

But the cycling down through the gears method really is the old fashioned way of doing things, meant to help slow the car with engine breaking as well as breaks. However the mantra that's often repeated on this forum is:
"Gears to go, Brakes to slow!"

And it will depend on the car you drive as to what gear you should be in at 50km/h, just for arguments sake, the likes of a BMW M3 would quite happily drive at 50km/h in 2nd gear, and would keep 4th more excessive speeds.:D

I agree with the "brakes to slow, gears to go" message. I said as much in my previous post. I only did it in the test on advice from my driving instructor.

I was only saying that that is what I was told to do in the test and that that is what testers want to see you do. Now that I've passed I always stop it in whatever gear I'm in at the time because it wears out the clutch unncessarily and because modern cars have better brakes than older cars.

The logic behind approaching ramps, roundabouts etc in 2nd is that first is too slow and you'd be faulted for not going fast enough but 3rd or higher is too fast in case you suddenly needed to stop.

Similarly at 50 kph on a flat road you should be in 4th. I've done it in a 1.8 Volvo S40 several times and it can handle it no bother(it can cope with 50 kph in 5th too). Obviously smaller cars are better in this regard because of the way you change up sooner.

Permabear

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madaboutcars

donegalfella wrote: »

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Yeah but that's for the UK, not here though.

I don't think 50 kph is too soon to go into 4th btw, and it's only on the flat you go up to 4th when you hit 50.

Permabear

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bonkey

donegalfella wrote: »

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That link says no such thing.

It says that the right gear is dependant on a lot of factors, but that in many modern cars, 30 in 3rd is possible and worth trying for a number of reasons.

madaboutcars

donegalfella wrote: »

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They're only advising you to stick to third in order to help you comply with the law. Engine do make more noise in lower gears at the same speed because they're at higher revs. Their advice doesn't strike as the kind of advice for passing the test tbh.

The driver testers in this country want you to go into 4th when travelling at 50 kph on the flat. I seriously doubt they'll change that either, considering that higher gears are more efficient and that we have the Greens(hippies) in Government.

And unless you have some really large car with a huge engine, the car should be able to do this no bother and without labouring the engine.

To answer your question directly, yes I would go up to 4th in a 50 kph zone if I could hit 50 kph and road was flat. I'd probably go to 5th actually come to think of it(I didn't do that in the test obviously).
If I was accelerating, or going up or down a hill then depending on how fast I was acelerating/how steep the hill was etc then I'd probably be in third or even second(in the car I'm driving you can go up to around 90 kph in 2nd, in theory at least:D!).

Wishbone Ash

madaboutcars wrote: »

They're only advising you to stick to third in order to help you comply with the law

There is no "law" here which specifies which gear a vehicle should be in at any given speed.

Permabear

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madaboutcars

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

There is no "law" here which specifies which gear a vehicle should be in at any given speed.

the law I was refering to was the speed limit!

Wishbone Ash

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

There is no "law" here which specifies which gear a vehicle should be in at any given speed.

madaboutcars wrote: »

the law I was refering to was the speed limit!

Yes, apologies - I mis-read what you were saying!

challengemaster

Kurva wrote: »

* skipping gears ( 5th to 3rd and stopping in 3rd)

he's using my car and it is very fast thru the gears so there isn't really time to cycle down, besides i know he ends up coasting if he tries to shift down to 2nd instead of stopping in 3rd

I don't understand that.

There isnt time to cycle down? If he's driving properly and in full control of the vehicle then there should be plenty of time to get into appropriate gears. It sounds like he's not giving himself enough braking distance if he has to go from 5th to 3rd then stop in 3rd.