Please help about driving style

Guys, there's another thread which was running earlier, related to the same query as here, i have provided the link here for the needy

http://www.carwale.com/forums/ViewThread-22615-p3.html

THREADS MERGED

Recently I am driving on slopes and plain roads by putting gear in neutral. Offcourse I do this below speed of 70 kmph. On slopes, I put the gear in neutral when speed is above 60 and let car go as much when speed comes down to 50 and then shift gear in 5th gear. But I do this only if I am able to drive in neutral for minimum 1 minute or 1 km.

I do this on open roads where I can see the sideways and on coming traffic clearly. Is it safe ?

Hi,

Plz tell me, when stoping a car, I use first clutch than break. Is it right?

2ndly, I driving in 4th gear in plain road & stop giving acc , the car start deacc. & speed decreased to 30 or less. Should I shift gear or let it move as it is not in recommended gear. I generally shift the gear. Plz tell what is right.

Also, on round abouts, I use clutch & break, car immediately deacc to 20 khp, so in half of round about I have to shift gear, ortherwise I fear that car may not stop in medial of round about.

please instruct right way.

HI Rajiv,

Its not right .

When stopping the car , first apply breaks and then cluth .

1. Press clutch only when you have to change the gear.

2. Have an eye on the RPM , if its beyound 1750 change the gear ( to the next possible gear )

3. If the RPM is less than 1000 , change the gear to the one below

You should go to a near by ground when people are not there , try doing what i said above , you turn , drive , slow , fast and trying doing all this , however first apply break then when you have to change the gear press on the clutch . Practise this many a times you will be happy to know that you can cruze with out cluth being used many a times and also before applying breaks .Rome was not built in day

I compare car driving  to making love , its has to be , smooth , enjoyable and fun

All the best lad

Regards

Mathew

Hi,
   I have learnt car few months ago but purchased new wagonR 2 months back so there was a gap between learning and actual driving of my own car. Following are the problems I am facing.

1) unable to start smooth from a stationary position in traffic. I see I start slow(releasing clutch) then push break once and then clutch to shift second but this way makes me accelerate slow on second gear also. Thus car behind me moves ahead of me.

2) when someone come across the way or I need to slow a bit I manage to shift to second gear with no issues but then I tend to not down the gear to first with hope next car will move and most of the time I try to accelerate on second and this makes to give me more accelerator as I with fear release cluth very slowly. Is it necessary to shift down to 1st gear when vehicle is moving 0-10 kmph?

3) In the first month I always used to shift down to second gear while rolling over speed-breaker. But then I found people use third gear also so I practise on some speed breaker with less height where its possible to break before speed breaker then after I moved over speed breaker accelerate. This works some time but some times when I start to accelerate I get engine to sound 2/3 times "dhak dhak" and then acceleration matches required speed for that gear.

4) When I drive with A/C on I find I need more power to drive. If in a situation where I was driving at a speed of 50 kph and I need to break once and start accelerating again where speed downs to 40 kph I find some resistance to accelerate and if I off the A/C car moves fast. Any advice on how to drive with A/C on? or I should drive one gear less for given specified speed limits for any gear?

hi,

Same was the case with me. I went to open ground & follow the instruction given by trainer one by one. Smooth starting need some practise. Secondly, new cars clutch is somebut hard, if not used properly may get car stop immediately.Release half of clutch & hold for 10sec as you see that cars sound is changed, then slowly -2 release it, if need apply light acc. I also face same problem in starting, but now comfertable & clutch is also smooth now.

Some of the posts in this thread may be old, but I feel that many are not following the proper procedures while driving.

I fully agree with what Sridhar and Mathew said earlier.

Let me put my comments.

1. To save a little fuel here and there, do not compromise on control and hence safety. An accident can sometimes cost you more than all the fuel savings you make during your lifetime,

2. Never drive the car in neutral (especially downhill). Always use the same gear as climbing up, for climbing down the same slope. This gives the best control.

3. Do not touch the clutch unnecessarily. Remember, whenever clutch is pressed, you have the minimum control over the car. Use clutch only while changing gear or when the car is about to stop (to avoid stalling of engine).

4. The right procedure for stopping a car is not pressing the clutch first. Press the brake first. If the car is going at very high speed, and if you have enough time to stop, you can gear down first and then start applying brakes if you want to reduce the strain on the brake shoes. Only when you change the gear (for gearing down), you should use clutch. Remove the foot from the clutch immediately after changing the gear.

And finally after braking (and changing gear if required), when the car is about to stop, press the clutch to avoid stalling of engine.

Tomy

This is great thread. We can learn good driving skills.... Thanks all.

Its really unfortunate that my driving instructor didn't teach me well and he only ensured to complete the driving hours as early as possible. He just teach me half cluch to start from stopped position once and didn't gave me enough practice. When I tried to drive my new wagonr actually I drove on empty roads but didn't understood the smooth start importance. I have a problem in smooth start in traffic and taking right or left turn on empty roads or roads with fast traffic where if I sometimes unable to manage to gear down to 3 from 5 (can manage to shift to 4 only) when driving on 60km/hr so the resulting turn is unsafe. 

Should I do driving class again or I can learn myself? Can someone please tell me step by step for
1) start smooth from stopped position         
2) right or left turn at high speed (if other people can do that)

Only the practice will help you achieve smooth start & good driving skills. Dont go for driving school again, they are worthless. They have clutch & breaks control in their side too & thats the why people are not able to drive on their own after leaving their school.

Ans 1) Take your car to an empty ground somewhere & then start practicing. When starting from standstill first press the accelator a bit & keep your feet on it. Then start releasing clutch slowly & uniformly.  Dont release the clutch in steps or bursts. It should be done uniformly.  If at any time car starts stalling badly press the clutch immediately & shift to neutral. Try this again. If you manage to move then dont get happy & start driving. Stop the car & do this again immediately. Do this again & again for some days & you will get hang of the balance between clutch & race. After some time you wont have to press accelator first while moving from standstill. It was just to get you to understand the balance between the two.

Ans2) Why do you want to turn at high speeds. Dont do it atleast for now. Once you get a bit of experience & confidence over yourself you'll be able to do this on your own.

"taking right or left turn on empty roads or roads with fast traffic where if I sometimes unable to manage to gear down to 3 from 5 (can manage to shift to 4 only) when driving on 60km/hr so the resulting turn is unsafe. "

Gears slot according to the speed you are in. If you slot 3rd at 60kmph then the revs will be on high side. First reduce the speed to 30-40kmph & then slot 3rd.