Driving automatics ?

jeannieblue

goldspanners wrote: »

lazy swines! :mad:

You Scots get so uptight over such piddly little things... as said, bothered, not, wear sun glasses - not that you need them in your neck of the woods, but I am sure you can 'import' some from England.

I'm not lazy either, just economical with my energy levels.

goldspanners

jeannieblue wrote: »

as said, bothered, not, wear sun glasses -

this is the problem with society these days jeannie,nobody cares about anyone but tehmselves,i guess i got you all wrong.

big_gay_kirk

just a note.. on my auto volvo and allegro the manual warned not to select park if the engine was running.... not sure abouyt modern autos.. but worth knowing!

Little_John

The last auto I drove was a pasat that didn't have a hand brake it had the button on the dash and it was called a parking brake and to release it the car had to be in park and have my foot on the brake. what a ball ache that was. I think the Merc I drove before that was similar but the parking brake was applied with the foot.
As I was used to doing something with my left hand while driving I used to make use of the DSG gear box and worked it like a manual when I got bored.

As for going on about being lazy not taking their foot off the brake when stopped jees they drive an automatic how much lazier can you get? how do you expect them to do anything when they are just needing to move forward.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Shoshannah

I have to say, I think a large proportion of manual car drivers sit with their foot on the brake too. Unless 75% of the cars I follow in traffic queues are automatics as well.

It doesn't bother me so much during the day but I guess it can be a bit dazzling at night. I am guilty of it too though, unless I get to the traffic lights just as they have turned red and I know it will be a longer wait.

AFAIK (but I am no expert), moving the gearstick or staying in D will not wear out the gearbox. It's driving at high speeds for long periods and/or towing that wears out autoboxes. I wouldn't recommend sitting in D with the handbrake on though as it's a surefire way to f**k up your handbrake. :rotfl:

With automatics I worry more about the wear on the brakes than the box. I do check my autobox fluid regularly though.

gundo

jeannieblue wrote: »

Still not bothered...... wear sunglasses

Hmmm... that's a bit inconsiderate of you.

Personally I bung it Neutral and lob the handbrake on, it's less effort than having to keep my foot on the brake all the time (I'm lazy too).

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Shoshannah wrote: »

AFAIK (but I am no expert), moving the gearstick or staying in D will not wear out the gearbox. It's driving at high speeds for long periods and/or towing that wears out autoboxes. I wouldn't recommend sitting in D with the handbrake on though as it's a surefire way to f**k up your handbrake.

Gearchanges are the common cause of wear on automatic gearboxes. Driving at high speeds will not wear them out. Towing a caravan may require more regular ATF changes, but will not wear the gearbox.

Sitting in D with the parking brake on will not 'f**k up your handbrake', in just the same way that parking a car on a hill will also not damage it. In an automatic gearbox there is no physical connection between the engine and the drivetrain, beyond fluid.

vikingaero

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Gearchanges are the common cause of wear on automatic gearboxes. Driving at high speeds will not wear them out. Towing a caravan may require more regular ATF changes, but will not wear the gearbox.

Sitting in D with the parking brake on will not 'f**k up your handbrake', in just the same way that parking a car on a hill will also not damage it. In an automatic gearbox there is no physical connection between the engine and the drivetrain, beyond fluid.

Gearchanges are the primary cause of failure of the gearbox. The component that gives up the ghost first is the valve body followed by hydraulic failure normally caused by casing fracture.

Although the fluid is transmission medium being mechanically symapthetic in selecting neutral for long periods of idle is better - a gear selector mechanism is cheaper than a valve body or a new autobox.

Shoshannah

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Gearchanges are the common cause of wear on automatic gearboxes. Driving at high speeds will not wear them out. Towing a caravan may require more regular ATF changes, but will not wear the gearbox.

I am enlightened regarding gear changes.

Driving at high speeds for very long periods (ie burning it at 100mph down the motorway, which we shouldn't be doing anyway ) and towing heavy loads can generate more heat in the transmission. The fluid is not sufficiently cooled and is less effective, stands to reason that this increases wear. In the same way, a stop-start journey in a traffic jam or something would have the same effect (especially in combination with repeated gear changes from D to N ). If this is not true then it appears I have been badly misinformed by a friend who refurbishes autoboxes and owns 12 automatic cars. :eek:

Sitting in D with the parking brake on will not 'f**k up your handbrake', in just the same way that parking a car on a hill will also not damage it. In an automatic gearbox there is no physical connection between the engine and the drivetrain, beyond fluid.

Ok you're right, I was being a tad overdramatic. I felt the need to liven up my day somehow! :rotfl: I wouldn't recommend it with a less-than-perfect handbrake though (like mine) as it will allow the vehicle to creep. Don't worry, the handbrake has been fixed now.

jeannieblue

Little_John wrote: »

The last auto I drove was a pasat that didn't have a hand brake it had the button on the dash and it was called a parking brake and to release it the car had to be in park and have my foot on the brake. what a ball ache that was. I think the Merc I drove before that was similar but the parking brake was applied with the foot.
As I was used to doing something with my left hand while driving I used to make use of the DSG gear box and worked it like a manual when I got bored.

As for going on about being lazy not taking their foot off the brake when stopped jees they drive an automatic how much lazier can you get? how do you expect them to do anything when they are just needing to move forward.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I'll drive - or should I say 'stop' how I want.. I like to sit with my foot on the brake - especially if the likes of Goldspanners is behind me.