1.0 litre engines

NBLondon

Ectophile said:

Why would I be looking at the rev counter while driving?  I check the speedometer from time to time, and spend most of the time looking out of the windows.

I never look at the gearstick position while driving.  That would involve looking downwards, and would be a dangerous thing to do at motorway speeds.

The car in question has a 5 speed box.  It is perfectly cabable of cruising along at 70 MPH in 4th gear.  Since it's only a little 1.2 litre engine, I often have to knock it down to 4th on hills, or to overtake.

I would have thought that being aware of what gear you are in is a fairly basic part of driving...  On a motorway especially - you might be in 4th (or even 3rd) coming up the sliproad but once you've matched speeds and got a cruising position, it's normal to change up to whatever top is in that vehicle.  Isn't it?  Even if you've joined at the start - you were probably on a dual carriageway and already in top (unless very heavy traffic).

Maybe understandable if you're in a new or unfamiliar car with more gears than you usually drive... A few years back, I found myself reminding m'wife that my car had 6th gear when hers only had 5 so she could change up again.

NBLondon

Goudy said:

When I learnt to drive it was all about setting revs and clutch bite yourself, when our lad learnt a few years ago, his instructor laughed when I mentioned it, he said why teach something the car does itself.

Ditto.  And the answer for that instructor is that if the learner passes and buys an older car that doesn't have the driving aids - they are going to struggle at first...

BOWFER

Ectophile said:

BOWFER said:

Ectophile said:

That works until you get a car with a quieter engine.  Many's the time I have found myself cruising down the motorway in 4th gear because I couldn't hear the engine over the road noise.

You will (probably) have a rev counter that will show you you're doing too many revs for the speed.
And possibly a display telling to you to change up too.
The position of the gear stick also shows you.
Really, it's a strange lack of awareness to drive around in too low a gear on a motorway, it baffles me as to how you couldn't know you're not in 5th (or 6th)

Why would I be looking at the rev counter while driving?  I check the speedometer from time to time, and spend most of the time looking out of the windows.

I never look at the gearstick position while driving.  That would involve looking downwards, and would be a dangerous thing to do at motorway speeds.

The car in question has a 5 speed box.  It is perfectly cabable of cruising along at 70 MPH in 4th gear.  Since it's only a little 1.2 litre engine, I often have to knock it down to 4th on hills, or to overtake.

You should be able to take in all instruments regularly, if you can't there's something wrong.
Takes no longer to check the rev counter than the other gauges.
And even if you don't look down to see the position of the gearstick, you should be aware the engine is revving higher than it could.
By all means argue with my comments about your lack of awareness of all sorts of visual and audible cues that you're in too low a gear though.

AdrianC

Ectophile said:

Why would I be looking at the rev counter while driving?  I check the speedometer from time to time, and spend most of the time looking out of the windows.

That's a cop-out.

I can't think when I last saw a car where the tacho was further than a very short distance from the speedo, easy to take in with the same glance. Not that you should even need a tacho at all. They used to be quite rare. People managed just fine.

I never look at the gearstick position while driving. That would involve looking downwards, and would be a dangerous thing to do at motorway speeds.

And that's an even bigger cop-out, along the lines of "Speed cameras are dangerous because they mean I have to look at my speedo instead of out the window".

Identifying appropriate speeds and appropriate gears for the conditions forms part of the basic car control that you learn in your first few driving lessons.

If you can't do the appropriate gear bit, you would fail a manual test, so you should take your test in an automatic - which gives you a licence that restricts you from driving manuals...

NBLondon said:

I would have thought that being aware of what gear you are in is a fairly basic part of driving...

Maybe understandable if you're in a new or unfamiliar car with more gears than you usually drive...

You'd like to think people can tell from how the car responds whether it's in the right gear or not for the conditions...

The absolute number doesn't matter so much, just "too high" or "too low"...

A few years back, I found myself reminding m'wife that my car had 6th gear when hers only had 5 so she could change up again.

Yes, "this one's perfectly appropriate, but this car has another one up that'll be even more relaxed" is a slightly different question.