Automatic v Manual?

400ixl

badmemory said:

Is it automatic drivers that sit with their foot on the footbrake at the lights etc.  Now that is truly annoying.

Not necessarily, manual drivers tend to also just brake on clutch down. More so though auto drivers as they have to put it out of drive into neutral.

Mine also has park hold, so I just apply pressure to the brake pedal, hold activates and I can remove my foot from the brake and it will hold it until I press the throttle. But it does keep the brake lights on as a safety feature to want those behind (which can also be annoying to the person behind).

daveyjp

Inforapennyinforapound said:

daveyjp said:

The one time you may have to be involved with an auto is if it runs away down hills.  If you find yourself sitting on the brakes it’s time to lock it into a lower gear so you can make use of engine braking, just as you would drop down gears in a manual.

How do I lock into a lower gear? It’s an automatic..more confused now

Time to read the manual.  Many modern autos have D-M on the gearstick.

Moving it to M engages manual control and manual changes can be made by pushing forwards or backwards on the gearstick, or using paddles behind the steering wheel.  Sometimes just using paddles is enough to engage manual mode temporarily if required.

Car_54

400ixl said:

badmemory said:

Is it automatic drivers that sit with their foot on the footbrake at the lights etc.  Now that is truly annoying.

Not necessarily, manual drivers tend to also just brake on clutch down. More so though auto drivers as they have to put it out of drive into neutral.

I've driven dozens of different autos over 40 year, and have never "had to put it out of drive" - just put the handbrake on.

If you really don't want to leave it in D, wouldn't P make more sense than N?

kinger101

Inforapennyinforapound said:

daveyjp said:

The one time you may have to be involved with an auto is if it runs away down hills.  If you find yourself sitting on the brakes it’s time to lock it into a lower gear so you can make use of engine braking, just as you would drop down gears in a manual.

How do I lock into a lower gear? It’s an automatic..more confused now

On my A6, I slide the gear stick to the rigt and that puts it in manual. The the dear stick is pushed up or down to change between the gears.

If anything, the automatic handles this better than a manual. Breaking on gradual descents will usually drop the car one gear lower in automatic.  But for any manual changes, the flywheel is disengaged for a much shorter time than when done manually.  Meaning shorter lag in the engine braking.

I have paddles on the steering wheel too, but don't tend to use these

400ixl

Car_54 said:

400ixl said:

badmemory said:

Is it automatic drivers that sit with their foot on the footbrake at the lights etc.  Now that is truly annoying.

Not necessarily, manual drivers tend to also just brake on clutch down. More so though auto drivers as they have to put it out of drive into neutral.

I've driven dozens of different autos over 40 year, and have never "had to put it out of drive" - just put the handbrake on.

If you really don't want to leave it in D, wouldn't P make more sense than N?

That doesn't turn off the brake lights though in most auto's. Only in neutral (or Park) do that on most.

Money_and_Travel

PunkRoquefort said:

Who else here still prefers manual cars?

I've driven both, and I'd go manual every time.

Inforapennyinforapound

daveyjp said:

Inforapennyinforapound said:

daveyjp said:

The one time you may have to be involved with an auto is if it runs away down hills.  If you find yourself sitting on the brakes it’s time to lock it into a lower gear so you can make use of engine braking, just as you would drop down gears in a manual.

How do I lock into a lower gear? It’s an automatic..more confused now

Time to read the manual.  Many modern autos have D-M on the gearstick.

Moving it to M engages manual control and manual changes can be made by pushing forwards or backwards on the gearstick, or using paddles behind the steering wheel.  Sometimes just using paddles is enough to engage manual mode temporarily if required.

I’ve read the manual. And?…no D-M on my auto. Honda Jazz hybrid

Car_54

daveyjp said:

Inforapennyinforapound said:

daveyjp said:

The one time you may have to be involved with an auto is if it runs away down hills.  If you find yourself sitting on the brakes it’s time to lock it into a lower gear so you can make use of engine braking, just as you would drop down gears in a manual.

How do I lock into a lower gear? It’s an automatic..more confused now

Time to read the manual.  Many modern autos have D-M on the gearstick.

And many (if not most these days) don't have a gearstick.

WellKnownSid

Car_54 said:

daveyjp said:

Inforapennyinforapound said:

daveyjp said:

The one time you may have to be involved with an auto is if it runs away down hills.  If you find yourself sitting on the brakes it’s time to lock it into a lower gear so you can make use of engine braking, just as you would drop down gears in a manual.

How do I lock into a lower gear? It’s an automatic..more confused now

Time to read the manual.  Many modern autos have D-M on the gearstick.

And many (if not most these days) don't have a gearstick.

Teslas don’t even have a thing which isn’t a gearstick. Unless you swipe otherwise it tries to guess which direction you are intending to go.

Iceweasel

Inforapennyinforapound said:

Iceweasel said:

facade said:

Iceweasel said:

Grumpy_chap said:

badmemory said:

Thanks for the info everyone.  The next question I need to ask myself is if at my age it is a good idea to change the kind of car I am driving.  I have been driving manual for 60 years now & don't need to think about what my hands & feet are doing.  Guess I will need to stick with manual for now.  But give me a year & I could well be ready for the next new challenge.

Driving an auto is less to do than driving a manual so not really a challenge.

You are so very wrong if you really think that.

However, if you meant that as a joke,  then ha ha very funny, I like it.

I've been driving autos (and manuals) for over 40 years, and there is less to do in an auto- kind of the point of having one!

I just select D and never mess with the gears again until I stop, or have to change direction.

The only time I've ever messed with the gears when going forwards was in my old RangeRover, when I put it in 1 to go down a slope that I wouldn't have tried to walk down myself!

However, driving with two feet has stored dozens of fault codes in my Citroen, as Citroen think it is impossible to press the brake with the accelerator still pressed, so there has to be a fault with the switches in the pedals!

I'm not going to unlearn over 40 years of driving with two feet at my age........

It's because you don't, in your words "mess with the gears" that there is less for you to do.

I must agree that if one selects D and do nothing else then you have chosen to have far less to do - and if that is how you want an auto to perform then that's great.

Some of us are far more involved in the driving experience than others and make use of the considerable extra control and choice of gears that a modern auto brings.

That is why most performance cars no longer offer a manual - because the driver can choose to be much more involved than just move a gear lever and operate the clutch.

In heavy 'stop-go' traffic I leave the auto-box to do it's own thing, but for the rest of the time it is me, the driver, who makes the decisions.

Sorry Iceweasel I don’t understand your reply. I have just bought my first auto after 50 yrs . All I do is put it in D and away I go. How do I become more involved? Unless I’m reversing ? My ‘modern’ auto doesn’t offer changingBut gear etc so how do you ‘as the driver make decisions’?

I appreciate there will be an answer ro my question but confused how I can be more involved. My car is a Honda fwiw

Page 366 / 367 in the Honda Jazz Hybrid manual explains how to make selections.

But as far as I can see some models don't have  the drive mode option.

A Honda Jazz CVT has 7 gears which one can 'mess with' or not according to the driver's wishes.