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Old 5th April 2022, 08:17   #11
Mike Noc
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Keeping your foot off the brake pedal is by far the best way to improve fuel consumption. Amazes me how some people just look at the car in front of them and are constantly on and off the brake pedal. When I taught my kids to drive I made sure they were aware of what was happening in the distance to save fuel. See the lights change to red further down the road, then take your foot straight off the gas pedal - no point in continuing to add fuel only to hit the brakes a few seconds later. Give a bit more space between you and the car in front and keep an eye on the horizon and you can reduce wasting fuel by braking.

And as I'm old school I still engine brake - the diesels shut off fuel when the car is above engine idle speed.

Drove coaches back in the day and you had more choices of braking - exhaust brake and an hydraulic retarder were options.
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Old 5th April 2022, 08:22   #12
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What learner drivers are taught nowadays is to "Block Change" where you brake to slow down and then go directly to the gear you then need say 4th straight to 2nd or 5th to 3rd dependant on what you are doing next. Engine braking is now frowned upon.
I was taught that 50 years ago!! They were only four speed boxes so it was 4 to 2
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Old 5th April 2022, 08:49   #13
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I remember when I started driving (2000) it was Block Change from say 4 to 2, but when I became a member of the IAM they encouraged driving in a flexible gear like 3rd at 30mph and encouraged engine braking.
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Old 5th April 2022, 09:05   #14
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As an Ex Driving Instructor learner drivers were Never taught to park on the "Wrong" side of the road.
sorry not park, pull up and reverse. My mistake
https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2017/08...ers-will-give/

May need to scroll down. I challenged this maneuver on an Ashley Neal video and was told it is part of driving test.

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Old 5th April 2022, 09:52   #15
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What learner drivers are taught nowadays is to ... brake to slow down and then go directly to the gear you then need say 4th straight to 2nd ...
That technique has two disadvantages.
  1. Traffic conditions alter at short notice so not changing down through the gearbox can leave you in the wrong gear.
  2. It doesn't give the benefit of engine braking or the best vehicle control through being in the correct gear for the road speed at any given time (particularly when descending a hill ).
The authorities have missed the point. Changing down progressively has got nothing to do with compensating for old fashioned "inefficient" brakes.

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Old 5th April 2022, 09:57   #16
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  1. Traffic conditions alter at short notice so not changing down through the gearbox can leave you in the wrong gear.
Simon

That is not logical. So you change down through the gear box rather than change straight to 2 which was the correct gear to be in. You should alter your driving technique to suit the circumstances
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Old 5th April 2022, 10:00   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Noc View Post
Keeping your foot off the brake pedal is by far the best way to improve fuel consumption. Amazes me how some people just look at the car in front of them and are constantly on and off the brake pedal. When I taught my kids to drive I made sure they were aware of what was happening in the distance to save fuel. See the lights change to red further down the road, then take your foot straight off the gas pedal - no point in continuing to add fuel only to hit the brakes a few seconds later. Give a bit more space between you and the car in front and keep an eye on the horizon and you can reduce wasting fuel by braking.

And as I'm old school I still engine brake - the diesels shut off fuel when the car is above engine idle speed.

Drove coaches back in the day and you had more choices of braking - exhaust brake and an hydraulic retarder were options.



Spot on Mike, it's surprising how much reading the road saves fuel and makes for a smoother drive.


I've always set myself a little challenge when driving or riding a motorbike to try to do the journey without actually coming to a stop simply by reading the road, easing off the gas, engine braking etc. it's surprising what you can achieve when you get into it, obviously care must be taken not to baulk others behind.


An easy way of reducing consumption is to control what your right foot is doing, as my dad used to say " Drive as if you had slippers on, not clogs. "


I do many trips through out the year / years down to my caravan, both by car and motorbike, about 160 miles and have done the non stop several times in the car, but far more frequently on the bike, being able to chose the time of day to travel helps a lot though.


I'm amazed how many drivers there are these days who think the accelerator is an on, off switch, foot either off the pedal or flat to the floor, they usually have an excessively noisy exhaust, loud dump valve, and, or a re-map, allows a small amount of fuel to be injected on overrun, too weak to be ignited in the combustion chamber but ignites in the hot exhaust to create pops and bangs on the overrun, hoping that the result will have folk looking at their car.................the ohh look at me crowd.
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Old 5th April 2022, 10:04   #18
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Originally Posted by another_clean_sheet View Post
That is not logical. So you change down through the gear box rather than change straight to 2 which was the correct gear to be in. You should alter your driving technique to suit the circumstances
You're jumping to the end of the manoeuvre assuming you'll eventually be in second or first to move away.

But meanwhile you're coasting up to the lights in 4th, 5th etc., then the lights change and you're not in the right gear (let's say third) to accelerate away. Plus, back to the OP (as you're coasting) you're using more fuel.

Being in the right gear for whatever speed you're doing is what I was taught in the early eighties.
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Old 5th April 2022, 10:05   #19
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Originally Posted by macafee2 View Post
I have heard this reason before but it just makes me ask, when was the last time a gearbox was changed due to engine breaking? We have signs that tell use to use a low gear for descending hills. Your daughter may also be taught to park on the wrong side of the road, something I consider stupid and dangerous. anyway, good luck to he.

macafee2
I was a PSV instructor on manuals and autos. The mantra is, gears are for going, brakes for stopping.

The idea of driving is to be in the appropriate gear at all times and specifically before hazards. A simple example is approaching a roundabout on a dual carriageway. Do all the usual assessments on the approach and usually, stay in top gear. Having assessed the road and traffic, change directly into the correct gear for the speed and torque. This could mean a block change from top gear to maybe 2nd or 3rd, or if necessary, from top gear to 1st.

Likewise there is no need for sequential gear changes when moving off, especially downhill. It can be a case of maybe directly 2nd to 4th to 6th, or 1st 3rd to 6th. Just use whatever works, the driving by rote with sequential changes is long gone.

On a downhill in any vehicle but especially buses and trucks, asses the road and adjust your speed before the hazard, then select the appropriate gear. It is now considered incorrect to us the engine for initial braking but correct to use it to help maintain the set speed.
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Old 5th April 2022, 10:08   #20
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Originally Posted by Dashnine View Post
You're jumping to the end of the manoeuvre assuming you'll eventually be in second or first to move away.

But meanwhile you're coasting up to the lights in 4th, 5th etc., then the lights change and you're not in the right gear (let's say third) to accelerate away. Plus, back to the OP (as you're coasting) you're using more fuel.

Being in the right gear for whatever speed you're doing is what I was taught in the early eighties.

Well I would not pull away from a few mph in third would I? You change gear according to the actual circumstances which could mean changing down through the gear box but could also mean block changing.
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