brickboy

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The IAM advises motorists to use third gear in 30mph limits, to reduce the risk of exceeding the speed limit without being aware.

Surely a lower gear = more response per given twitch of the throttle = more chance of exceeding the limit?

How about watching the bloody speedo?

ChrisB

5th for 30?

Maybe in a Bentley GT or 911 Turbo...

boxst

Hello

The Supra will happily do 30 in 6th gear. And I seem to remember my Subaru being okay at 30 in 5th?

Steve.

Katana

Mine is perfectly fine in 5th.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I normally chug around in 4th or 5th most of the time - just waste fuel otherwise. Only time I'll use 3rd or 2nd to keep to the speed limit is down steep hills (where round here, they've convieniently fitted speed cameras ) Saves riding the brakes, and getting me wheels dirty

Scooby don't like anything below 40mph in 5th that's after the decat...it was about 50mph before. Probably due to it being taller geared than the JDM's.

Franx

Perhaps the only advantage of having a GL, is that you can chug along in traffic jams in 1st gear low range, & not have to slow down. Can't say I use them much otherwise. My car won't do 30 in 5th though.

ChrisB

My de-cat UK Scoob didn't like 5th at 30 at all.

Katana - you're cheating with an RA box

RB5-Black

40 is about the min for a UK in 5th.... It tries to rattle its self to bits any lower than that

Poor Guy

So why does my driving instructor tell me i must be in 4th @ 25mph then?

im increasing my risk of a speeding fine! Git.

boxst

Hello

The Japanese imported ones are differently geared then I guess, as my WRX STI Type-R was fine in 5th at 30mph. Not that you could accelerate away extremely quickly, but the engine would tick along nicely.

Steve.

Leslie

Someone clutching at straws over taking a higher gear I think. My Scoob will bumble along happily at 30 in top, but I usually use third or fourth depending because it is better for the engine.

Les

V5

I can only think that they mean that by being in third the revs are a bit higher so it's a bit noisier therefore giving an impression of speed. Daft? Dunno?!

ScoobyJawa

To be honest, with my auto Supra stick it in drive and its soooo easy to speed. But if I manually shift and hold it in 3rd it keeps my speed down in 30 and 40's, so I guess what they are suggesting I already do!

TBMeech

I use 3rd in whatever car I am driving....

Because, you are revving higher than say if you were in 4th or 5th, you automatically think that you are going faster than what you are actually are doing (because of the engine noise etc), its a trick of the mind.

So therefore slows you down in a 30mph zone.

Spoon

Oh dear, another message for the dim who wouldn't know what speed they were doing even if it was stamped on the back of the windscreen.

I can imagine the noise pollution now with shop windows rattling and small kids taking cover in shopping bags.

Mind you with a de-cat and anti-lag it may well be a good idea to do it on a regular basis, maybe then the camera's will be taken away due to the excessive noise created from this advice.

Group 3rd gear on a street near you anybody?

Katana

Hehe. But thanks to my RA box, it feels that I'm killing the engine travelling at that speed.

LG John

I hit scoobynet this morning in rant mode over this one. Just how thick are they?

It'll cost more on fuel, will create more pollution, will create more noise and in the case of more powerful cars could cause a jolt of acceleration if you hit a pothole causing a slight dip in the throttle. Thick as ****!!

AllanB

When I heard this on the breakfast telly I was sure this was a wind up. it appears it for real, how scary !

Surely people who need this kind of advice should be rounded up and shot. Maybe not being terminally stupid should be part of the driving test.

Its not exactly rocket science to stick to a speed limit is it ?


AllanB

lmsbman

As an Advanced Police Instructor I think I can answer your question. A good driver will always be in the most responsive gear for evey situation. The idea behind this isn't just about acceleration, but deceleration. You are driving at 30mph and see something happen ahead and decide to ease off, if you are in 5th gear, nothing will happen for a while. If you are in 3rd you will slow down almost instantaneously.This is called acceleration sense and minimises the need to keep jabbing the brakes.(Have you ever followed a car that keeps jabbing the brakes every few seconds? Annoying isn't it!)
I realise that this isn't exactly the best for fuel consumption, but it is the safest way to travel. You will find that a lot of Police Advanced drivers will travel at 30mph in 2nd gear.

TopBanana

I find it's usually because they're driving too close to the car in front.

Because they're not paying for the fuel!

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

my uk car will drive at 30mph in 5th gear no probs as well

LG John

lmsbman, if you are keeping a safe enough distance and reading the road conditions ahead then there is no reason why you can't safely drive in 4th or 5th gear. In the event of an emergency, engine braking from 30mph when full on the brakes won't make much if any real difference. I only drop through the gears in emergency braking from 70mph and it does make a difference then.

CTR

Dont see how it would help to drive along at the speed limit, people must be aware of what speed they are doing regardless of gear.

I drive along in 3rd in a 30 limit, I actually find it easier to keep a constant speed, rather than trying to do it in top gear where you will have to depress the accelerator further to get any sort of acceleration, or take about 60 years for your acceleration, and deceleration for that matter.

Besides 3rd to 2nd is shorter than 5th to 2nd when you enter the NSL at the end of the 30 limit

I once read an letter in a magazine or a paper about some bloke complaining that his Diesel Mondeo accelerated in 5th when at 30mph. The car was doing this to stop itself from stalling. I actually thought it was a bit sad to write a letter about it after Ford had told him the reason why. Dont see why it was such a problem for him to use a lower gear.

MooseRacer

Surely the point is that to do 30mph in 2nd or 3rd gears takes at least some 'effort'.

Most cars these days will potter at 30 in 5th without any effort at all. Go down a slight hill and they will coast upto 40 or more without mr average dunce driver even noticing, or doing, anything.

boomer

On the BBC news this morning was some dopey woman who said something along the lines of "i just keep changing up until i get to fifth" and "heck, i never realised that it was a 30mph zone"

With roadsense like that, speed is the last thing that the authorities should be concentrating on [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

mb (3rd in a "slow" 30 zone, and 4th in a "fast" one)

unclebuck

What worries me about this is that all the driving gimps will see this advice from 'advanced drivers' and try to emulate it. Now we're going to have all the micra and clio drivers pottering around *even slower* in third gear

What a prospect.

UB

[Edited by unclebuck - 1/3/2004 12:19:04 AM]

paulr

Doesn't driving in too low a gear harm the engine?Doing 30 in fifth,what sort of revs is that?

midget1500

i agree with imsbman, everyone thinks i'm nuts but i will be in 2nd/3rd in 30 zones depending on the car. i want to be in a responsive gear at all times unless i'm cruising on the motorway/carriageway etc. i would argue that in 5th gear at 30mph most cars aren't happy.

also - someone mentioned fuel effeciency? errmm, just coz u are in 5th gear at 30 and flogging the car along doesn't mean it isn't dumping fuel into the engine just to go nowhere. IIRC most cars are most effecient around 2500rpm which means most cars are geared to be most effecient around 55mph.

but yes, a friend of mine did the IAM test and he thinks he's a god on the road. in fact he can't drive for **** and is now more arrogant that ever, so personally i have no time for people that think they are advanced because a bit of paper says so.

steven

jaf01uk

I also agree with imsbman and I also teach roadcraft (advanced if you like) driving, and as he said the engine should be held in the middle of the rev range at whatever speed you happen to be at for a couple of reasons, ie, in 5th at 30 you will actually decrease fuel consumption cos the car is labouring like hell and you have to give it loads of gas for a small increase in speed, the other reason is as he also said if you have the revs mid way up the counter the engine braking can be enough for small adjustments in speed to match changing conditions or traffic flow rather than keeping going at exactly the same speed which the higher gear would cause, motorway jams are quite often caused by the lack of proper acceleration sense and results in each driver braking slightly harder than the one in front because the one at the front is dabbing brakes all the time in reaction to changes rather than backing off the gas for a second or two,
Gary.


PS. Drivers slagging off advanced techniques really ought to re read some of the badly un-educated previous posts,

sparkykev

So won't driving around in a lower gear than necessary, just to keep your speed down, cause you to use more fuel, and give off more emissions... Mmmm.... nice one Govt.