I was told with, say, a give-way junction, was to prepare after doing the usual mirror/signalling/positioning was to brake, then engage 2nd when you reach an appropriate speed just before the junction.

Prepare to stop and look, if clear continue (whilst still in 2nd), if not stop - dipping clutch just before coming to a standstill. Engage hand brake and select 1st (or maybe engage 1st then handbrake - can't remember :o ).

Like jasonius said: I was also told it didn't matter if I was in 3rd, 4th or 5th, it is ok to stay in a high gear and block change (i.e skip gears) down the box just before the junction/roundabout. 5th was fine so long as the engine wasn't labouring - in which case select 3rd or 4th whilst slowing down. But the rule was always to get into 2nd before negotiating the junction/roundabout, unless you need to stop (i.e red light or Stop sign).

Obviously, this was eleven years ago, so it could be completely incorrect by modern standards.

Aye, very important on any car.


If you lock the propshaft on any car (or or the crownwheel/pinion of the diff - if its a traverse gearbox ;) ), this will lock BOTH the connected wheels. Even if the car has a normal open diff...the only way for one wheel to move is for the opposite wheel to rotate in the opposite direction. Thus neither wheel moves.

This is how Land Rovers (Series and Defenders) can lock both rear wheels by just having a single brake on the rear propshaft.

If selecting too low a gear and abruptly using the clutch it will cause BOTH driven wheel to lose grip and cause the car to slide. If its FWD, you go straight on, If its RWD you'll be going whichever way it pleases, if its AWD...pray! - it can do either! ;)

Someting to be well aware of when using low gears in ice and snow. Off road driving tutors say to use the highest gear possible without going faster than a walking pace downhill, partly for this reason.

I've just tried slowing down in gear to see what speed the car will stall at.

Car - 170PS Octavia vRS PD TDi

6th - Approx 25mph
5th - Approx 20mph.
4th - Approx 15-20mph

So, in my car at least, I either have to change down before coming to a halt, which means taking my hands off the wheel or dip the clutch at 20 mph. I think it is probably best to change to 4th when I am starting to slow before serious braking so that I can leave the clutch out that little bit longer.

Steve

Did you actually stall at these speeds..?

Yes.

Steve

Well a change down is obviously necessary, as you rightly said..;)

Did a quick test today, in my car I can come to a virtual stop whilst braking in 4th. When you did your test were you coasting in that gear to see when it stalled? I guess this would make it stall at a higher speen than when braking.

Braking, not coasting. To be honest I repeated this test in 4th and it was closer to 10mph when It was safe to watch the speedo rather than the road.

Steve

Right, I'm currently having to drive a hateful 1.6 Zafira due to my car being nicked :(

I repeated this test and was able to run along in 5th, almost to a standstill before the stall started. So, it is possible, just not in my high output diesel.

Steve

I use engine braking when approaching a junction/speed bump etc, braking while 'feeling' the engine and then dropping down through the gears squentially until I am stationary/slowing down to whatever speed I wanted.

This is not how I was taught, in fact driving tuitions are a bit fair and far apart these days. After I passed I was taken out by my father a few times and taught the 'proper' way to drive which helped.

Ok, first of all, tell your daughter to learn how to operate the clutch smoothly. Its a must! Downshifting is a part of life, whether your heel and toeing, or simply popping down a gear to either get some power down, or to slow you down.

"option 2, learn to heel and toe" - not an option, learn to drive the car normally before applying advanced techniques.

I often downshift, but in a sensible way, which doesnt use heel and toeing,but also doesnt cause the revs to fly up a couple of thousand revs.
Recently ive been learning to heel and toe, but i feel a smooth normal downshift is way more effective.
I also often coast, either in gear, or if see a some lights in neutral, but thats a big no no by the book, not advisable.

Clutches and brakes are made to be used, especially in high power cars like ours. When slowing down, i feel braking and a smooth downshift synchronized together are the most effective. As for bulk shifting, some people do it some people dont. The synchronizers and gears i feel are made to be shifted in order. when i sometimes bulk shift from 4th to 2nd, 2nd gear is hard to put in, as opposed to a 4,3,2 shift.

obviouslu get ur speed, ur gear, and ur view all checked and done before entering an obstacle/junction/roundabout.

and as mentioned, in the snow and ice, downshifts are invaluable, no locking up of wheels. I live in the mountains in japan, i hardly ever use my brakes in the snow, not using brakes smoothes out ur driving, and in some cases improves fuel economy.

to add to that, u should always be in a gear suited to ur speed, by which i mean, if u need to accelerate in a sudden situation (ie someones heading straight for you) 40mph in 4th isnt a good gear.

safe driving

mike

and none of the above will get the OP's daughter through her L test..!:rolleyes:

OP??

Not been around for a while....

Luckily. the driving instructor went away for a time so we bought her a Festa and my wife gave her some intensive training and she has now passed.

She is now going through the process of learning to drive rather than learning to pass a test.

I get the impression that your bulk shifting is not going so well due to not syncing your revs with your road speed. Not suggesting anyone tries this but you can change gear without the clutch just by making sure your revs match the road speed, bulk shifting or not.

Thanks for all your inputs by the way.

OP= original poster, so you..:D

Glad to hear she's passed, but remind her to never stop learning..!;)