Acceleration Nonsense

[TooMany2cvs]

p1esk said:

I've come to the conclusion that minimising the use of brakes can yield considerable improvements in fuel economy

Indeed. The quick'n'easy phrase I've heard over the years is that "the right pedal uses fuel, the middle pedal wastes fuel".

[Rick101]

I've done IAM and find their message quite confusing. I've had mixed messages and can't understand whether it's about safety, economy, or performance!

Personally, I'm not in the slightest bit bothered about fuel economy or saving pad material etc. I drive with mechanical sympathy, but I drive for fun, not tootle along on a fuel saving exercise!

[Variomatic]

Rick101 said:

I've done IAM and find their message quite confusing. I've had mixed messages and can't understand whether it's about safety, economy, or performance!

I've never received any advanced training but, from everything I've read here and elsewhere, always thought that the message was pretty straightforward. Safety (including any effect you may have on other drivers)is paramount, beyond that it's up to you and the moment.

The same skills can be applied in different balance to achieve a relaxing, economic, cruise across the country or an exhilarating hoon (probably not an IAM approved term?)around some A roads, or anything in between, depending on your requirements at the time. Just like a skilled pianist can use the same fingers on the same keyboard to play anything from Beethoven to Jerry Lee Lewis.

[SVS]

I'd suggest that the IAM offers a balance of improved safety and performance (i.e. improving both). IAM training gives a basic foundation in the rudiments of the police system of driving, for which the purpose is to drive quicky whilst maintaining a very high level of safety. (Though the pace of an IAM drive is nothing like as fast as the police!)

Any improvement in fuel economy is merely a spin-off benefit, IMO, resulting from improved acceleration sense.

[otolith]

All else being equal, if you are driving efficiently you will use less fuel and consumables than if you are not.

It may be possible to drive more efficiently still if all else is not equal, but that's another matter.

[Pit Pony]

R_U_LOCAL said:

Stuff!

Or put more simply, "The accelerator pedal is NOT an ON/OFF switch"

[R_U_LOCAL]

Rick101 said:

I've done IAM and find their message quite confusing. I've had mixed messages and can't understand whether it's about safety, economy, or performance!

Personally, I'm not in the slightest bit bothered about fuel economy or saving pad material etc. I drive with mechanical sympathy, but I drive for fun, not tootle along on a fuel saving exercise!

I understand your confusion. Keep,coming back to the forum - I've a couple of pieces forming in my mind that I'll commit to posts over the next few weeks, one of which will be an examination of the true meaning of "advanced" driving.

[BertBert]

SVS said:

I'd suggest that the IAM offers a balance of improved safety and performance (i.e. improving both). IAM training gives a basic foundation in the rudiments of the police system of driving, for which the purpose is to drive quicky whilst maintaining a very high level of safety. (Though the pace of an IAM drive is nothing like as fast as the police!)

Any improvement in fuel economy is merely a spin-off benefit, IMO, resulting from improved acceleration sense.

Well my experience differs. The IAM lot I tried were a load of old duffers who had no idea about performance and not much more about safety.

YMMV.
Bert

[SVS]

Bert, how long ago was this? There were old dianosaurs like this in the IAM, but many are now extinct. IAM head office has been working to speed up evolution, by improving its training of Observers to weed out the dinosaurs.

Thankfully my IAM experience was good! Though in all large organisations, and in all subjects, there will always be a spectrum of instructors from good to bad. A good thing about the IAM, however, is that it's easy to change Observer. (I did.)

[alangtt]

Thanks', an interesting read. look forward to the next one

[TackMEU]

Very well written post and almost exactly as I was taught on my road craft course.

I had always tended to have good throttle use and always looked a long way ahead, but the course taught me much more and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If people enjoyed the read, sign yourself up to one. No one is as good as they think they are, I improved no end after and continue to learn now.

Jason

[Dr Jekyll]

SVS said:

Bert, how long ago was this? There were old dianosaurs like this in the IAM, but many are now extinct. IAM head office has been working to speed up evolution, by improving its training of Observers to weed out the dinosaurs.

Thankfully my IAM experience was good! Though in all large organisations, and in all subjects, there will always be a spectrum of instructors from good to bad. A good thing about the IAM, however, is that it's easy to change Observer. (I did.)

I did IAM in the car a few years back, tried to do it on the bike but gave up months ago because I just didn't feel safe taking blind bends at the speeds they seemed to recommend. It's noticeable that when I was involved with the IAM 20 years ago accidents were almost unheard of in the bike group, when they had occurred they had been SMIDSYs. Last year the main topic of discussion at every meeting seemed to be the medical prognosis on whoever had been seriously injured last month. Usually in a single vehicle accident.

The IAM seems to have gone out of their way to attract the kind of people who wear kneesliders and regard crashing as part of life's rich tapestry.

[AW111]

I find it applies particularly to commuting.

I drive 25 km each way through reasonably light traffic, where the speed limit is some 60 kph, some 100 kph, most 80 kph, and traffic mostly flows around or a bit below the limit.
I really only use the brakes to stop at the lights, usually fairly gently, yet I keep up with the traffic quite comfortably and gently ease through it at the speed limit most days.
So many times I see multiple brake lights ahead, ease off, and by the time I get there I barely need to brake.

[BertBert]

SVS said:

Bert, how long ago was this?

It was about 8 years ago. I'm sure it was just down to the individuals involved, but we didn't get on at all.
Bert

[SnowyQuattro]

Gotta say these threads by R_U_LOCAL are outstanding! I gravitated to this sub-forum due to anticipating the purchase of my highest bhp vehicle to date and have not been disappointed with the value I have gained already.

I am not generally a lover of rigid or highly prescriptive sets of rules as they are often created by individuals with agendas that arguably serve the interests of the few whilst trampling on the many..... However, I have also long felt that The Highway Code is THE PRE-EMINENT and inarguably benevolent rule set. Motoring on today's busy roads is SO hazardous that it is only road user's shared understanding of this tight rule set that prevents the incident / injury rate from skyrocketing. (cf Italy - approximately 20-50 road deaths EVERY bank holiday weekend due to (my theory - I am half Italian) the inability or, more likely, ego-based unwillingness to conform to the benevolent rule set when behind the wheel. The italian driver VERY frequently has an "I am here! Stuff you!" attitude that frequently translates into recklessly contemptuous behaviour on the roads. I digress...lol

What this and other similar threads on here have done for me thus far is remind me that, whilst an essential base, the Highway Code is just the beginning of real competence as a driver.

When I did my big bike test a few years ago, the extreme vulnerability of being on two wheels compared to 4 (with one driving wheel instead of my usual quattro-four) I went into a virtual 3 week concentration-trance and tried to soak in every word the ex-police bike instructor uttered. The use of observation to anticipate lane changes by vehicles when filtering through relatively slow-moving traffic and general use of observation through all ranges resulted in me becoming somewhat obsessed with 'acceleration sense'.. FWIW I would recommend going through big bike training with a good police instructor even if you have no wish to ride a big bike. It WILL provide opportunities for significant improvement in your driving...

I posted elsewhere that I had been told by several passengers that my driving is 'smooth' even though I know that I don't actively rev-match when changing gear and am conscious of the slight jerkiness on some gear changes... What I now realise from reading these threads is that I have become really not too bad at all at managing the speed of my vehicle using 'acceleration sense'. I have become so light on my brakes that pads wear out at less than a 3rd of the rate that they used to. Tyres also wear much more slowly. I actually find the anticipation process that makes this possible quite engaging!..... And all because.....

I AM TIGHT-FISTED! Yup, being financially prudent (euphemism?! lol) has made me a bit safer as a driver! - I resent the duty on fuel and wish to minimise my spend on consumables so I discovered that I could achieve pretty good results in both these categories by adjusting my driving style! It seems that, for many drivers, there is a constant trade-off occurring between driving enjoyment on the one hand and driving safety / economy on the other. I am grateful that I don't need to be reckless or overly speedy in order to enjoy a drive.

I'm still hunting for a new car at the moment but I gotta say I am really excited at the prospect of a properly trained police driving instructor helping me improve - Thanks, Reg, for these thought-provoking threads!

[BGarside]

Being quite gentle on the brakes myself, the problem I find is that the discs corrode badyl, as my car lives outside in the wind and rain, and spends quite a bit of time parked up, so I find I have to give the brakes a fairly hard work-out when I drive the car just to stop the corrosion getting too deep and writing off the discs.

The pads also wear out faster, esp. at the rear, due to the abrasive effect of iron oxide between the discs and pads...

[SnowyQuattro]

Yeah that has been a slight issue for me, too, come to think of it! Only had a bit of extra brake-squeak during periods of constant rain so far...

[Jon1967x]

BGarside said:

Being quite gentle on the brakes myself, the problem I find is that the discs corrode badyl, as my car lives outside in the wind and rain, and spends quite a bit of time parked up, so I find I have to give the brakes a fairly hard work-out when I drive the car just to stop the corrosion getting too deep and writing off the discs.

The pads also wear out faster, esp. at the rear, due to the abrasive effect of iron oxide between the discs and pads...

When I go out, especially if the road looks a little wet or greasy, and given I live in the countryside so its probably easier, I might often do a pointless harder stop just to get a feel for the grip levels. Its very easy in the countryside to be travelling not very fast but have surprisingly long stopping distances when tyres are cold, roads are a little muddy or dusty etc. Its good to know what you've got, helps calibrate stopping distances especially if you drive more than one car, and I guess has the benefit of cleaning up the brakes a little. I drive probably 4 miles before I get to a main road and I might do it twice over that distance. Cold (summer) tyres are surprisingly bad at stopping in my experience.

I tried the exercise of driving without brakes the other day and a big heavy automatic car is like an oil tanker in its inability to slow down when easing off the gas, and that an incline or decline has a much more significant effect than I'd imagined - I eased off on what I thought was a flat piece of motorway at 70 and it took for what seemed forever to drop to even 65 mph, maybe half a mile.

[otolith]

BGarside said:

Being quite gentle on the brakes myself, the problem I find is that the discs corrode badyl, as my car lives outside in the wind and rain, and spends quite a bit of time parked up, so I find I have to give the brakes a fairly hard work-out when I drive the car just to stop the corrosion getting too deep and writing off the discs.

I have this problem on the Elise.

[blearyeyedboy]

R_U_LOCAL said:

I've a couple of pieces forming in my mind that I'll commit to posts over the next few weeks, one of which will be an examination of the true meaning of "advanced" driving.

I look forward to them!