Never driven an automatic before...

[3xpendable]

cerb4.5lee said:

Agree with this, two pedal cars are so boring and relaxing to drive you tend to stop concentrating really quickly.

So what about a 3 pedal car on the motorway where you're sat in top gear for possibly hours on end? Are you saying you stop concentrating then too?

[lostkiwi]

Otispunkmeyer said:

I had read that if you've just done some heavy braking, its not advisable to sit there with your pads clamped to a hot disc. You may leave a residue-y patch on your discs and then wonder why you get juddering the next time you brake.

I think its more the pads don't allow the disc to cool evenly and create a hot spot where the pad is. This can cause the surface to change structure to cementite - a very hard crystalline form of iron which then forms a hardened high spot on the disc which doesn't wear at the same rate as the rest of the disc and causes judder. .

[lostkiwi]

3xpendable said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Agree with this, two pedal cars are so boring and relaxing to drive you tend to stop concentrating really quickly.

So what about a 3 pedal car on the motorway where you're sat in top gear for possibly hours on end? Are you saying you stop concentrating then too?

Not sure I'd call an F1 car relaxing.....and they only have 2 pedals.

[cerb4.5lee]

3xpendable said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Agree with this, two pedal cars are so boring and relaxing to drive you tend to stop concentrating really quickly.

So what about a 3 pedal car on the motorway where you're sat in top gear for possibly hours on end? Are you saying you stop concentrating then too?

Its said a little bit tongue in cheek however I do still think a two pedal car changes the feel of a car straight away as they are more set up for cruising/relaxing to my mind, if you are a track junkie then because they are faster/quicker shifting then I would imagine they work well in that environment.

[Mr E]

hora said:

I thought only old rich women (like Jeremy Clarkson) and middle age housewifes drove automatics?

The family car didn't have a manual option with an engine I was prepared to accept.

[Ste1987]

hora said:

I thought only old rich women (like Jeremy Clarkson) and middle age housewifes drove automatics?

The genuine users are those injured/can't use a manual

Edited by hora on Tuesday 7th July 10:56

And Americans/Candians

I'm quite happy to drive auto when abroad. Hate the idea of changing gear with my right hand

[E65Ross]

My car has an automatic park function.... Once stationary it applies the parking brake, so take your foot off the brake pedal and you won't roll forwards. As soon as you touch the accelerator pedal it disengages the brake and away you go

[va1o]

This is where auto hold and stop start come into their own! Once I've stopped using the foot brake in my car (MK7 Golf DSG) the engine turns off and car automatically brakes without me needing to keep the pedal pressed down. Don't need to change the gear or touch the handbrake, just press the accelerator when ready to move of

In older cars I would generally keep the brake pedal pressed down in Drive, only moving to Neutral when stopping for an extended period. Handbrake only for parking unless it's a very long stop.

[3xpendable]

cerb4.5lee said:

Its said a little bit tongue in cheek however I do still think a two pedal car changes the feel of a car straight away as they are more set up for cruising/relaxing to my mind, if you are a track junkie then because they are faster/quicker shifting then I would imagine they work well in that environment.

Thats fair enough and I agree that for my weekend/hobby/track car I would probably have a manual (Thats said, my Cooper S auto is a hoot). However for ROAD daily driving, especially in cities. I can't see why anyone would like a manual. Slowly but surely all my family members who branded me 'an old man' when I got my first Automatic at 22 have now switched after driving my cars for a bit. For road driving I just want the easiest A-B.

hora said:

I thought only old rich women (like Jeremy Clarkson) and middle age housewifes drove automatics?

The genuine users are those injured/can't use a manual

Edited by hora on Tuesday 7th July 10:56

I know you are probably jesting, but I will just add I can drive manuals and have been able to since I was 10, but for road driving I choose Auto every time and people who whine about auto's usually have never driven one or don't know how to drive one.

[cerb4.5lee]

3xpendable said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Its said a little bit tongue in cheek however I do still think a two pedal car changes the feel of a car straight away as they are more set up for cruising/relaxing to my mind, if you are a track junkie then because they are faster/quicker shifting then I would imagine they work well in that environment.

Thats fair enough and I agree that for my weekend/hobby/track car I would probably have a manual (Thats said, my Cooper S auto is a hoot). However for ROAD daily driving, especially in cities. I can't see why anyone would like a manual. Slowly but surely all my family members who branded me 'an old man' when I got my first Automatic at 22 have now switched after driving my cars for a bit. For road driving I just want the easiest A-B.

Yes as a daily they do work because they are relaxing and easy to drive and both our current cars are auto but I still hanker after a manual though and I had more fun driving the transit van that I hired the other weekend than I do driving the auto`s we have.

I just really enjoy cog swapping and it just adds to the driving experience for me personally.

[jmorgan]

hora said:

I thought only old rich women (like Jeremy Clarkson) and middle age housewifes drove automatics?

The genuine users are those injured/can't use a manual

Edited by hora on Tuesday 7th July 10:56

Meh. Great for getting around traffic and clogged motorways and long commutes. Keep the manual for where the roads will allow. Stuck on the M6, yeah, that will sort out the men from the boys in a manual...... practicing their F1 gear changes and making F1 car noises.

[SidJames]

auto handbrake here, with auto cruise. This means I can read my emails on heads up in stop start traffic, and not worry about what goes on in front or behind me.















Joking a little bit only.

[parabolica]

PanzerCommander said:

I have always left mine in D and just put the handbrake on, unless I am going to be stopped for a few seconds then I just use the foot brake.

My sister did this (leave in D and put the handbrake on) the first time she drove my 645 as she does it in her auto; only difference is the grunt of my engine still pulls the car forward even with the handbrake fully on so you need to put it into P.

[cerb4.5lee]

lostkiwi said:

Not sure I'd call an F1 car relaxing.....and they only have 2 pedals.

I still reckon they must be far more relaxing to drive now than when they used to have a manual gearbox and didn't have all the nanny aids that come with them in this day and age too.

[PanzerCommander]

cerb4.5lee said:

DCT/S-Tronic/PDK/slush they all send me to sleep but appreciate most people nowadays love the two pedal/paddles set up(as its fashionable) but I prefer the old school stick and three pedal way.

The two pedal way is quicker for sure but more enjoyable it certainly isn't.

I meant more the car it is fitted to. The slush box in Mustang is great (ignore the performance of v6 rent-a-wrecks as they are hideous). Fantastic for daily use and general driving and totally consistent on the drag strip; no worries about losing a race due to a miss timed (or missed) shift. B road bashing - no problem, it has so much torque that you just put it in 3rd and leave it there, it maxes out at 90mph in 3rd (just before the limiter) which is more than enough.

Whereas the diesel automatic S-Max I once drove as a hire was duller than a dull thing.

[cerb4.5lee]

PanzerCommander said:

cerb4.5lee said:

DCT/S-Tronic/PDK/slush they all send me to sleep but appreciate most people nowadays love the two pedal/paddles set up(as its fashionable) but I prefer the old school stick and three pedal way.

The two pedal way is quicker for sure but more enjoyable it certainly isn't.

I meant more the car it is fitted to. The slush box in Mustang is great (ignore the performance of v6 rent-a-wrecks as they are hideous). Fantastic for daily use and general driving and totally consistent on the drag strip; no worries about losing a race due to a miss timed (or missed) shift. B road bashing - no problem, it has so much torque that you just put it in 3rd and leave it there, it maxes out at 90mph in 3rd (just before the limiter) which is more than enough.

Whereas the diesel automatic S-Max I once drove as a hire was duller than a dull thing.

Yes I can see where you are coming from and missing a gear in a manual at a crucial time is annoying for sure and an auto does make fast driving a lot easier and I don't mean that to sound as a criticism.

[Ares]

IMO - clue to driving automatics is in the name. It's automatic, you don't need to touch the lever.

Park. When you park
Drive. When you drive or will want to drive shortly
Reverse. When you want to reverse.
Neutral. Never used.

My car goes in Drive when I first set off and the lever doesn't get touched until I reach a destination and 'Park'.

I see no point in buying an auto and still moving the lever every time you stop?

The Park Hold function is also useful, but only in stationary/StopStart traffic to save your right foot.

[cerb4.5lee]

Ares said:

My car goes in Drive when I first set off and the lever doesn't get touched until I reach a destination and 'Park'.

I don't use the paddles or the lever in the 6 series but I do knock it across into sport if I am using the sport plus setting though, I find using the paddles on a diesel is a tad unrewarding because the gearbox always seems to choose the correct gear anyway.

[Ares]

cerb4.5lee said:

Ares said:

My car goes in Drive when I first set off and the lever doesn't get touched until I reach a destination and 'Park'.

I don't use the paddles or the lever in the 6 series but I do knock it across into sport if I am using the sport plus setting though, I find using the paddles on a diesel is a tad unrewarding because the gearbox always seems to choose the correct gear anyway.

I just use the toggle switch to switch between settings. Agree on paddles - only exception is to hold a gear before overtaking, but in sport or sport+, the gear change is quick enough to make it largely fruitless.

Only thing that the auto can do post Schnitzer tweak is drop it too many gears - obviously based on the standard map, whereas increased torque and increase peak means the gear up is a better choice.

[aeropilot]

Tractor lad said:

PanzerCommander said:

Other way around surely?

Lack of use means it will start sticking, if you continually use it it will wear at exactly the same rate as a manual.

A persistent brake grumbling issue on our 335d was solved by not using the handbrake.

Likely then the parking brake on the rear of a 335d is a small drum unit, and the transmission creep from the high level of torque at idle speed from the 35d engine is about the same as the holding capacity of the parking brake, hence the creaking noise of the engine pulling against the brake.