RE: The Right Gear

[M Driver]

About time. I hate sitting with drivers when in town and you can that load on the gears - the point where the oil is squeezed out of the bearings during high gear, low speed.

Besides, I get 5 mpg more than anyone pootling along and my engines last forever. Proper application of the throttle is often a gift. Some drivers will never get it. High gearers go hand-in-hand with brake dabbers - see a bend and they touch the brake pedal.

[Speed_Demon]

That's quite the bump.

I've always used lowers gears in lower limits due to the better control it gives, saved me a couple of times and it's nice putting your foot down or lifting off and getting a good response.

[crosseyedlion]

Oooo goody. Was this followed by a lecture about correct usage of the clutch?

Also, unless the chauffeur was a total moron and didn't know how to put the bmw 750's gearbox into 's' (which, even very heavily loaded would see the car give a golden shower to an ask of a 60mph ish country road) ...i'm calling that anecdote horsepoop.

[Lanceb]

All cars are different and it depends on road conditions on a straight bit of 30 I may be in 5 th gentle cruising up a hill I may use 3rd or second on a 40 i maybe in 6th like wise on a de restricted road with lots of bends I could be using 2nd 3rd 4th or 5th or even 6th. I always prefer a lower gear for control but a higher gear Fuel economy although I do drive a very torquey car that will pull happily throughout the rev range.

[driverrob]

I thought the reference to auto-box driving was particularly good.
Just a week or two after swapping my GTO for the Jeep (the first automatic I've actually owned) I was returning from Goodwood and entering a damp, twisty downhill section.
It took a second too long to realise I had no engine braking and I even briefly dabbed at the brake before realising what I needed to do.