Gear change indicators: Pointless nonsense or practical aid?
Discussion
I've never had one being an auto/old car driver, but I overheard in the office today, from a lady with a great driving record and a new car,
"It's got a gear change light, and now I always change when it tells me and wait for the little light".
So is she, in effect, driving a semi-autonomous semi-automatic where the clever computer instructs when to change, but she does work?
Just pondering...
"It's got a gear change light, and now I always change when it tells me and wait for the little light".
So is she, in effect, driving a semi-autonomous semi-automatic where the clever computer instructs when to change, but she does work?
Just pondering...
Vocal Minority said:
I take it as a direct insult to my judgement, driving ability and ultimately manhood.
But I am possibly over-reacting
But I am possibly over-reacting
Me too.In all honesty I can see the point. Most non-enthusiastic drivers I've ridden with have no concept of where to keep the revs, they just change up as much as possible to try and maximise economy. Yet riding along in a long 5th at 25mph they're doing the opposite!
philmots said:
They're probably very useful for those people who want to drive econoically but have no idea how to.
This. Unless the lady in question is driving a brand new Ferrari and is relying on the machine to tell her when the sweet spot for upshifts is. But I suspect it is the former.CurvaParabolica said:
philmots said:
They're probably very useful for those people who want to drive econoically but have no idea how to.
This. Unless the lady in question is driving a brand new Ferrari and is relying on the machine to tell her when the sweet spot for upshifts is. But I suspect it is the former.philmots said:
They're probably very useful for those people who want to drive econoically but have no idea how to.
Ignorance is more widspread than you might think.I had a drive in a car with prototype eco-shift lights, and it turns out what I thought was economical wasn't, because the people who programmed the lights and ECU knew more about their engines fuel consumption map than I did.
When bimbling along I followed the lights, when driving I ignored them. Saved fuel, had the same amount of fun, everybody wins.
I'm in the pointless nonsence camp, find this sort of thing quite irritating personally although I can see why it could have some use with non-PH types.
There's too many interfering "aids" these days. One that annoys me in my Golf is that it adjusts the stereo volume up and down with speed, just f-ing leave it alone and let me control it, so annoying after a while!!
There's too many interfering "aids" these days. One that annoys me in my Golf is that it adjusts the stereo volume up and down with speed, just f-ing leave it alone and let me control it, so annoying after a while!!
philmots said:
They're probably very useful for those people who want to drive econoically but have no idea how to.
I'm highly disappointed; I assumed at the start of this thread that the light in question would come on just before you reached the red line.But it's an economy thing, not an aid to drag racing. Bummer.
I've driven a Renault with one...
Utter crap. if i changed up when it asked me to, at 1,300-1,500RPM, the light telling you to change down came on straight away.
I hate a lot of electrics on modern cars, they are all just s pointless, and mean people have no thought when they drive, and just do as their told.
Utter crap. if i changed up when it asked me to, at 1,300-1,500RPM, the light telling you to change down came on straight away.
I hate a lot of electrics on modern cars, they are all just s pointless, and mean people have no thought when they drive, and just do as their told.
C8H18Head said:
CurvaParabolica said:
philmots said:
They're probably very useful for those people who want to drive econoically but have no idea how to.
This. Unless the lady in question is driving a brand new Ferrari and is relying on the machine to tell her when the sweet spot for upshifts is. But I suspect it is the former.The reason is that the test procedure (when the car is driven by a robot) would normally change up the gears at a certain % of max RPM (as defined in the rules of the test). However, there is a get out clause, which basically says that if the car has a "shift up" light, then the robot will change gear at that point instead. It therefore allows the manufacturer to dictate when the upshifts will be done by the robot, and hence get better economy than leaving it to change at the default %.
So it's a bit of a swiz to get around the robot and report better "official" economy figures. It may also be useful to some drivers in real life.
My car has a shift light too, but it's set at 7,250rpm and isn't for economy
mrmr96 said:
The purpose of the "shift point" lights in run of the mill cars is to assist with better economy on the standard Euro tests.
The reason is that the test procedure (when the car is driven by a robot) would normally change up the gears at a certain % of max RPM (as defined in the rules of the test). However, there is a get out clause, which basically says that if the car has a "shift up" light, then the robot will change gear at that point instead. It therefore allows the manufacturer to dictate when the upshifts will be done by the robot, and hence get better economy than leaving it to change at the default %.
So it's a bit of a swiz to get around the robot and report better "official" economy figures. It may also be useful to some drivers in real life.
My car has a shift light too, but it's set at 7,250rpm and isn't for economy
If the shift point is more economical does it matter whether a robot does it in a test or whether a human does it to save money - it's still more likely to be economical than someone guessing based on no valid data.The reason is that the test procedure (when the car is driven by a robot) would normally change up the gears at a certain % of max RPM (as defined in the rules of the test). However, there is a get out clause, which basically says that if the car has a "shift up" light, then the robot will change gear at that point instead. It therefore allows the manufacturer to dictate when the upshifts will be done by the robot, and hence get better economy than leaving it to change at the default %.
So it's a bit of a swiz to get around the robot and report better "official" economy figures. It may also be useful to some drivers in real life.
My car has a shift light too, but it's set at 7,250rpm and isn't for economy
Plus you ignore it when you want to go fast. What is not to like? It's just a couple of LEDs and some wires.
trickywoo said:
This is nothing new I remember being told about such a thing on a Volvo 340 (IIRC).
Indeed, my dad's 1980's Mazda 626 hatchback had two lights on the dash to aid you in driving efficiently - one was an up arrow that lit up to tell you to change up a gear and the other was a symbol telling you to ease off the accelerator pedal.Most people just cut the wires to the lights as there was no way to switch them on or off. My dad revelled in trying to get both on at once as often as possible. Fuel was cheaper in those days
Lots of people getting gear change indicators mixed up with shift lights.
One is for people to change up and down their gearbox so they don't waste fuel, the other is for people who can't read a rev counter so they don't lose half a second sat on the limiter.
Only one of those functions is something I have a practical use for on a road car.
One is for people to change up and down their gearbox so they don't waste fuel, the other is for people who can't read a rev counter so they don't lose half a second sat on the limiter.
Only one of those functions is something I have a practical use for on a road car.
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