Motoring Old Wive's Tales
Discussion
DickyC said:
Super Sonic said:
Bigger brakes stop you quicker.
Yeah, but, engine braking is free.Incidentally, an old friend of mine (rip Dan)
was absolutely convinced that braking in gear stopped you quicker than braking in neutral cos 'extra braking from engine'!
Super Sonic said:
DickyC said:
Super Sonic said:
Bigger brakes stop you quicker.
Yeah, but, engine braking is free.Incidentally, an old friend of mine (rip Dan)
was absolutely convinced that braking in gear stopped you quicker than braking in neutral cos 'extra braking from engine'!
If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
DickyC said:
Stop quicker in gear? Yup, probably does. I dip the clutch as late as possible if braking to a standstill.
If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
No because your tyres are the limiting factor, all leaving it in gear does is means you can be slightly more gentle w the brakes.If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
Amgs have bigger brakes, but they stop quicker cos wider tires. The advantage of bigger brakes is they're less prone to brake fade after repeated heavy braking, because the larger surface aids cooling.
shtu said:
Super Sonic said:
an old friend of mine was absolutely convinced that braking in gear stopped you quicker than braking in neutral cos 'extra braking from engine'!
And in the days of Austin Sevens and other equally-woeful cars, he had a point.Now, not so much.
DickyC said:
.
If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
Bigger brakes are mostly about dealing with repeated high energy brake use. Unless the brakes are so hugely under spec that they can't cope with the heat from one stop, bigger brakes won't stop you any quicker. Around a track or on an extended blast on a twisty road it's a different story If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
Flumpo said:
aterribleusername said:
Ryyy said:
A car thats done around the 100k mark is absolutely toast and time to get rid.
My uncle has been saying this for decades and is always aghast when I tell him (when he asks, which is all the time) that my current daily is at 164k. According to him it should have exploded a rod out the block at 100k, that was 3 years ago and it's actually running better than new! Flies through the MOT every year and hasn't once even slightly hindered a journey's progress. I once bought a 3yr old car with 26k miles and they couldn't comprehend how I could be so reckless as to buy such a high mileage knacker.
Similarly, due to some incident they had with a tumble dryer in the 70s, I dare not mention I own one that has yet to shrink every item of clothing or burn us to death every night.
Early Rolls Royces had no reverse gear because reversing was thought undignified.
Messerschmitt bubble cars had the cockpit canopy from a Messerschmitt fighter.
You can judge your speed more accurately from the rev counter than the speedometer. (Might have been something in that one for some cars).
Double white lines mean 'no overtaking'.
Messerschmitt bubble cars had the cockpit canopy from a Messerschmitt fighter.
You can judge your speed more accurately from the rev counter than the speedometer. (Might have been something in that one for some cars).
Double white lines mean 'no overtaking'.
Lincsls1 said:
shtu said:
Super Sonic said:
an old friend of mine was absolutely convinced that braking in gear stopped you quicker than braking in neutral cos 'extra braking from engine'!
And in the days of Austin Sevens and other equally-woeful cars, he had a point.Now, not so much.
In the 40s-50s etc., engine braking was a much larger %age of the total braking available - remember the "engage low gear" warnings at the top of steep hills?
Now, with ABS, ESP, large 4-wheel discs, vented at the front, engine braking doesn't count for nearly as much as it once did, though it is still there.
It's an old wives' tale all right, but at one time they had a (larger) point.
Lincsls1 said:
Certainly not so much now with masses of cars being an automatic of some sort. A good old manual then yes.
Not even in a manual, as I posted above, tyres are your limiting factor. If your brakes can lock up your wheels (or cause your antilock to kick in), then no amount of engine braking or bigger brakes will stop you quicker.mintmansam said:
“This car is costing me too much / car is starting to cost need to get rid”
Generally car throws up £200-600 bill and is replaced by car which cost to buy far exceeds repairing the existing car
Or
“Bought this to save money on fuel” car does indeed save money on fuel as it’s 5-10 mpg more efficient but cost £1000+ to purchase. Typically done by people with sub 12,000 miles usage per year.
Less old wives tales but funny things I notice
When I leave a car for a long period of time “Start the car make sure the battery isn’t dead” and then runs for less than 1 minute, thus further draining the battery beyond if I didn’t start it.
The best one!
“Don’t pull the handbrake up without the button in, you’ll damage the cable” - hears sound of ratchet mechanism.
Haha i’m switching to an EV as it’s cheaper than my petrol car. Yes it’ll save £100 a month on fuel but how much extra is it to buy\lease ?Generally car throws up £200-600 bill and is replaced by car which cost to buy far exceeds repairing the existing car
Or
“Bought this to save money on fuel” car does indeed save money on fuel as it’s 5-10 mpg more efficient but cost £1000+ to purchase. Typically done by people with sub 12,000 miles usage per year.
Less old wives tales but funny things I notice
When I leave a car for a long period of time “Start the car make sure the battery isn’t dead” and then runs for less than 1 minute, thus further draining the battery beyond if I didn’t start it.
The best one!
“Don’t pull the handbrake up without the button in, you’ll damage the cable” - hears sound of ratchet mechanism.
shtu said:
Lincsls1 said:
shtu said:
Super Sonic said:
an old friend of mine was absolutely convinced that braking in gear stopped you quicker than braking in neutral cos 'extra braking from engine'!
And in the days of Austin Sevens and other equally-woeful cars, he had a point.Now, not so much.
In the 40s-50s etc., engine braking was a much larger %age of the total braking available - remember the "engage low gear" warnings at the top of steep hills?
Now, with ABS, ESP, large 4-wheel discs, vented at the front, engine braking doesn't count for nearly as much as it once did, though it is still there.
It's an old wives' tale all right, but at one time they had a (larger) point.
He told me that he would sit up until the speed dropped below 60, and that's when he would start to use the brakes. Air brakes worked better than "proper" brakes.
Super Sonic said:
DickyC said:
Stop quicker in gear? Yup, probably does. I dip the clutch as late as possible if braking to a standstill.
If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
No because your tyres are the limiting factor, all leaving it in gear does is means you can be slightly more gentle w the brakes.If you look at the Mercedes and AMG versions of the same car, the AMG will have much bigger brakes. They're not doing it for fun.
Amgs have bigger brakes, but they stop quicker cos wider tires. The advantage of bigger brakes is they're less prone to brake fade after repeated heavy braking, because the larger surface aids cooling.
hairykrishna said:
Bigger brakes are mostly about dealing with repeated high energy brake use. Unless the brakes are so hugely under spec that they can't cope with the heat from one stop, bigger brakes won't stop you any quicker. Around a track or on an extended blast on a twisty road it's a different story
Well, okay. All I know is my ancient AMG stops a hell of a lot quicker than my wife's similar and slightly more ancient Merc. And the tyres aren't that much wider. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff