A car with a manual transmission requires a number of skills. Despite this, it enjoys a well-deserved popularity among professional drivers, as it provides better contact with the car than its automatic counterpart.
Today, two types of gearboxes are used on cars: automatic or manual. And if the use of the automatic transmission does not cause any special problems (the name speaks for itself), then working with the automatic transmission requires certain skills.
So, here are some practical tips on this matter.
1. At any gear change (from lower to higher and vice versa), do not forget to depress the clutch pedal. Failure to follow this simple rule will very quickly render the checkpoint unusable, and repairs will cost you a pretty penny. The switching scheme is extremely simple: "depress the clutch pedal - change gear - release the clutch pedal".
2. Gear shifting should be done smoothly, but fast enough. Do not forget that at the moment the clutch pedal is pressed, the car simply turns into a body moving by inertia, and prolonged non-engagement of the gear will simply seriously slow down the car's movement.
Gear shifting: general recommendations
There are generally accepted recommendations about in which speed ranges to make gear changes:
1st gear is intended for starting and acceleration up to 15-20 km / h. The main mistake that beginners make is that the clutch pedal is released too abruptly at the start and the car moves with a jerk, often stalls. This can lead to failure of the gearbox units.
2nd gear - speed range 20-40 km / h.
3rd gear - 40-60 km / h.
4th - 60-80 km / h.
5th gear - above 80 km / h.
The calculations, it should be noted, are very approximate. If you are moving uphill, driving on snow or sand, then switch at higher speeds.
Useful Secrets
A few more tips for beginners:
- the gearshift lever must be within the free access zone of the right hand;
- do not be late with the inclusion of the second gear, the speed at which it can be included is reached almost immediately after the car has started;
- while driving in a more or less stable speed mode, do not leave your left leg "hanging" over the pedal - it will get tired very quickly, just place it on the floor of the car to the left of the clutch pedal;
- when changing gears, keep your left hand on the steering wheel in the "five to three" position, which will give you the opportunity to make an emergency maneuver if necessary;
- despite the fact that there is a technical possibility to immediately switch from the first gear to the third or from the second to the fourth (in principle, any options are possible), we recommend that you lower and increase the gears consistently.
At first, the tachometer readings will help you to switch in a timely manner, and in the future, as you gain driving experience, you can navigate simply by the sound of the engine.
