Automatic or Manual gear?

[Frank]

If the speed limit is 120, I have to drive 132 according to my speedo to actually reach that. Add a 3 km reduction for the radar guns and I can do 135 on my speedo and still be within legal limits. Further, a ticket for speeding up to 10 km/h is cheap, while it gets expensive from 10 km/h upwards. So, I like driving around 135 on my speedo if the legal limit is 120.

When overtaking on two-lane roads (one for each direction), I think you should do it as fast as possible, no matter the speed limit. The shorter you're on the other side, the better. I drove a long stretch of such a road for years, and I saw lots of near-accidents: someone overtakes slowly, and the car on the other side bound for a collision only flashes the lights instead of slowing down. Because they know they are legally in the clear. And a few times each week, I had to steer around the bits and pieces of such a collision.

Also, in my experience a lot of people tend to drive on the left side of the road on a multi-lane road, simply because they have to turn left in about five kilometers or so.

 

[Sxotty]

I should add that if said asshat tailgater still tailgates after the polite method I just go slower and slower (no quick braking and never more than a few mph below the speed limit). This sends a message but also allows them to rocket past me at their earliest convenience so they can get to their destination a full thirty seconds before I do. It rarely happens since I tend to drive fast, but it's a much safer (and not criminal) way of handling the situation.

That 30 seconds bit is off the mark. If you are diving across the country then you are talking hours.

 

[Xmas]

When overtaking on two-lane roads (one for each direction), I think you should do it as fast as possible, no matter the speed limit.

I disagree. If you can't get past the car in front of you quickly while obeying the speed limit you shouldn't be overtaking at all.

 

[thambos]

Automatic for Commuting. Stop & go in a manual isn't fun. Especially while eating or drinking and moving 6 inches at a time.


Manual for casual & leisurely drives on roads w/ little traffic.

 

[Frank]

I disagree. If you can't get past the car in front of you quickly while obeying the speed limit you shouldn't be overtaking at all.

I agree partly: when you're close to the maximum speed allowed, the traffic is very busy and/or you drive a slow car, I agree you shouldn't try to overtake it. And when the vehicle in front of you is very slow and the road is mostly empty, overtaking it is simple. In between those you get a grey area.

 

[Sxotty]

I disagree. If you can't get past the car in front of you quickly while obeying the speed limit you shouldn't be overtaking at all.

Well from my experience even law enforcement officers disagree with you. It is far preferable to get past the vehicle and back in your lane.

 

[Mize]

That 30 seconds bit is off the mark. If you are diving across the country then you are talking hours.

I'm regularly passed by pulsation drivers. Whereas I stick the cruise control at speed limit + 9 and stay there, most drivers manually oscillate from speed limit -5 to speed limit +20. In traffic it's even more absurd with people passing and dodging left-right in traffic and regularly coming in behind me because I didn't buy the "grass is greener" concept of lane changing.

Yes, people driving Denver to Baltimore have a chance at beating me if they're regularly exceeding speed limit + 9, but they're far more likely to be pulled over than I.

 

[Mize]

I disagree. If you can't get past the car in front of you quickly while obeying the speed limit you shouldn't be overtaking at all.

I'm completely with Frank on this one. The best reason to have a fast car is for 60-90 mph performance. The least amount of time spent facing oncoming traffic the better.

 

[Sxotty]

I'm regularly passed by pulsation drivers. Whereas I stick the cruise control at speed limit + 9 and stay there, most drivers manually oscillate from speed limit -5 to speed limit +20. In traffic it's even more absurd with people passing and dodging left-right in traffic and regularly coming in behind me because I didn't buy the "grass is greener" concept of lane changing.

Yes, people driving Denver to Baltimore have a chance at beating me if they're regularly exceeding speed limit + 9, but they're far more likely to be pulled over than I.

Yeah well +9 is pretty good anyway. I generally set cruise at +10 on the interstate. I only do the pulse bit when I am driving on smaller roads where visibility changes significantly so it is no longer safe to drive that much faster. Even then I always have my cruise set mainly so I do not exceed the speed I have determined is the one I want. I just tap my brakes to cancel then resume it. With a good radar detector your chances of getting a ticket are greatly reduced. I finally got one after getting a ticket when returning from dropping someone off at the airport and not noticing the reduced speed sign as it was dawn and the sun was in my eyes. At the time I wasn't speeding (to my knowledge) b/c I was in no rush, but I still got an unnecessary ticket for 10 over so I figured it was worth the investment to get a decent detector.

 

[Sobek]

Automatic. I don't see the point of the added confusion of a manual while driving. If it's for performance, great, but leave that shit to the raceway and not on the streets. If it's for 'feel', well I'm currently driving around in a '95 Jeep Cherokee Classic and you'd better believe I can 'feel' every bloody thing that happens with this car. It being a manual or automatic wouldn't change a thing, I can still just as easily spot a problem while it goes through its gears and such. In these modern days where people insist on doing ten-fucking-thousand things in their car at once, having to worry about changing gears in a manual transmission is just silly when a perfectly fine, speedy and low-maintenance automatic transmission would completely clear you of any of that hassle (and potentially open up just a tad more space on your console to sit something while driving if need be). Also, it makes driving home with takeaway (say, a thickshake in one hand, steering wheel in the other) far easier... Also in every single automatic I've driven there tends to be far less roll back when going up a hill from a stop. What's also annoying is being BEHIND a manual. You have to be weary that these pricks aren't going to roll back and smash into you because they guff up their gear change (I've seen this happen 4 times in 2 years now), and driving behind 99% of manuals pretty much negates the point of having an automatic (in city driving at least) because you have to damn well slow down every time they change gears, practically turning your auto into a manual anyway... Pah.

/rant.

 

[Sxotty]

I drive a manual there is no roll back. You just have to know how to drive it.

 

[Simon F]

Also, it makes driving home with takeaway (say, a thickshake in one hand, steering wheel in the other) far easier.

After reading this and all the other "bad driving habit" posts, I'm seriously considering putting them in a sub thread.

 

[Simon F]

I drive a manual there is no roll back. You just have to know how to drive it.

Exactly! All my cars have been manuals. Mind you, the latest one has automatic wipers, automatic lights, automatic door unlocking, automatic handbrake....

 

[_xxx_]

Exactly! All my cars have been manuals. Mind you, the latest one has automatic wipers, lights, door unlocking, handbrake....

When you spend most of your time on the road in traffic jams, you learn to LOVE automatics. Well your feet do anyway

 

[Sxotty]

When you spend most of your time on the road in traffic jams, you learn to LOVE automatics. Well your feet do anyway

That is true and I won't deny it. I don't have to do that on a regular basis, but it can be hell when I pass through I must admit. If they are moving slowly enough you can leave it in first and just let a gap get bigger and shrink it is ok, but if you constantly have to stop then accelerate into 2nd or 3rd then it is a punishment indeed.

All my cars have been manuals, but of course I have driven automatics many times as well, including some of the shiftronic type things and it was quite fun I will admit on a very winding mountain road. That was a rental and I admit to abusing the tires significantly .

 

[ShaidarHaran]

My girlfriend thanks the workout driving a manual gives me, so that's reason enough for me to stick with it

 

[NVNDA]

Life's too short not to switch your own gears. Seriously, what else is there to do while driving?

 

[_xxx_]

Tickling your girlfriend's tits for example