British Expats - Don't car jack a manual car

Page 4 of 4

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- The Maple Leaf (https://britishexpats.com/forum/maple-leaf-98/)

- - Don't car jack a manual car (https://britishexpats.com/forum/maple-leaf-98/dont-car-jack-manual-car-895376/)

MillieF

Apr 23rd 2017 1:28 pm

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

It never occurred to me that anyone might have a problem 'stick shifting' from the right hand to the left hand...I too am left handed, but spent most of my formative 'stalling the engine' years changing from left had to right hand cars pretty regularly.

My husband regularly stalls the 2CV engine, and kangaroos us through the gears...much to his fury:thumbup: It's nice to see a 'master' screw it up occasionally :o

Fredericton is built on hills, pretty steep ones, it's bringing me out in a cold sweat as my son is attempting...sometimes not successfully:( hill starts; but many times in winter, I feel much more in control of a labouring engine on a hill...you can 'hear' what it wants to do.

Pulaski

Apr 23rd 2017 1:49 pm

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by MillieF (Post 12236593)

It never occurred to me that anyone might have a problem 'stick shifting' from the right hand to the left hand. .....

It's not so much that I had a problem switching to shifting with my right hand per se, after all I am right handed and in theory it should have been easier to shift with my right hand when I switched to LHD cars, it's more that when I first moved to the US, as the revs rose and it was time to shift gears, I found myself stamping on the clutch pedal with my left foot [so far, so good], .... and reaching for the door handle with my left hand! :rofl:

MelVan

Apr 23rd 2017 5:42 pm

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesmc (Post 12236285)

LOL I was very impressed that you could operate a twin shift ,,then I had a coffee and looked again. DUH . Was given an 80s two lever Mack to drive in 2010 and that was entertaining till I got the hang off it.:o

Is a "twin shift" what I call a "double shuffle"? A friend of mine had a Bambino that was double shuffle (depress clutch, shift into neutral, release clutch, depress clutch again to put into gear, release clutch and repeat each time you needed to change gears) and when I drove that a couple of times I needed to stay sharp to avoid her saying (as I'd try and slam into gear) "if you can't find 'em, grind 'em".

Pulaski

Apr 23rd 2017 10:18 pm

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelVan (Post 12236694)

That's a "double declutch" ..... James was talking about a vehicle with two gear levers.

caretaker

Apr 24th 2017 2:37 am

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 12236898)

That's a "double declutch" ..... James was talking about a vehicle with two gear levers.

We say double-clutch where I am. My '81 Dodge Colt had a high-low range lever as well as a gearshift, and I used to use low range for darting around town then high for the highway. You could run through all 8 gears but no need, I think that might have been the first Dodge with a cast aluminium block from Mitsubishi, and it got within a whisper of 40 mpg (Imp).

dbd33

Apr 24th 2017 2:41 am

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by caretaker (Post 12237156)

Double clutch is also a term for paddle shifted semi-automatics but it's quite different from the double declutch you need to use for a crash (non-synchromesh) box.

caretaker

Apr 24th 2017 2:48 am

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbd33 (Post 12237159)

Double clutch is also a term for paddle shifted semi-automatics but it's quite different from the double declutch you need to use for a crash (non-synchromesh) box.

Double declutch must be a British term, but it's always good to learn something new.

Paul_Shepherd

Apr 25th 2017 3:59 am

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by becks_r (Post 12234102)

I only did it for 1 and 1/2 years, I brought the kart with money I got when I was made redundant, and I shared the racing with my boyfriend. Then I did my knee in, couldn't race for a few months and then split up with the boyfriend! So even if my knee had ever got better enough to race it again, I couldn't get to tracks to race, as I didn't have a car. :(

I also didn't have a garage, so in the end I sold the kart because my Mum was fed up with it being on my bedroom floor, or worst, in the dining room! ;)

I have tried doing it since at these little indoor tracks with smaller karts, but it isn't the same as driving a meaty kart on proper race tracks. But even the little karts mess with my knee!! Still miss it though, it was such fun! :thumbsup:

I did it for about the same time, although i never owned my own kart, which i always wanted, and was working towards, and i used to indoor kart race, your right its sooo much fun, ive never been in to sports, but this something i really got into....and wasnt half bad at..... a change of circumstances took me away from it, and i never got back into it. Shame

mrken30

Apr 25th 2017 4:48 am

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

I find it easier to drive a standard manual than trying to use a sequential gear box. Driving stick and used to doing 5 or 4 to 2 changes when slowing down. I find this technique hard in a sequential box and not going into first.

Also some newer cars have 9 gears, not sure how that would work in a standard manual.

Oakvillian

Apr 25th 2017 6:41 am

Re: Don't car jack a manual car

Quote:

Originally Posted by Partially discharged (Post 12230986)

I had a similar experience in Spain a few years ago. We picked up a rental car from the roof of a large train station on the west edge of Barcelona and I drove it through city streets and on to the motorway. We were heading to meet people at a seaside resort about an hour and half away. As we were getting closer to the destination I needed to pull over to figure out things on the map. I basically pulled in her between the lamp post and the large residential bins.
https://goo.gl/maps/8MTbKoDB3LL2

I figured out where we were going and then tried to reverse. Needless to say the rental people had never explained how reverse works and instead of reversing I was going forward. Finally figured it out with about 2 cm to spare before I would have hit the bins.

I was once "upgraded" on a rental to a Lincoln Town Car. Apart from the "OMG, this is a hideous bathtub, what if somebody sees me in it" reaction, my biggest challenge was disengaging the emergency brake. It was parked nose-in to a stall. The brake is automatically disengaged when you select D on the shifter; I selected R to back out of the stall and nothing happened. How ridiculously counterintuitive that, even if you want to go backwards, you first have to select a forward gear to get the brake off. I had to ask for help.

All times are GMT -12. The time now is 8:33 am.

Page 4 of 4

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page