Can't get used to the gearbox.

[Procomm]

No Matt slowing down is the opposite of driving like a rally car driver its called driving at the speeds required for safe passageway along a road

 

[ginja]

No Matt slowing down is the opposite of driving like a rally car driver its called driving at the speeds required for safe passageway along a road

hey come on you followed me back last Sunday week, I was driving safely wasn't I? D'now about everyone else in Birmingham though

(like the waye I wroot dat wit a brumay accent)

 

[Mako]

I drove autos for years before I got the cat and I still fall into the trap of coasting up to red lights in third and then forgetting to put her in first for take off - and wondering why she's driving like a pig!!!!!!!

Glad it's not just me. And the missus (who has been driving for nearly as long as I have been alive - she was shunting artics around when she was 12) says that she still misses gearchanges occasionally. Though to be fair, she has got a PG-1 Gearbox.

As far as round-a-bouts are concerned I normally simultaniously hammer on the brakes and change into second to bring her down to about 40 for the entry - assuming the roundabout is clear(ish) - foot off brake and hammer on the throttle for the exit - back into 3rd about 60 and off. The eibach suspension, PI springs and front and rear strut braces help a lot for this manouvre and before you can do it Chris you need to get a proper cat - you won't have the same problems in a V6 mate

That's pretty much how I've been doing it, it's just that on the big MK roundabouts it seems like too low a gear. Plus, if the fuel gauge was mounted on the front of the car, you could use it as a propeller.

As for the V6, I'm still working on Ms. Mako there. I don't think she wants rid of the VVC Coupe just yet tho.

 

[FlamencoAssassin]

At least as you live in MK you should be an expert at roundabouts in a day or two

 

[WildV6]

I usually use 2nd gear (V6), but obviously this is all very dependant upon what or who you have in front of you as well as which exit you want and whether that exit is clear? There are too many variables, so there is really no right or wrong answer, it's all dependant upon the situation at the time. If your driving a V6, the engine shouldn't be screaming in 2nd...if it is, then there is something wrong, it's either that or I have a quiet engine? lol

 

[ginja]

On the way home from work (and on the way to work) I have to navigate around 8 traffic islands! Unless I have to stop or go beleow 20mph then I wouldn't go below 3rd gear, but most of the time its down to 4th from 5th (its 30mph most of the way, with a couple of miles at 40 and a couple at 50mph) I'll admit there are a couple were you have to be prepared to stop going the one way as people are coming from the right and can catch you out (one island is too large for the available space on the road and 9 times out of 10 you have to stop or you would be t-boned) but as Tim says it all depends on the time of day and the traffic etc.

 

[Duratec]

Mako,

In all seriousness fella - I'd use third, mate!...(but I'd do it in the 'full-on' Milton Keynes manner - approach the roundabout at 80 - easing off 50yrds before you get to it...engage 3rd - glance eyes to the right, but don't be seen to move your head (your no pussy!)...look toward the apex...slow to a respectable 65 as you initially turn-in...then gun it out of the other side - 6500rpm & running wide...there's no way a thrusting middle-manager in an A3 or a 3-Series will get passed you then!!!)

For those that arn't famillier with the driving style of Milton Keynes - they ALL drive Audi's, BMW's and C-Class Merc's as if their other-half is giving birth to their firstborn - brake pedals simply don't exist and everyone else on the road is a personal problem, specifically sent to annoy them and to hinder their progress - forcing them to loose the order and that next promotion, their so intently thrusting for...

That's why I'd use third...

Neighbourly Regards from a Sunny, Pensioner-filled Bedford!!!...Guy.

 

[Mako]

Mako,

In all seriousness fella - I'd use third, mate!...(but I'd do it in the 'full-on' Milton Keynes manner - approach the roundabout at 80 - easing off 50yrds before you get to it...engage 3rd - glance eyes to the right, but don't be seen to move your head (your no pussy!)...look toward the apex...slow to a respectable 65 as you initially turn-in...then gun it out of the other side - 6500rpm & running wide...there's no way a thrusting middle-manager in an A3 or a 3-Series will get passed you then!!!)

For those that arn't famillier with the driving style of Milton Keynes - they ALL drive Audi's, BMW's and C-Class Merc's as if their other-half is giving birth to their firstborn - brake pedals simply don't exist and everyone else on the road is a personal problem, specifically sent to annoy them and to hinder their progress - forcing them to loose the order and that next promotion, their so intently thrusting for...

That's why I'd use third...

Neighbourly Regards from a Sunny, Pensioner-filled Bedford!!!...Guy.

Dear God have you got MK drivers down to a T. Especially the I've-looked-but-I-don't-want-to-look-like-I-have thing. If you didn't know better, it almost seems like roundabout priority is reversed here!

Incidentally, the reason there's so many Audis, Mercs and Beemers (as well as loads of Skoda VRSes) is that the companies' UK headquarters are here*.

Warm regards from the automotive nuthouse!

Chris. :beer:





*And up until recently, so were Aston-Martin's. I will never forget seeing 15 DB9s - one after the other - tearing along the Newport Pagnell Road from Northampton on a PDI test drive, all with their nose and door plastics still on. I nearly wet my pants.

 

[Duratec]

Hehe!...See - I wasn't exagerating! (it's good to see you've got a sence of humour about it mate!)

In Bedford, we have the opposit problem...the only thing that ever gets above 80, is the average age of people in the pension queue at the Post Office on thursday mornings!!!

If you want any advice etc mate - give'us a shout...I'm only up the road!

Regards - Guy.

 

[Mako]

Hehe!...See - I wasn't exagerating! (it's good to see you've got a sence of humour about it mate!)

That's because I'm an [strike]Essex[/strike] [strike]London[/strike] Miami bloke really, so I know I'm better than 90% of them!

(He says in a thread where he's asking for gearbox advice!)

In Bedford, we have the opposit problem...it's a bit like where Zetec live's - the only thing that ever gets above 80, is the average age in the pension queue, at the Post Office on thursday mornings!!!

If you want any advice etc mate - give'us a shout...I'm only up the road!

Regards - Guy.

A Ford in the land of the Vauxhall. Stranger in a Strange Land, eh?

Thanks for the offer - and if I can do anything in return, please let me know. :beer: