Auto or manual
- Thread starter Spiderz
- Start date
He's not really deaf but his hearing gets a bit worse, so is his balance (that's maybe related) etc etc, a lot of the ususal men old age stuff. He's almost 75 but still reasonably active etc. He still rides and tinkers on old english motorcycles...
I think at that age it's a blessing that you dont have cancer or another life threatening condition with horrible prognosed sick-bed...especially as he smoked all his life like a chimney...(I have a friend who is pulmonologist and from what I hear lung cancer is not the best way to die so to speak...)
But it's strange to see that when you get old there is a point that the motorics and the general 'qui-vive' get worse. For every individual at what age that is is different of course.
He used to be a very skilled driver imho (driving +50k miles a year mostly in heavy traffic etc and going decades without accidents), but you can see that it's not as tight as it's used to be. Like placement of the car in a parking space, driving line through the corners.
It's just that tiny bit more sloppy. He's by no means a danger on the road, but it's not as tight as say 10 years ago. It used to be 100% and now its 80%.
What I mostly noticed that he repeatedly was in too lower gears when going through corners; mostly tight ones in residential areas (on speeds where 2nd gear or sometimes 1st gear is necessary) where he probably didnt hear the engine (diesel in this case) humming on too low revs. That's when I said that an automatic would probably suit him better.
I think at that age it's a blessing that you dont have cancer or another life threatening condition with horrible prognosed sick-bed...especially as he smoked all his life like a chimney...(I have a friend who is pulmonologist and from what I hear lung cancer is not the best way to die so to speak...)
But it's strange to see that when you get old there is a point that the motorics and the general 'qui-vive' get worse. For every individual at what age that is is different of course.
He used to be a very skilled driver imho (driving +50k miles a year mostly in heavy traffic etc and going decades without accidents), but you can see that it's not as tight as it's used to be. Like placement of the car in a parking space, driving line through the corners.
It's just that tiny bit more sloppy. He's by no means a danger on the road, but it's not as tight as say 10 years ago. It used to be 100% and now its 80%.
What I mostly noticed that he repeatedly was in too lower gears when going through corners; mostly tight ones in residential areas (on speeds where 2nd gear or sometimes 1st gear is necessary) where he probably didnt hear the engine (diesel in this case) humming on too low revs. That's when I said that an automatic would probably suit him better.
When an engine makes too little revs it starts to hum really low, which is a sign of revs too low. Then you have to shift to a lower gear.
When you dont have that aural feedback apparanty you can be tempted to drive in a gear too high.
I'm not sure what part you dont understand. What I ment to say is that he was frequently in third gear when he should have been in second and frequently in 2nd gear when he should have been in first.
When you dont have that aural feedback apparanty you can be tempted to drive in a gear too high.
I'm not sure what part you dont understand. What I ment to say is that he was frequently in third gear when he should have been in second and frequently in 2nd gear when he should have been in first.
You said he was "too lower gears "?
I didn't know if you meant TWO lower gears or TO low a gear - and then none of that made sence when you spoke of low revs.
You obviously meant he was in a gear or two higher than you though he ought to have been?
The term for insufficient revs and too much load is normally referred to as labouring !
I've no doubt that you will know that the torque curve of a Diesel engine is fundamentally different from a petrol engine,so don't criticise your father too much - he may just be exploitng the potential and ability of his engine - he may not want to blast into "Acaia" avenue heal an toeing with 6k on the tacho
I didn't know if you meant TWO lower gears or TO low a gear - and then none of that made sence when you spoke of low revs.
You obviously meant he was in a gear or two higher than you though he ought to have been?
The term for insufficient revs and too much load is normally referred to as labouring !
I've no doubt that you will know that the torque curve of a Diesel engine is fundamentally different from a petrol engine,so don't criticise your father too much - he may just be exploitng the potential and ability of his engine - he may not want to blast into "Acaia" avenue heal an toeing with 6k on the tacho
It's hard to argue against the DCT transmission. It really fixes all the shortcomings of a standard auto.
There's been a few good YouTube videos posted with identical cars, one manual and one DCT and the DCT always opens up a huge gap purely because of the shift speeds so in the real world it's a quicker car.
I think the drivetrain losses between manual and DCT are identical so there is no power disadvantage like with a slushbox.
Wrong gear selection for corners shouldn't be an issue. If you want to drive quickly you always want the box in manual mode, auto is just for cruising.
The DCT box will even hold more torque if you ever decide to tune the car. The manual box needs an upgraded clutch and flywheel when going for big power.
Manuals are more fun though and given a choice between a manual and slushbox the manual would win all day! Between a DCT and a manual it's a much harder choice.
There's been a few good YouTube videos posted with identical cars, one manual and one DCT and the DCT always opens up a huge gap purely because of the shift speeds so in the real world it's a quicker car.
I think the drivetrain losses between manual and DCT are identical so there is no power disadvantage like with a slushbox.
Wrong gear selection for corners shouldn't be an issue. If you want to drive quickly you always want the box in manual mode, auto is just for cruising.
The DCT box will even hold more torque if you ever decide to tune the car. The manual box needs an upgraded clutch and flywheel when going for big power.
Manuals are more fun though and given a choice between a manual and slushbox the manual would win all day! Between a DCT and a manual it's a much harder choice.
I'm sorry, yes I meant a gear too high. High gear -> low ratio sometimes confuses me (too higher or lower gear is a bad dutch->english translation :lol: , it's a gear too high or a gear too low I think?, so 2 errors in 1 lineronk said:
)I didnt know that word but yes that is what I mean. With diesels you can also have that (indeed I'm very familiar with diesel engines
), and it's I think a result of having the the bang too far before tdc in relation to the size of the bang. That can happen with any piston combustion engine, diesel or petrol. But he already said the auto was the right choice.He frequently drives my daily which is basically the same car he has but then a manual, and what he probably misses most is overtaking, so the ability to instantly shift back and there is power, and with the automatic there always is some lag, shifting 1 or 2 gears down and not having full power during that.
Depends on what dct (wet clutch)/dry clutch.R.E92 said:
In essence a wet clutch can hold less torque so they use multiple plates. But dct/wet clutches are more tight on tolerance and over torque than a dry clutch, and are very difficult/expensive to upgrade.
The most important thing about the dct is the software. DCT is only fast when the proper next gear is selected, so how accurate and well written the software is. Lots of people complain with slow DCT/DSG gearboxes (I'm talking in general now, not exclusively the getrag DCT) and that is most often on difficult short stretches (like hairpins on mountain passes) where accelerating is followed up with heavy breaking and shifting down. If the wrong gear is preselected, the dct suddenly gets really slow.
An automatic doesnt have this problem because all gears are always preselected simultaniously (every geartwin has it's seperate clutch)
R.E92 said:
The box in my wife's 335xd (June 2015) is very punchy and sharp. Certainly more so than the box in my 3.0 E89
The launch control is a good laugh as well although in real day to day life nothing more than a bit of a gimmick - it also seems a bit unsympathetic to the system !
"Another thing an automatic usually cant do is skip multiple gears. When I want to overtake someone quickly, it's very common to change back from 6th to 3rd. I dont think there's any automatic that can do that in their kickdown mode (some may skip 1 gear?). If it goes to 5th, then 4th and then 3rd, it was twice in the wrong gear"
Its easy to skip multiple gears. A couple of quick flips on the down paddle and Bob's your uncle. Still a lot quicker than a manual
Its easy to skip multiple gears. A couple of quick flips on the down paddle and Bob's your uncle. Still a lot quicker than a manual
GuidoK said:I'm pretty sure it isnt quickerNanu said:Its easy to skip multiple gears. A couple of quick flips on the down paddle and Bob's your uncle. Still a lot quicker than a manual
It is. I've driven both a 28i manual and my 35is and trust me auto DCT is much quicker.
Don't forget all it takes is a flick of the fingers on the paddles. The gears would be changed before your hand even left the steering wheel and got to the gear stick.
Nanu said:GuidoK said:I'm pretty sure it isnt quickerNanu said:Its easy to skip multiple gears. A couple of quick flips on the down paddle and Bob's your uncle. Still a lot quicker than a manual
It is. I've driven both a 28i manual and my 35is and trust me auto DCT is much quicker.
Don't forget all it takes is a flick of the fingers on the paddles. The gears would be changed before your hand even left the steering wheel and got to the gear stick.
Totally agree. The you can drop two/three gears just as quick if not quicker with the DCT and keep both hands on the wheel! However, there's so much torque available you often don't need to drop a gear. The DCT is an automated manual box.
