"Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents" (Ice-man)
09/06/2013 at 12:02 • Filed to: None
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"Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents" (Ice-man)
09/06/2013 at 12:02 • Filed to: None | 2
| 4 |
Chairman Kaga's post earlier reminded me to write about my own efforts at becoming a better driver. I've never given much thought to the practice of being smooth, be it with the wheel, brakes or the go-fast pedal. Clutch and gear-shifts have always been very smooth and well-timed primarily because I was brought up and learnt to ride a bike initially. One didn't even need to look at the tacho to know when to shift up or more importantly down and do it all by ear.
I digress. A couple of months ago, while watching a race and hearing one of the commentators talk about how application of throttle and turning the wheel has to be immaculately smooth to avoid burning up your rear and front tyres respectively set me thinking. Could I make my tyres last longer and make my driving a lot more efficient by doing that. My daily commute is all of 4 miles/10 minutes. However it is on a 50mph road with 5 signals in between. So we have a lot of accel/decel cycles if you get reds all the way. And with it being Austin, the roads have a bit of ups and downs to add, not to mention other maniacal drivers who drive like they haven't had their morning coffee. When I thought about it, I thought, well how the heck am I going to make my drive more efficient if I have to constantly modulate the throttle all the time?
I told myself to stop reacting to every single speed change/move by other drivers by immediately varying the throttle. Sounds simple and it probably is for a lot of drivers out there but it took some time for me. That made my throttle changes a lot smoother over a period and incidentally the brakes too. And I started letting go off the throttle a lot more and let it run at whatever rpm it could when I was coasting. Something that was automatic when I was driving a manual but I had stopped doing when I shifted to an automatic transmission. All this combined with smoother and more deliberate steering input made my fuel efficiency to jump from 20.x to 23.x. That is significant and I am pleased. Just smoothing out your inputs makes such a drastic change. Although it required a lot more concentration initially wrt deliberate slow movements and watching following distance and driving of other cars a lot more closely than earlier, I'd say it has become second nature now and I'm glad for it.
ddavidn
> Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents
09/06/2013 at 12:05 |
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Leave plenty of room between yourself and the car in front of you, giving yourself time to react smoothly or giving you space to not react at all. I realize this is probably hard with those red lights.
The WB
> Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents
09/06/2013 at 12:13 |
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Especially in traffic, I put all my movements through a huge filter. No reaction to brake lights, only a reaction from perceived movement or I start closing the gap. So many people zoom up to the car in front of them and stomp on the brakes, stop paying attention, let a gap grow, rinse repeat.
I typically maintain 4 car lengths at least, 2 in a "jam" which allows people some freedom of movement when they realize they're in the wrong lane or a lane is closed due to an accident.
In traffic, I rarely touch the gas. Just roll and let the gap open up in front of you, because inevitably traffic will stop in another wave and you'll catch back up. Some drivers behind you get it, and realize constant motion is the same speed and much easier than on-and-off again, and some get pissed that you're not on and off the gas, and go around. Either way, it's super effective.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents
09/06/2013 at 12:18 |
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Great video. They showed us that during my two-day class at Motorsport Ranch outside of Dallas (with The Driver's Edge).
BarryDanger
> Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents
09/06/2013 at 12:54 |
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This may work is cities/towns with good traffic flow but damn near impossible during rush hour here in Colorado. Maybe I'm pessimistic but I just don't think it is feasible for me.
*edit* I should elaborate.
1. I can't leave a gap because it will get filled instantly by a lane changer.
2. people do not realize that our traffic lights are synchronized so they don't coast to the light, they plunge ahead to be in front of all traffic and then have to completely stop for 1-2 seconds while we catch up.
3. I hate buses.