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I think in that car the 5th gear should have been true overdrive, dropping the rpms to something like 2500 at 60 mph. Would still have plenty of torque for most situations and, like someone else said, you could always downshift if needed.
RE: teaching someone to drive a stickshift. Some people never get it, be they man or woman; others are brilliant. My niece had it down in about a day, like a pro. She is rather athletic and thus very coordinated, so maybe that helped.
My theory is that the most difficult student to teach a stickshift would be someone who doesn't know how to ride a bicycle. :P
Cool car BTW. I almost got one in 1991 but the price was a lot higher than the 91 Escort GT I ended up with.
I move over for anyone. The only people I don't give courtesy to are tail-gaters and lane-splitting motorcycles. They can wait until I'm ready to move.
Your point is what?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I also grew up knowing that if I am holding up 5 or more cars (for whatever the reasons) on a one lane each way road, to use the turn outs.
Actually is is both safer and SMART not to move while a lane splitting motorcycle is close. If anything happens, he will of course blame YOU even as it is probably his fault for splitting lanes.
I personally do not do it as a practice, but if I HAVE to I do/will.
I don't believe that lane splitting 10 mph above the speed limit is safe, or prudent, and probably most highway patrol guys don't think so either.
So really, it's not "legal" anywhere, it's just not illegal in some states, if that makes sense. They often turn a blind eye, but they can nail you for it.
Short answer: it depends on how you do it and where you do it.
So if I'm stopped in traffic and a bike wants to squeeze past me by forcing me to pull to the guardrail---nope. Or if I'm going 75 in a 65 and he's that nuts to try this....nope...I'm keeping my car just where it is.
Otherwise, sure...have at it and drive safe.
I remember hearing a while ago that 50% of motorcycle deaths are first-year drivers, i.e. rookies.
I'm sure most of the other half are the organ donors who drive like idiots.
And yes, here in MD they'll pull you over in 2 seconds for lane splitting at speed. Keep in mind all the anti "aggressive driving" campaigns. Cops win awards for writing tickets for things like that.
Simpler way, what does the engine torque curve look like if you always remain in oxygen sensor A/F mixture control closed loop...?
The point made was that, at highway speeds, the car could easily handle lower rpms without the need for more power as you stated. It doesn't matter what power is being put down at a given time. All vehicles are using less power while at cruising speed, hence better mileage than while accelerating. What matters is the power available. Where my peak torque is available is at 1800rpms. Therefore, at 50mph in 6th gear, full torque is available to me. In my opinion, that is too low. Even 55 would make more sense.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Especially true now that I've done enough modifications to turn my A3 into an S3 sans Quattro.
So you can make a 200 HP engine output 300 HP with a bunch of mods, but the transmission will still pull the same RPMS at the same speeds as before.
Speaking of gray area, we have over 40,000 VC's in CA. Realistically, they can pull you over for any reason, at any time thanks to that astounding total. Some of them are written general as general can be "unsafe manuever, unsafe lane change, unsafe driving, unsafe turn, and such"
I got one for "failure to obey a traffic sign" Doesn't even specify what kind of sign, just any old sign.
Yes, and with all of his PD traffic enforcement gear and lights, easily over 1,000 lbs.
He had a heck of a time lifting it and getting it right side up. I have to admit, first thing I did was check out the damage to my back bumper even before asking if he was OKAY. Of course, I knew he barely hit me, might have been different if it was a serious impact.
Yes, but only if your desire is to accelerate to a speed ABOVE 50MPH.
To simply "hold" a set speed "peak torque" as you're using it has no meaning.
I have no idea if it's legal where I live (and, I have a motorcycle license..lol), but I know I wouldn't do it.
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Sooo....if you're lane splitting while over the speed limit or weaving in and out without signaling while lane splitting, you're gonna get busted naturally.
I suspect the lane-splitting decreases the chance of mercy when committing another infraction.
If you want to test this, for a whole tank of gas never use first gear and continue up shifting as if you're really in 1st gear. So if you normally upshift from 1st to 2nd at 15mph, then you'd shift from 2nd to 3rd at 15mph, and so on. You'll see you have less power, but you'll get better MPG. Now if the car were actually geared that way, you'd get the same better MPG for the same reduciton in power.
That was just a simply example of how manufactures could better gear for MPG. But if we did like you said for real, then we'd need 7 gears :P
Maybe that's why European cars get better MPG...they're not geared for sprinting after red lights like american cars.
To simply "hold" a set speed "peak torque" as you're using it has no meaning."
So basically you agree your original comments about the engines requiring modification before being able to push taller gears at highway speeds were both worthless and irrelevant.
I've picked a side, but I'm tired.
So, how is it that my engine isn't capable of running taller gearing?
We've all seen economy-type cars geared for MPG that are real dogs to drive, so one hopes that the engineering compromises are good ones when it comes to choosing overdrive gearing.
I would suspect, aside from aerodynamics, that engine displacement would be a factor in how successful overdrive gearing is---without displacement you can't have torque and without torque, your low RPM pulling power is bound to suffer.
Displacement doesn't necessarily have to mean multiple cylinders. Torque relates to cylinder bore size.
1. With an automatic the transmission will be INSTANTLY downshifted should the need arise, incline, slightly more throttle, etc. So there is little or NO threat of the engine "lugging" due to the inattention, inattentiveness, of the driver.
NET: the engine can be safely run in a gear ratio and low RPM wherein it is only just barely producing enough torque for current road conditions.
2. "Stick" drivers expect a little more sportiness. A little more leeway in the requirment for shifting due to a change in current road conditions.
3. The truth of the matter is that "stick" drivers have great periods of being lazy, me included, about being in the proper gear ratio for current road conditions. So some extra margin, engine safety margin, must be thrown in when building a stick shift car vs an automatic.
You may wish to take notice of all the complaints of constant shiftiness in these new 6(10) speed automatics. Something you simply would not wish to do with a stick shift, even if you could...you only have 5-6 speeds.