.

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

I do the thinking either more or less consciously than Nigel. I might look at a particular bend and decide it's a 2nd gear bend way in advance (admittedly sometimes varying that judgement as I get closer), other times I might arrive at a roundabout ready to go with a nice gap and no need to lose too much momentum and think "this is third" at the same time as going for the gear change. I don't ever consciously bring speed into it.

[nigelc]

I never really thought about actual speed before just what feels right, like Nick has said. It's just that while analysing what I'm thinking I've been watching the speedo to get some idea of what my thoughts were at what speed (if that makes sense)

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Oh, and something I've been meaning to post...

An oft-quoted misappropriation is "it's using the brakes that wastes fuel". In part this is true, but using gears to slow does exactly the same, albeit perhaps over longer distances. What wastes fuel is building up excess momentum in the first place. If you have nowhere to use that momentum, and have to convert some of it into heat, either in the brake components or in your gearbox oil, then you're wasting fuel. Using the brakes just burns it off quicker. So the key to hypermiling is to extend anticipation to the extreme, in the hope of maintaining a steady speed, once achieved, for as long as possible without additional acceleration or braking.

[7db]

I might look at a particular bend and decide it's a 2nd gear bend way in advance (admittedly sometimes varying that judgement as I get closer)

To focus the mind, I assume the assessment you make is that it's a second-gear exit...

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

I might look at a particular bend and decide it's a 2nd gear bend way in advance (admittedly sometimes varying that judgement as I get closer)

To focus the mind, I assume the assessment you make is that it's a second-gear exit...

Thinking about it, yes, this is correct. It's the gear in which you will have control, and power for the exit. You could go into any bend in any gear, by braking (and declutching if necessary), but you wouldn't necessarily be able to drive round, or out of it. Thanks Dave.

[Ancient]

To bring something else into the equation, which I don't think has been mentioned so far:

'Brakes to slow, gears to go' - on steep descents?

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Yes

(sometimes both for belt and braces)

[Ancient]

Interesting, because the handbook of my (modern) car says to use engine braking on descents, rather than holding the speed down on the brakes (of course sometimes the occasional touch of brake is needed too).

[TripleS]

Interesting, because the handbook of my (modern) car says to use engine braking on descents, rather than holding the speed down on the brakes (of course sometimes the occasional touch of brake is needed too).

I don't believe in following this "brakes to slow, gears to go" idea too rigidly. To my way of thinking it is reasonable to make some use of engine braking, but I wouldn't take it too far, to the extent of trying to use the gears to take the place of most braking requirements.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Astraist]

Using the engine down a long degrade is not contrary to "brakes to slow" - you first slow down with the brakes and than set a gear to maintain the car in a certain speed, exactly what "brakes to slow, gears to go" is about. By the way, when driving downhill, it's better to set a lower gear so you can descend it while constantly applying the throttle (yes, the THROTTLE!) to keep the car at a steady speed down the hill.

By using a gear that makes you use the throttle rather than the brakes (or coast) your control over the car would be more natural, as on a level road, and you could react more easily even if you misjudged the steepness of the slope or if the descent gets sharper. Also, it takes the load off of the transmission and also makes the vehicle's handling more predictable.