Yantelope V2 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) EDIT: Also, while we are on driving/cars, in America the traffic lights go Red to Green to Yellow to Red. We don't have a Yellow between Red and Green. In China they have countdown timers on all their lights so you know exactly when they're going to change. Vin Diesel would approve. Edited April 3, 2012 by Yantelope V2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) I'm not being a snob just curious :/ Yeah, I didn't mean you were being a snob, just that some people are. My stick's layout is like this: Which is actually the only layout I've ever seen now that I think about it (not all cars have 5 forward gears, but R is always down and to the right). Edited April 3, 2012 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I don't even drive anyway. (Well.. I don't have a license to at least) Are you saying you are able to drive but don't because you don't have a license, or that you drive on public roads without a license? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I'm able to drive (and have on n off since I was 12, though not for a fair few years now). I just can't legally drive. I've neither the money, nor the pressing need to get a license anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantelope V2 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Apparently an automatic transmission adds about $1,000 to the car but manuals just don't sell in America anymore so pretty much everything comes with an automatic these days aside from sports cars because as Ethan said true sports car drivers use a manual. A vast majority of cars come with automatic locks and windows these days too. Some new cars have been coming with paddle shifters these days though. I know the Chevrolet Corvette had that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I can't stand that layout of manual in Dean's pic. Just put R opposite to 1, for fuck's sake. I just don't get the benefit. It doesn't save you hassle because you have some sort of safety 'latch' requiring extra effort to get into reverse anyway. Actually it seems like a small price to pay considering the alternative of driving away in 1st then switching to R by accident. It doesn't save hassle - it saves needing a new set of synchro rings, gears, clutch etc if you made a mistake once or twice. It also makes sense for a 6-speed since the 6 driving gears are all in one block. Reverse is a special case, so sliding over to get there is no problem. Though even all in one block, there could be secondary safeties I guess... it's almost impossible to shift my car into 1st if it's rolling because some kind of gate mechanism blocks the stick. That does more harm than good, IMO. - FWIW, I've also never seen a light go from red to yellow. The most involved lights around here go red, left turn, red, green, yellow, red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I can't stand that layout of manual in Dean's pic. Just put R opposite to 1, for fuck's sake. I just don't get the benefit. It doesn't save you hassle because you have some sort of safety 'latch' requiring extra effort to get into reverse anyway. Actually it seems like a small price to pay considering the alternative of driving away in 1st then switching to R by accident. It doesn't save hassle - it saves needing a new set of synchro rings, gears, clutch etc if you made a mistake once or twice. As hotheart mentioned through, you've got to lift the stick up to go into reverse anyway, something that's not so simple to do by accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) Then I'm not following what he said, because to me "opposite to 1" is straight down - where 2 is. Truth be told, having a little resistance to overcome to get it into the R channel isn't even that reliable a lockout - I've gone to put it in 1st and crossed the line, but backed off when a warning tone sounded. Still, it's no more hassle putting it where it goes than it is having to shift in the first place. (edit: Or do you mean physically pulling up on the stick? That's not part of it at all in my car...) Edited April 3, 2012 by fuchikoma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Yeah you pull up on the stick to engage reverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Ah, I've never seen a car like that. With mine, you just have to push past some resistance to get into the channel for reverse, and a tone sounds to confirm it. I find it kind of bizarre that this would be considered a hassle or annoyance since it's basically a selector switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffles Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Ah, I've never seen a car like that. With mine, you just have to push past some resistance to get into the channel for reverse, and a tone sounds to confirm it. I find it kind of bizarre that this would be considered a hassle or annoyance since it's basically a selector switch. I think it's pretty common on 6 speed cars. My moms truck is a 6 speed, and you have to sort of push the stick down then move it left past 1 and 2 to engage reverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 My friend had a car that required you to pull up on a slider farther down on the stick to get it into reverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 My friend had a car that required you to pull up on a slider farther down on the stick to get it into reverse. Much of a muchness. Your'e either pulling on the nob or the shaft. As for Fuchikoma, I've a feeling the lack of resistance isn't a feature and the tone may be a warning sound that the gearbox is mush Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Huh? No, the feature IS resistance, not lack thereof. If you gently pushed left, it'd just slide between 1st and 2nd. It's smooth going into any other gear, unless the car is specifically locking out low gears at high speeds. Other than that... the reviews speak for themselves. The only real problem with it is that some drivers had grinding going into 5th - never happened to me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Oh, sorry, yeah. Was distracted. I didn't mean opposite 1. More like, the opposite side of the layout. Not driven 6-speeds, but I've seen it on 5-speeds. I prefer the gears to be all symmetrical. Not sure about the mechanics behind it though. Not really had trouble locking it into reverse with my current car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Huh? No, the feature IS resistance, not lack thereof. If you gently pushed left, it'd just slide between 1st and 2nd. It's smooth going into any other gear, unless the car is specifically locking out low gears at high speeds. Other than that... the reviews speak for themselves. The only real problem with it is that some drivers had grinding going into 5th - never happened to me though. What I'm getting at is on a stick where you need to lift it up for reverse there's considerable resistance. Not so much resistance as a brick wall in trying to put it in reverse without doing it properly. What I'm implying is you've got a fucked gearbox, thus the brick wall of resistance is gone, providing only minor resistance where you can pass the stick into reverse, and the car gives off a warning tone that it's fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 No... I'm saying I know how my car works and there is no such lifting gate mechanism. The tone tells you you are reversing. It's not some used junker or something; it was bought brand new and then checked by a friend who is a master mechanic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Mine's a brick wall, but no special lever. It simply won't go into reverse if the car is moving forward at all (not that I've really tried...) and it won't go into first if I'm going more than about 10 mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I'm making a joke. I even explained it. I'm sure you know how your car drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Sorry, hard to see it even now, since cars do have problem lights/alarms. I just saw something along the lines of "the problem must be that your car just sucks..." "The Internet is serious business" as they say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 BMWs have the reverse gear further across than first. They rely on resistance. VWs (and SEATs, Skodas and Audis) have a collar that you lift to engage reverse, Fords require that you push the whole stick down. Japanese cars I think tend to have reverse opposite 5th gear (or further across from 6th) and have no special clicky twisty pushy things needed to engage reverse. Personally, I've driven a lot of cars, I used to deliver them for Europcar (a hire company). Automatics are ok, but really, driving manual in traffic is not that arduous and the benefits (for me) far outweigh the negatives. Manuals are, in my opinion, best because they give you far more control over the car. I drop down a couple of gears if I want an instant boost or knock it into high gear if I'm coasting. I can use engine braking to save my brakes and while braking I can take off again without the car having to catch up with me. I also prefer manuals for adverse conditions. Driving through big puddles, low gear - high revs. Driving on ice, high gear - low revs. Also, driving Automatics is really boring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 The real reason everyone should drive a manual: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 The real reason everyone should drive a manual: How do you get road head with that thing installed? If you're not getting road head then what's the point of something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Wait, road head isn't where your hair's messed up from sleeping in the road?! I have a woman to whom I need to apologise... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Maybe not so much English vs English in an English vs American way, cos this might apply to other countries instead: Here "Half 4" is 4:30/16:30. But it seems in some place's it's 3:30/15:30. As in "half an hour until four" instead of our "half an hour past four". Bit like "quarter past" and "quarter to". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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