Unpopular Motoring Opinion Thread

[EyesWeldedShut]

10 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Ah, I see, was thinking feet when you said using clutch.

My original writing explains it very badly. At the time I got lots of bollockings for trying to engine brake in the wrong situations  -  I'd learned to drive on farm vehicles with (basically) no brakes at all then graduated to Triumph Herald/Toledo/Vitesse.
I had one old skool instructor who would sit holding a wooden ruler. If you went to change gear at an inappropriate moment - whack on the knuckles.  A novel, but diverting method. I quickly picked up the 'system'.

[warren t claim]

On 28/04/2024 at 10:25, eddyramrod said:

Totally!

Even in HGVs?

[MiniMort]

I don't understand the appeal of 'synthetic leather' in new cars. People are basically paying hundreds more so their shiny new car has the same seat material as their family's Chevette ES did in 1982.

On the subject of new cars, do modern EVs really need to get from 0-60mph in three seconds? In a world of telematics, couldn't companies limit acceleration to the track?

[Sham]

What people need from EVs and what car companies produce are two very different things.

What we need are efficient, lightweight, 5 seater cars with decent boot space and similar performance to a petrol/diesel hatchback.

What we get... Isn't that.

[loserone]

8 minutes ago, Sham said:

What makes headlines ... Isn't that.

Have you seen the reviews of the Spring and eC3? Magazines think normal cars aren't enough.

[Matty]

3 minutes ago, loserone said:

Have you seen the reviews of the Spring and eC3? Magazines think normal cars aren't enough.

I get where your coming from but normal cars always were enough. I feel what is going on more is that people are buying what is available.

Suv type vehicles are easier to package the tech in and mega performance instead of mega range is attempting to give a halo to the new tech.

This doesn't seem to be going in the right direction in terms of sustainable transport. Just my opinion obviously.

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, MiniMort said:

I don't understand the appeal of 'synthetic leather' in new cars. People are basically paying hundreds more so their shiny new car has the same seat material as their family's Chevette ES did in 1982.

On the subject of new cars, do modern EVs really need to get from 0-60mph in three seconds? In a world of telematics, couldn't companies limit acceleration to the track?

Given the average reaction time is supposed to be around a second at best and probably double that in real life situations with distractions,  doing 60 with only a second to spare doesn't seem to be a good idea for any but the best trained drivers.

[Dobloseven]

3 hours ago, MiniMort said:

I don't understand the appeal of 'synthetic leather' in new cars. People are basically paying hundreds more so their shiny new car has the same seat material as their family's Chevette ES did in 1982.

On the subject of new cars, do modern EVs really need to get from 0-60mph in three seconds? In a world of telematics, couldn't companies limit acceleration to the track?

Acceleration like that is just stupid.Floor the accelerator and your coffee will go everywhere!

[eddyramrod]

8 hours ago, warren t claim said:

Even in HGVs?

Yes.  Just because the manufacturers aren't putting in, and never have put in, any effort into developing a proper automatic capable of handling the stresses of a truck's life doesn't mean that the concept is bad.  The concept is good.  Driving a truck is bloody stressful and dangerous, as I well know first-hand, so if it can be made genuinely easier for the driver in even small ways, then that can only be good.

Vehicle manufacturers - for any size or category of vehicle - build what they want to build, and they build it down to the bones of a costing.  At no time do they apply any care in the design or build, and at no time do they take any notice at all of what the actual users want.

This is* progress.

[sierraman]

4 hours ago, Sham said:

What people need from EVs and what car companies produce are two very different things.

What we need are efficient, lightweight, 5 seater cars with decent boot space and similar performance to a petrol/diesel hatchback.

What we get... Isn't that.

I don’t understand why they all need to look like some sort of insect. 

[puddlethumper]

^^^ Or angry.

[Dobloseven]

8 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Yes.  Just because the manufacturers aren't putting in, and never have put in, any effort into developing a proper automatic capable of handling the stresses of a truck's life doesn't mean that the concept is bad.  The concept is good.  Driving a truck is bloody stressful and dangerous, as I well know first-hand, so if it can be made genuinely easier for the driver in even small ways, then that can only be good.

Vehicle manufacturers - for any size or category of vehicle - build what they want to build, and they build it down to the bones of a costing.  At no time do they apply any care in the design or build, and at no time do they take any notice at all of what the actual users want.

This is* progress.

Coaches have automatic gearboxes,which allow the drivers more time and energy to get off with the female passengers!

[eddyramrod]

11 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Coaches have automatic gearboxes

I didn't know that, thank you.

[High Jetter]

Even Routemasters had semi's, I think 🤣

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Even Routemasters had semi's, I think 🤣

You’re thinking about the drivers. ( all that vibration).

[High Jetter]

18 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

You’re thinking about the drivers. ( all that vibration).

Nope

[warren t claim]

14 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Yes.  Just because the manufacturers aren't putting in, and never have put in, any effort into developing a proper automatic capable of handling the stresses of a truck's life doesn't mean that the concept is bad.  The concept is good.  Driving a truck is bloody stressful and dangerous, as I well know first-hand, so if it can be made genuinely easier for the driver in even small ways, then that can only be good.

Vehicle manufacturers - for any size or category of vehicle - build what they want to build, and they build it down to the bones of a costing.  At no time do they apply any care in the design or build, and at no time do they take any notice at all of what the actual users want.

This is* progress.

Let's just wait one cotton picking minute!

As you're a little older than me I'm going to make the assumption that when you took your HGV test you had to do the gearchanging exercise where you had to start off in the lowest non crawler gear and work your way up every gear without crunching any shift. This was part of my Class 2 test but had been dropped by the time I did my Class 1. Therefore as a former lorryist, it's fair to say that you could read the road and make an educated decision as to which of the 8 to 16 ratios would be best for the developing road conditions better than any autobox.

Bin wagons and fire engines are usually fitted with an Allison autobox. This is the nearest any HGV has to a user friendly car type automatic transmission.

HGV autoboxes like the DAF ASTronic (full throttle and it insists on sequentially changing up through the box one gear at a time) or the Scania Opticruise (an autobox with a clutch!) are nowhere as intuitive as a proper HGV driver.

[Yoss]

9 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Even Routemasters had semi's, I think 🤣

They were actually fully auto from new but didn't always select the right gear, just like an automatic car from the 1950s. But it had a manual override. If you put it 4th it will be in auto and pull away in second. 

We had the auto disabled on ours in 1989 not long after we bought it. The SSG (speed sense generator) broke one day. This is a little unit  on the gearbox that decides how fast we are traveling and so what gear to select. When it breaks the bus thinks the engine is just idling so it won't change out of second gear.

There's a unit in the cab that you can fit a by pass plug to that converts it to semi auto which is a better way to drive anyway. Then you just select whichever gear you want when you want, backing off the throttle as you do so, like you would with a manual but without the clutch.

 

But the Routemasters predecessor the RT (and the single deck RF) had a pre select gearbox which works by witchcraft. I think it's a bit like a modern DSG but from 1939. Or probably not. You pull away in first or second (first is only really for hill starts) then immediately select the next gear but the gear doesn't change until you press a button on the floor with your foot. It's not a clutch , it's just a button, the bus does the actual changing itself. 

This means you can change gear whilst still having both hands on the wheel which is very useful when you have a bus without power steering. I've never driven one but have watched other people doing it. It seems counter intuitive but is a brilliant system. I think Lanchester cars had it too.

[Supernaut]

On 30/04/2024 at 07:16, loserone said:

Have you seen the reviews of the Spring and eC3? Magazines think normal cars aren't enough.

What magazines think and what us normal people in reality need are two different things, though.

[MorrisItalSLX]

The Triumph Mayflower is an attractive piece of art deco design that I would happily own.

[dozeydustman]

On 01/05/2024 at 00:45, warren t claim said:

Bin wagons and fire engines are usually fitted with an Allison autobox. This is the nearest any HGV has to a user friendly car type automatic transmission.

Yes. The Allison isn’t bad as an automatic and it certainly makes the creeping along a street stopping and starting every few second easier but not all bin wagons are set up the same. I cut my teeth in a Dennis Delta with a 6-speed manual (I think it was an Eaton box) The clutch was very heavy as it had no air assistance, thankfully it was in the era of bag loading so I could leave it in first and pootle along at 1-2mph and only had to dip the clutch when the packer start button was pushed.

The new Isuzus we have at work are the ‘easyshift’, basically a self-shifting manual. They are awful, especially as one isn’t set up correctly and will have you in 6th by about 25mph and won’t kick down.

For ‘normal’ HGV work I have done I preferred a manual, but I only have class 2.