Overview
You can drive your car in many different ways. Some ways are faster and goal orientated and some ways are more economical. Its good to strive to drive as much as possible economical as it reduces the wear on your car and also reduces fuel economy that in turn reduces pollution
Choosing which gear to put your car in
You will drive in all of the gears depending on your situation. The following gears are usually available
Gear indicator
- R:Reverse
- 1:Low gear (Have power (more torque), high revs, high wheel spin)
- 2:
- 3:
- 4:
- 5: High gear (Have endurance (more stamina), low revs, low wheel spin)
- 6: On some higher end cars. If your car has this gear then you should choose this as your high gear
Gears can be selected up or down. You can change it to any gear at any time depending on your needs. But its best practise to jump 1 gear at a time eg: 1,2,3,4,5, or skip 1 gear to keep the revs as low as possible Eg: 1,3,45 or 1,2,4,5
| Gear | Approx Speed | Revs |
|---|---|---|
| 1st – 2nd | 25 km/h | 2,000 – 3,000 rpm |
| 2nd – 3rd | 40 km/h | 2,500 – 3,500 rpm |
| 3rd – 4th | 60 km/h | 2,500 – 3,500 rpm |
| 4th – 5th | 80 km/h | 2,500 – 3,500 rpm |
| 5th – 6th | 100 km/h | 2,500 – 3,500 rpm |
Try to keep the engine revs under 3000 rpm. You will be evaluated against this during the practical driving test
Accelerate to the speed you need to drive at
If the road speed is 50km/h try to get to that speed as quickly as possible if the traffic situation allows for it. The reason for this is a car staying on the same speed limit use less fuel then a car that accelerating. Best to not pull out the accelerating phase for too long. Always remember to keep the revs below 3000 rpm when trying to get to the required speed limit. This means you will need to skip quickly through the gears
Driving behavior to consider
- Avoid pushing the clutch down when going down hill: When the car is going down hill it feels natural to push in the clutch. This actually causes the car to use more fuel as the engine will switch to idle mode. When you don't press in the clutch the engine will turn off or only use minimal engine power
- Try using engine brake as much as possible: Engine braking uses the cars engine to brake. This uses less fuel. Engine braking works by removing your foot from the gas peddal. This closes of the fuel intake to the engine. The engine now takes in more air then fuel which creates a vacuum in the engine. This vacuum effect pushes against the wheels and the car will slow down. You need to gear down as the car slows down. Keep an eye on the rev counter and before it reaches 1300rpms you switch to a lower gear
- Dont stop and brake a lot: You increase fuel efficiency if you don't start and stop a lot. Consider this when you are choosing a route to drive
- Avoid hard breaking: This is considered the most un-economical driving. All the energy the car has gained is lost into the breaks.
Economical driving VS safety
Safety always comes first. Example1 : If you need to speed up (Use a lot of revs) to ensure a car can drive safely onto the freeway then you must do that. Example 2: If you need to stop and start because children ran over the street then you must stop even though its not economical. Eco driving comes second