Driving Tips From Gurus To Beginners Like Me

[sethumurugan]

When I stop I have to press clutch & brake. As far I gather from your advice, I have to bring clutch to biting point hold it there and simultaneously use accelerator leaving brake. Seems difficult. But I will try.

This is very useful for small pause during a bumper to bumper traffic in bridges or a road where it has slops. I have a slop near my house which is a road junction. invariably i might need to wait there at-least for couple of minutes. if i delay even a second there i will miss a gap. so i use this tech successfully for past 4-5 years.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

Dear friends, perhaps you all Maruti Car owners know, Ritz vxi model is not equipped with drivers seat height adjustment facility,it is available in zxi model only. May I add this facility to my model on my request to garages? Pl advice me. I think just 4" to 5" extra height will do.

 

[Arijitb]

Dear friends, perhaps you all Maruti Car owners know, Ritz vxi model is not equipped with drivers seat height adjustment facility,it is available in zxi model only. May I add this facility to my model on my request to garages? Pl advice me. I think just 4" to 5" extra height will do.

Yes you are absolutely right, just 4" will do.

1. For seat height adjustment you need to buy ZXI seat from MGP shop. You need to sale your existing seat by it's own - no exchange value.

2. Another suggestion given to me by my friend as well as Sales Rep of my car to add cussion under the seat cover to make it upright. But it is permanent.

3. Now the workaround process - I wrapped an old pillow (very Thin & Flat) with two/three layer of old towel and then a good looking towel and voila it worked. Cost me 0/-.

For me it it is 3.5" to 4" height and just need to feel the whole bucket / basin (where we seat) else you will fill pain in your thigh or butt area. The first day at driving practice I need to stop 2 times to adjust and then on it is there. Make sure the outer side must be rough fabric which comes contact to the seat cover / surface else it will slip.

Mine is still incomplete - Need the final stiching.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

I am now fully confident regarding stopping and starting on slope by both methods viz.parking break and foot break. Thanks to MDS. But I still did not try holding car stationary by balancing accelerator and biting point method on slope.

 

[Arijitb]

I am now fully confident regarding stopping and starting on slope by both methods viz.parking break and foot break. Thanks to MDS. But I still did not try holding car stationary by balancing accelerator and biting point method on slope.

Can you please post the steps how to move using foot brake only in slopes ?

 

[alexddas]

I am now fully confident regarding stopping and starting on slope by both methods viz.parking break and foot break. Thanks to MDS. But I still did not try holding car stationary by balancing accelerator and biting point method on slope.

Please use your hand brakes in slopes.
Any other practice will affect your clutch life.
Its in old cars that they practice you such techniques which is now unnecessary because all cars are equipped with good park brakes.
Do not worry or concentrate on such techniques.

 

[smooth rider]

sure alexdas it definitely strains the clutch & is an old practice but try the hand brake technique at a sleep slope and when you want to make a fast move. i think the half clutch method is definitely far better than the hand brake.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

Can you please post the steps how to move using foot brake only in slopes ?

It is very simple. Stop on slope applying break,hold it till stop. At starting bring the clutch to biting point keeping right foot on break ,hold there, move foot from break (at biting point car does not roll back ) to accelerator and rev the engine to 2000 or some more,release clutch slowly. The car will move up gently.

Please use your hand brakes in slopes.

. I will follow your advice. Actually my trainers too asked to apply parking break method. As they feel it easy and safe,since right foot is free from break and one can concentrate on accelerator only.

 

[suresh_gs]

I am now fully confident regarding stopping and starting on slope by both methods viz.parking break and foot break. Thanks to MDS. But I still did not try holding car stationary by balancing accelerator and biting point method on slope.

To move the car from rest on a gradient, the half clutch technique is the proven one.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

Can my friends comment on the bad sides of starting a vehicle in 2nd gear? Driving manuals prohibit it but I have seen some drivers to do that. How it affects the condition of car?

 

[alexddas]

Can my friends comment on the bad sides of starting a vehicle in 2nd gear? Driving manuals prohibit it but I have seen some drivers to do that. How it affects the condition of car?

This practice will worn out the clutch.
In old amby's we used to change the petrol engine to matador diesel ones, this engines are powerful with good torque.
In such modified cars we feel that we do not need a 1st gear to move the car,
and such cars were used by the old driving school guys and so this practice came in and some still continues in or modern cars.
I had heard from such guys that the first gear is the load gear and we do not need that in less load.
In such cars they may be right but now if we do it on our cars then it will worn out your clutch more.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

This practice will worn out the clutch.

My car's pick up is high. Initially at starting it moves quite fast (engine rev 1000 rpm) and for moving from the parking place I had to hold the clutch at biting point. I was thinking for a very slow start initially from parking place, that's why thinking of 2nd gear though never tried yet (I think the car will move in 2nd gear too,its 4 cylinder car).

 

[Kichu]

Even for a beginner its really not difficult to ride a car at 80kmph(if it is not a very narrow road) but the toughest part is to move the very same car from still without getting stalled. It will be even more worse when it comes to the slopes.

When I got to my petrol car I did lots of practices alone(in both forward and reverse direction) to find this 'biting point'. Later It was no more a problem to understand the exact biting point & the exact throttle point required for any particular angle of slope.

According to me this is what every driver must learn and this is the exact portion what most of the driving schools avoid, because teaching this part will ruin their car and also it is a great burden for them to make it clear for their students.
So this is the part I concentrate more when my relatives request me to teach them.


NOTE: Be sure to SWITCH OFF your AC before taking Off from a slope with a smaller capacity engine.

 

[TSIVipul]

My car's pick up is high. Initially at starting it moves quite fast (engine rev 1000 rpm) and for moving from the parking place I had to hold the clutch at biting point. I was thinking for a very slow start initially from parking place, that's why thinking of 2nd gear though never tried yet (I think the car will move in 2nd gear too,its 4 cylinder car).

Number of cylinders never matter buddy, what matters is cubic capacity, gear ratios and above all - torque.

Instead of using second gear, its always better to use the first gear for the said purpose, you won't do anything else than getting the clutch worn a bit more while using the second gear.

Find the biting point and learn the clutch+handbrake technique to get perfect launches on inclines.
To find the biting point, use a very simple technique:
1) Park the car on a plain road.
2) Engage the first gear and start taking your foot off the clutch at snail pace without touching the accelerator.
3) The point at which the car tries to move ahead is the biting point.

When you know the biting point, then start pressing the accelerator after this point and you will be astonished to see how well the car pulls even on inclines even if its petrol.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

My friends, pl advice which is better--shifting gear according to Tacho or speedometer reading?