omg, failed car exam 6 times on auto (2 Viewers)

[Bob.J]

so um.. the moral of the story is, if you have a problem, find it, fix it or just hide it heh

 

[DaddyK]

Slighlty on the topic though, if your in the test and have to break suddenly at the lights (not to sudden, but hard enough!) can you put the car (automatic) into a lower gear to help to slow down more smoothly/quicker? Could they fail you on that?

No, that will make the car brake suddenly and it won't be smoothe at all. I think they could fail you for that aswel.

 

[loquasagacious]

I would avoid that behaviour in a test situation and indeed generally if you want to preserve the transmission avoid it. That said I am a manual driver and i appreciate the 'manual-like' control and performance stick shifting an auto gives me.

If you're like me though then your place is not in an auto - if you want to shift manually get a manual car (or convert your auto to manual).

 

[Bob.J]

won't it cost a lot to change from auto to manual?

 

[DaddyK]

You mean to convert your car from an automatic to a manual? Yes that would be costly especially if you get someone else to do it.

 

[Jiga]

Nah I dont think I want to stuff around doing that.... the main problem was that non of my parents had a manual, so I could never practice on them, never mind!

No, that will make the car brake suddenly and it won't be smoothe at all

Im not so sure, ther car I drive now is only 1.6L, when I put it into the 2nd lower range gear it doesnt really slow down that rapidly, its relatively smooth and is useful for turning a harsh stop into a gentle one.....the lowest gear does brake suddenly though, also gives abit of a suprise when I leave it on accidently after driving up a hill with it starts revving unusually

I would avoid that behaviour in a test situation and indeed generally if you want to preserve the transmission avoid it

Really? From the car manual I read that its meant to be used when going up a hill for some extra power or when going down a hill to mechanically brake/slow down the car....I just thought doing it on a flat surface had the same effect, although at higher speeds it does tend to sound like crap when its revs like hell so I spose I better stop it!

 

[olchik]

Don't worry! Finally you will do it, just keep trying, don't give up, buddy!

 

[loquasagacious]

Converting from auto to manual:

Best case (eg DIY) you just need to buy a manual box (+clutch and associated periphery) and it bolts straight in. At a guess you'd be looking at ~ $1000.
Next is other things need changing so more $$$.
Then there's getting a mechanic to do it:
-If its simple then you're looking at maybe six hours labour (at say $50) so add $300 to parts cost.
-If it gets complicated the labour cost could easily double....

@Schoolies:

Yes you are meant to knock the tranny back when ascending or descending however I was more talking about stick shifting it in normal driving eg knocking it back to overtake (better to just take overdrive off or pedal it back [smoosh A-pedal and it should knock back]) or knocking it back whilst cornering....

 

[SashatheMan]

wow. think of the money

 

[dark`secrets]

i just think its rather pricey eek

 

[Shell]

he probably slams on the breaks when he sees a yellow, even if the line is like 5m ahead hahaha

or maybe he cant slow down and stop smoothly? like you know how u can do it all jerky and uneven slowing , and then at the end when u stop u sorta get whipped back a bit? yeh well that would probably be a good description of his driving

keep going for the test mate, your paying for our roads!

i have two tips
1). Imagine there is a tomato underneath your brake. and you have to break so smoothly and not crush the tomato. seriously, it helps
2) LOOK AHEAD. most peoples eyes fall just a few metres in front of their cars. lift your eyes a bit, and look at the place where you want to go. when you see lights ahead, start to slow down then.

 

[Gavvvvvin]

Yeah I hate when theres a yellow light and you dont know whether to slow dont or put your foot down and hope you make it through. I guess the best thing you can do is to check to see if theres any cars waiting on the intersecting road to see if they've activated the lights for their side.

 

[Olsen]

The best piece of advice i ever got was:

- keep ur foot over the pedal u think u will be using next i.e. as u approach a traffic light take ur foot off the accelerator letting the car coast until ur too close to the lights to stop and then u can put ur foot back on the accelerator again.

 

[Dumsum]

Come to a country area and do your test there. No lights I passed my test really easily... it was all around the back streets in Ballina.

 

[deon_c]

seriously..if you cant pass the p's test you shouldnt be driving. The p's test barely covers vital driving skills and if anyone cant pass it in an AUTO then OMG you shoudl be banned from teh road for life, sorry

 

[CieL]

1). Imagine there is a tomato underneath your brake. and you have to break so smoothly and not crush the tomato. seriously, it helps

lol for this dude, i'm jus afraid he'll be too scared to quish to tomato and end up coming to a complete standstill 4m past the line

 

[Riviet]

omg, failed car exam 6 times on auto

i just cant slow down near traffic lights. failed exams 6 times now... is this a national record or what????

I've heard that auto is quite hard, it takes much longer to learn, especially with the various gears and learing how and when to use them. If you can't slow down enough at traffic lights, try braking EARLIER, if it hasn't been mentioned by someone else.
Good luck next time you take teh exam!

 

[kow_dude]

I don't get how anyone cannot safely stop at a red light or a stop sign, it's one of the fundamentals of driving

 

[MiuMiu]

Shifting down in an auto doesn't ruin your transmission, thats what its there for!

Its really good for preserving your breaks too.

 

[iambored]

I've heard that auto is quite hard, it takes much longer to learn, especially with the various gears and learing how and when to use them.

but you don't need to know what the gears are, therefore it's easier