stop in 3rd/4th gear?

booksale

Can I stop the car while it's in 3rd/4th gear? Or do I need to change it to 2nd / 1st before I have the final brake.

I dont remember my instructor (I stopped the lesson after 8 hours from him) saying so. But my friends who accompany me asked me to change it into 2nd before I brake.

Well, indeed, how to stop? I used the clutch a lot, but was told that it would hurt the clutch. Then I used the brake and it always cut out.

sentient_6

You can stop in 3rd yes. Its a good trick actually if you find yourself coasting alot or finding it difficult time wise to get down to 2nd, get off the clutch, then clutch again to stop. Once you get down to 3rd keep braking gently till you feel the car begin to start to...well, buck slightly, i know thats not the technical term but you'll know what i mean of you try it, and you need to be careful then to get on the clutch quickly once this starts. Its just simply normal brake/clutch to stop. So basically, drop to 3rd......brake brake brake brake, once you feel the kick on the engine brake & clutch.

inbodwetrust

I have wondered this aswell.I sometimes if I see a sign of the traffic halting in front of me Ill drop gears just for the sake of it . Can you break and put the gears from third down to first without releasing the clutch out fully in any of the gears if you get me?

**Timbuk2**

For the test, you can stop in either one of three ways.

1. (Recommended way) Stop in the gear you are in. If you know you have to stop ahead, you can just stop in whatever gear you are in (even 4th or 5th), using the brake, and pushing in the clutch when the engine starts to labour.

2. Changing down through the gears. This isn't necessary today as modern brakes are capable of stopping the car without help, but it is acceptable for the test. However, you have to release the clutch between gear changes. You can't hold in the clutch and change 5-4-3-2 as this is technically coasting.

3. Changing down to 2nd gear before you stop, e.g. 5th - 2nd, or 4th - 2nd this is a halfway house between the top two methods, and it isn't necessary due to modern braking.

inbodwetrust

Thanks alot for the help. Are they guidelines for stopping at traffic lights?, as in traffic or coming up to a roundabout given the traffic you will more than likely have to work down through the gears to prevent the car from cutting out

**Timbuk2**

inbodwetrust wrote: »

Thanks alot for the help. Are they guidelines for stopping at traffic lights?, as in traffic or coming up to a roundabout given the traffic you will more than likely have to work down through the gears to prevent the car from cutting out

No you don't have to work down through the gears for a roundabout. If you were approaching a roundabout in 4th gear, you would slow down using the brakes, be observing for a gap and if possible, adjusting your speed so you arrive at the roundabout when there is a gap. Once you are slowed down enough, select 2nd gear and go. If you have to stop, then choose first gear, and the handbrake if necessary (e.g a hill, or if a pause becomes a wait).

The recommend procedure for approaching turns and roundabouts, etc. is
Information (mirrors, signal if necessary).
Position (get into correct lane / road position, if applicable)
Speed (adjust your speed, using the brakes)
Gear (once you are at the speed, select the relevant gear, usually 2nd for right turns and small roundabouts)
Acceleration

The procedure doesn't have to be followed rigidly, but you get the idea in terms of slowing down and then selecting the gear.

The car shouldn't cut out while stopping in 4th/5th gear. Once you hear the engine labouring, put your foot on the clutch. This usually happens only within a few metres of stopping. Do you have a petrol or a diesel car? (My driving instructor used to say that diesel cars couldn't be stopped in high gears, but I'm not sure how correct he is).

inbodwetrust

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

No you don't have to work down through the gears for a roundabout. If you were approaching a roundabout in 4th gear, you would slow down using the brakes, be observing for a gap and if possible, adjusting your speed so you arrive at the roundabout when there is a gap. Once you are slowed down enough, select 2nd gear and go. If you have to stop, then choose first gear, and the handbrake if necessary (e.g a hill, or if a pause becomes a wait).

The recommend procedure for approaching turns and roundabouts, etc. is
Information (mirrors, signal if necessary).
Position (get into correct lane / road position, if applicable)
Speed (adjust your speed, using the brakes)
Gear (once you are at the speed, select the relevant gear, usually 2nd for right turns and small roundabouts)
Acceleration

The procedure doesn't have to be followed rigidly, but you get the idea in terms of slowing down and then selecting the gear.

The car shouldn't cut out while stopping in 4th/5th gear. Once you hear the engine labouring, put your foot on the clutch. This usually happens only within a few metres of stopping. Do you have a petrol or a diesel car? (My driving instructor used to say that diesel cars couldn't be stopped in high gears, but I'm not sure how correct he is).

Yeh it wont cut out while stopping in 4th if it is coming to a complete stop but approaching a roundabout it would do if there was traffic because the speed I would be travelling at would be too high for the car. My dad who usually drives with me thought mistakenly that for the test the gears needed to be work down in order not that he drives like that day to day.

**Timbuk2**

inbodwetrust wrote: »

Yeh it wont cut out while stopping in 4th if it is coming to a complete stop but approaching a roundabout it would do if there was traffic because the speed I would be travelling at would be too high for the car. My dad who usually drives with me thought mistakenly that for the test the gears needed to be work down in order not that he drives like that day to day.

My dad does as well! In the past, drivers were taught to stop the car by working through the gears as the brakes in those days lost power due to excessive braking, or something like that, and thus slowing the speed of the car down by engine braking (working through the gears) helped to stop the car. Nowadays, modern brakes are more than capable of stopping a car by themselves so it isn't necessary. As my instructor says, "You know you will be stopping at the stop sign, so why bother changing gears".

Sometimes I work down through the gears. For example, if I am approaching traffic lights that have been red for a while, I would slow down, select an appropriate gear, slow down again, select the next appropriate gear, etc. - I do this so that if the lights change to green I can just put my foot on the accelerator and go without changing gear again. But it isn't necessary, and it is probably more of a bad habit than anything!

J_R

Hi,

You can stop in any gear,including 5th or 6th

As

Stopping in 6th

Reloc8

I know you can do this, and that in itself is not a driving fault for test purposes, but just be sure you still have control of the vehicle. If you're stopping in say 5th gear you are going to need the clutch down a lot earlier than from say 2nd.

While the clutch is down if for any reason you needed more forward motion quickly, you're just going to stall when you let it up if not in a lower gear. If you're on a downwards slope and moving along in a high gear and you drop the clutch, its quite likely your speed will increase, in an uncontrolled manner.

So I would question the extent to which you have full control over the car if you do this.

I don't agree with your friend to get into second before braking - actually this would give you quite a sharp jolt if travelling along in a higher gear. I would say brake, evenly and consistently, at the appropriate speed clutch down, change gear down, clutch up. You don't need to stop braking while you do this. You will learn by experience the right point at which to change down.

Getting into the lower gear before braking is indeed it seems a bit of a throwback to days when cars needed assistance from 'engine-braking', i.e change gears down to reduce speed. This is not neccesary in modern cars. Getting into an appropriate lower gear when reducing speed seems to me however to be good practice.

highlydebased

Please, do not go driving about stopping in 4th. To be honest you should be changing down to at least 3rd or 2nd, dont use first only if you come to a complete halt. If you change to second at at roundabout and spot a gap in the traffic you can floor it, if you are in 4th you wont go anywhere fast.

**Timbuk2**

Actually, if you do it correctly, you can have just as much acceleration and control stopping in 4th/5th than if you change down. It's the method that the police use, as well as advanced drivers. Advanced drivers slow down to the speed they desire, then select the gear relevant for the speed, and then accelerate.

It's not really relevant to roundabouts, as you often don't need to stop at roundabouts. If I approach a roundabout in 4th or 5th gear, I start losing speed (either by braking, or just taking my foot off the accelerator), start observing to the right so I can figure out what speed to go at so I arrive at the roundabout when there is a gap, then change it into the gear necessary for the roundabout (usually 2nd or 3rd depending on the size).

But if I was coming to a definite stop, e.g. a stop sign or a red traffic light, I wouldn't bother changing down the gear!

stevenmu

There's two completely different things being mentioned here; coming to a stop and slowing down to drive at a lower speed. Both should be handled differently, and the driver should be able to anticipate which is more appropriate for any given situation. If you can anticipate in advance that you will definitely need to come to a complete stop, for e.g. at lights just turned red or at the back of a stationary queue, there's no need or point in shifting down through the gears. If you can anticipate that there's a good chance that if you slow and drop a few gears you may be able to continue, for e.g. lights that might go green or a queue that is starting to move off, then by all means do so.

The key really is to anticipate ahead of time, evaluate what the situation will be before you get to it, and then when the time comes to take some action you will know exactly what to do and have plenty of time to do it. Pretty soon it becomes second nature and you don't even have to plan, you know instinctively if you will need to come to a complete stop (and not shift down), or if you may need to continue at a lower speed (and therefore do shift down).

Max Power1

I was actually told by my ADi not to go down through all the gears if stopping. Some testers apparently give faults in this area for coasting/gears as if you change straight down 2 or more gears in a row , there is a sustained period where the car is not in gear.

Also, if coming to a roundabout/turn etc, it is perfectly acceptable to reduce speed in say 4th and change straight to second.

sentient_6

Max Power1 wrote: »

I was actually told by my ADi not to go down through all the gears if stopping. Some testers apparently give faults in this area for coasting/gears as if you change straight down 2 or more gears in a row , there is a sustained period where the car is not in gear.

It's only coasting if you dont come off the clutch, so come of at every gear change. & i think twas mentioned by the way how it doesnt help slow down the car in more modern cars but it definetly does in mine.

Alanstrainor

sentient_6 wrote: »

i think twas mentioned by the way how it doesnt help slow down the car in more modern cars but it definetly does in mine.

It's not that it doesn't help, it's that modern brakes are more than adequate to stop a car. All cars in the last 15 years sold here would have at least front disk brakes, as opposed to drum brakes. Drum brakes will suffer badly from "brake fade" under hard/prolonged braking which would mean that brakes are less effective at stopping. Disk brakes don't suffer this problem to the same extent as drum brakes.
This why it is recommended to stop in the gear you're in, as changing down only serves to put added strain on your transimission, and for little reward. Brake pads are cheaper than gear boxes.

But that being said, both methods are perfectly acceptable for test purposes, and changing down is a skill you will have to learn anyway, for scenarios where you meet slow moving traffic etc. You will not get marked down for changing down through the gears while stopping, provided you do so correctly. And by that i mean, coming off the clutch after each change down.