Correct gear for cornering

alfman

I'm learning how to drive and my instructor told me that whenever you are turning from a major road onto a minor road you should slow down and change into second gear before making the turn.

Whenever I do this I am normally changing down from 4th to second and I find that I need the slow the car way down before I can change into second gear, normally less than 15kph.

I've noticed whenever my wife is driving that she normally just stays in 4th gear for making the turn. My dad and sister do the same.

What is the correct procedure?

MascotDec85

Your instructor is, surprise surprise, correct

If your wife/dad/whoever is turning in 4th the chances are they are probably coasting too (keeping the clutch pressed to the floor) which is totally wrong,

In general, turns of that nature should be done in 2nd. You can approach this by going from 4 to 3 to 2 or from 4 straight to 2 but only after braking first to slow the car down to an appropriate speed for the gear you wish to use.

Some sharper corners may need even 1st gear

alfman

I'm always really conscious that I'm holding up traffic when I slow way down to change into second. At what speed should I be able to change down into second or does it vary from car to car?

longhalloween

alfman wrote: »

I'm always really conscious that I'm holding up traffic when I slow way down to change into second. At what speed should I be able to change down into second or does it vary from car to car?

If you're only learning don't worry too much about holding up traffic. You'll get used to it soon enough. If you're coming from 4th to 2nd gear try to be around the 30kph mark as you make the change, though this varies slightly from car to car and with petrol and diesel engines.

MascotDec85

In general for standard turns like those mentioned above when up to test standard you should be turning at around 20 - 25 km/h roughly

MangoLime

You should always drop down at least one gear when taking corners-but second gear is generally the best because it gives you more control. Don't worry about holding up traffic. If you're turning left, move to as close to the left as you can, that way people can overtake you on the right if they want to. Same if you're turning right-move to the right (without crossing the centre of the road, also give way to traffic coming towards you) so people can overtake on the left if there's enough room.

Raladic

The reason for going down into 2nd gear is that you will have more control over the car.
If you stay in 4th and the road is slippery you will generally have more speed that you would have in 2nd and then the car could decide to keep going straight instead of into the turn.

Also since most cars are front wheel drives, if you are in a slower gear, you can easier "pull" the car out of the curve - basically you slow down going into the curve and then once turned speed up again pulling the car out - that's how the driving instructors teach it in Austria.