Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Guide to Malaysian Drivers
Part Tres
Sound relates to the engine speed and gearing. Some of you more careful drivers probably never revved the car about the 3,000 rpm limit. It’s the meter that’s beside your speedometer on the dashboard. Look, most cars are designed to take much higher engine strain then above the meter limit at 8,000-9,000 rpm. Formula One cars go above 18,000 rpm without damage. So it is safe for your car and engine to be accelerated to about 3,500-4,000 rpm on a normal everyday basis before shifting gears upwards and accelerate again. This is basic, low speeds - low gears, higher speeds - higher gears. Logically this might sound correct but most people are over-gearing at the speed they are going. Example, being in 4th gear when only at speed 70 km/h. That’s just wrong. You burn more petrol that way too and it becomes costly.
Proper gearing also helps improve your driving in the rain. Driving in a lower gears in the rain gives you better road traction, allowing you to travel as normal and take corners safer. You will experience the car grips the road just like in the dry. Good rain tyres will also help. Most of the techniques mentioned in here can be applied to wet driving conditions, especially on the braking less and cornering techniques. In heavier rain situations with low visibility, do not use hazard lights and brake around excessively unless necessary, as you will cause panic to other drivers behind you. It is very distracting for drivers to see multiple blinking lights on an already wet smeared windscreen multiplied by reflections off rain drops, when we are trying to concentrate on other possible dangers. Use your normal lights and control your vehicle speed with lower gears. Use the lines on the road as your guide to get you going in the correct lanes, speed and direction, instead of driving at ridiculously dangerously slow speeds.
I drive to work on a daily basis from near Taman Tun towards Kuala Lumpur through Jalan Damansara, Pusat Bandar, Semantan, Jalan Duta, Parlimen and Raja Laut. A drive which takes 10 to 15 minutes in a no traffic situation and can take up more than 1 hour in the mornings if I were to follow the crowd. That’s an extra 45 minutes at least of fuel burnt just waiting for others to move along. By following the flow method, I can get to work in less than 30 minutes and I don’t get to drive faster than 90 km/h average. It is possible to maintain an average speed of around 110 km/h consistently the entire way safely on a light traffic day which leaves me wondering the ridiculous speed limits set along the way.
I can’t help but notice the countless annoying habits that drivers practice along the way. For example, going up the overpass and hill to Jalan Johar around Pusat Bandar Damansara towards Jalan Semantan. First of all, you should be downshifting into third and second gear as you take the corner to go up the hill without braking. If you are driving an automatic, floor the accelerator pedal all the way as you go uphill to down shift your gears to “2” before shifting up back to “D” when it sounds right. No, it does not harm your car. The reason why traffic gets down to a crawl is because you are not in the right gears and do not have enough power to accelerate uphill. There is no reason for this jam! You slow down, everyone behind you has to slow down, adjust their gears and that’s when the jam starts. When you get uphill and turn towards the right, you should be able to take that corner without slowing down too. Your car is not going to tip over, skid and fall of the cliff when you are just going at 40 km/h, so stop braking. I have taken that corner at speeds above 100 km/h safely without any problems whatsoever.
Listen to your car, optimally your engine revs should be between 2,500 - 4,000 rpm. If you hit below 2,000 rpm, it’s time to down shift that gear. Over time, you can accustom your ears to predictably shift gears just by listening to the sound of the car engine correctly without even looking at the Rev Meter. The other thing about gears is Engine Compression Braking. When going downhill and into corners, use the lower gears as you about to enter the corner and slowly-slowly lift off the clutch. You will feel the engine rev up a bit, car slow down a bit and your car having more grip and easier to steer around the corner. Again, use the feedback you get from the steering wheel. When it comes to cornering lines, use the entire road, including spill over areas only when necessary (only recommended if you are an advance driver). Observe how the Formula 1 drivers take the corners on race tracks; notice how they do not follow the contour of the road or following a specific lane drawn on the road. They follow the straightest path around the corner, thereby, minimising roll, tyre wear, the necessity to brake or slow down to maintain momentum and the gravitational force to carry them around the corner safely despite the speed.
Similarly, a road car responds the same way. For instance, taking a left corner bend, one should hit 3 location points on the road through the corner, Entry, Middle and Exit target points. Downshift one gear down, do the engine compression braking and brake slightly (optional) so you enter the corner at the correct entry speed, position the car on the right most area of the road at the Entry point. Maintain your eye focus on the furthest point of the exit of the corner at all times. Follow a path where you cut the inner left most point of the road when you are in the Middle Point of the corner and as you exit, accelerate away (you might want to upshift the gear at the right RPM) to hit the Exit Point located towards the most area again. Remember, Slow In-Fast Out and not Fast In-No Out. This even applies when taking roundabouts. Position your venicle at the tangent of the corner and move straight into the roundabout tangent direction, not towards the roundabout and then turning the steering to figure out which lane was lane best.
Once you master this, you should be able to take corners correctly, safer, faster and smoother. This is where feel comes in. If you ever decide or have to drive really fast, you will be in full control of the car, feeling how it turns, grips, accelerate, and decelerate under engine compression braking, manoeuvre through tight spaces and difficult traffic with ease. It doesn’t feel like you are sliding downhill uncontrollably too and having to brake unnecessarily too. Braking helps slow the car down but you need to be in the right gear in the first place. No it does not spoil your car unless you drive like a mad crazy racing driver everyday on public roads. This is how professional and racing drivers do it and what they don’t teach you at Driving Schools. You can enrol in an Advanced Driving Course to learn all this and defensive driving as well.
In Part Cuatro: Acceleration, Planning & Problem Solving, Consideration
Disclaimer: The author takes no responsibility and accepts no liability for any harm or injury that may arise from practicing any of the content mentioned in this article. Speed can kill if you are not skilled to handle it. Road racing is a dangerous activity. Always observe the law and apply common sense and consideration when driving.
Part Tres
Sound relates to the engine speed and gearing. Some of you more careful drivers probably never revved the car about the 3,000 rpm limit. It’s the meter that’s beside your speedometer on the dashboard. Look, most cars are designed to take much higher engine strain then above the meter limit at 8,000-9,000 rpm. Formula One cars go above 18,000 rpm without damage. So it is safe for your car and engine to be accelerated to about 3,500-4,000 rpm on a normal everyday basis before shifting gears upwards and accelerate again. This is basic, low speeds - low gears, higher speeds - higher gears. Logically this might sound correct but most people are over-gearing at the speed they are going. Example, being in 4th gear when only at speed 70 km/h. That’s just wrong. You burn more petrol that way too and it becomes costly.
Proper gearing also helps improve your driving in the rain. Driving in a lower gears in the rain gives you better road traction, allowing you to travel as normal and take corners safer. You will experience the car grips the road just like in the dry. Good rain tyres will also help. Most of the techniques mentioned in here can be applied to wet driving conditions, especially on the braking less and cornering techniques. In heavier rain situations with low visibility, do not use hazard lights and brake around excessively unless necessary, as you will cause panic to other drivers behind you. It is very distracting for drivers to see multiple blinking lights on an already wet smeared windscreen multiplied by reflections off rain drops, when we are trying to concentrate on other possible dangers. Use your normal lights and control your vehicle speed with lower gears. Use the lines on the road as your guide to get you going in the correct lanes, speed and direction, instead of driving at ridiculously dangerously slow speeds.
I drive to work on a daily basis from near Taman Tun towards Kuala Lumpur through Jalan Damansara, Pusat Bandar, Semantan, Jalan Duta, Parlimen and Raja Laut. A drive which takes 10 to 15 minutes in a no traffic situation and can take up more than 1 hour in the mornings if I were to follow the crowd. That’s an extra 45 minutes at least of fuel burnt just waiting for others to move along. By following the flow method, I can get to work in less than 30 minutes and I don’t get to drive faster than 90 km/h average. It is possible to maintain an average speed of around 110 km/h consistently the entire way safely on a light traffic day which leaves me wondering the ridiculous speed limits set along the way.
I can’t help but notice the countless annoying habits that drivers practice along the way. For example, going up the overpass and hill to Jalan Johar around Pusat Bandar Damansara towards Jalan Semantan. First of all, you should be downshifting into third and second gear as you take the corner to go up the hill without braking. If you are driving an automatic, floor the accelerator pedal all the way as you go uphill to down shift your gears to “2” before shifting up back to “D” when it sounds right. No, it does not harm your car. The reason why traffic gets down to a crawl is because you are not in the right gears and do not have enough power to accelerate uphill. There is no reason for this jam! You slow down, everyone behind you has to slow down, adjust their gears and that’s when the jam starts. When you get uphill and turn towards the right, you should be able to take that corner without slowing down too. Your car is not going to tip over, skid and fall of the cliff when you are just going at 40 km/h, so stop braking. I have taken that corner at speeds above 100 km/h safely without any problems whatsoever.
Listen to your car, optimally your engine revs should be between 2,500 - 4,000 rpm. If you hit below 2,000 rpm, it’s time to down shift that gear. Over time, you can accustom your ears to predictably shift gears just by listening to the sound of the car engine correctly without even looking at the Rev Meter. The other thing about gears is Engine Compression Braking. When going downhill and into corners, use the lower gears as you about to enter the corner and slowly-slowly lift off the clutch. You will feel the engine rev up a bit, car slow down a bit and your car having more grip and easier to steer around the corner. Again, use the feedback you get from the steering wheel. When it comes to cornering lines, use the entire road, including spill over areas only when necessary (only recommended if you are an advance driver). Observe how the Formula 1 drivers take the corners on race tracks; notice how they do not follow the contour of the road or following a specific lane drawn on the road. They follow the straightest path around the corner, thereby, minimising roll, tyre wear, the necessity to brake or slow down to maintain momentum and the gravitational force to carry them around the corner safely despite the speed.
Similarly, a road car responds the same way. For instance, taking a left corner bend, one should hit 3 location points on the road through the corner, Entry, Middle and Exit target points. Downshift one gear down, do the engine compression braking and brake slightly (optional) so you enter the corner at the correct entry speed, position the car on the right most area of the road at the Entry point. Maintain your eye focus on the furthest point of the exit of the corner at all times. Follow a path where you cut the inner left most point of the road when you are in the Middle Point of the corner and as you exit, accelerate away (you might want to upshift the gear at the right RPM) to hit the Exit Point located towards the most area again. Remember, Slow In-Fast Out and not Fast In-No Out. This even applies when taking roundabouts. Position your venicle at the tangent of the corner and move straight into the roundabout tangent direction, not towards the roundabout and then turning the steering to figure out which lane was lane best.
Once you master this, you should be able to take corners correctly, safer, faster and smoother. This is where feel comes in. If you ever decide or have to drive really fast, you will be in full control of the car, feeling how it turns, grips, accelerate, and decelerate under engine compression braking, manoeuvre through tight spaces and difficult traffic with ease. It doesn’t feel like you are sliding downhill uncontrollably too and having to brake unnecessarily too. Braking helps slow the car down but you need to be in the right gear in the first place. No it does not spoil your car unless you drive like a mad crazy racing driver everyday on public roads. This is how professional and racing drivers do it and what they don’t teach you at Driving Schools. You can enrol in an Advanced Driving Course to learn all this and defensive driving as well.
In Part Cuatro: Acceleration, Planning & Problem Solving, Consideration
Disclaimer: The author takes no responsibility and accepts no liability for any harm or injury that may arise from practicing any of the content mentioned in this article. Speed can kill if you are not skilled to handle it. Road racing is a dangerous activity. Always observe the law and apply common sense and consideration when driving.
