Quote:
Originally Posted by extrashaky
I never cruise below 1000 RPM, which is about 6 MPH in first, and I only do that on flat ground where the load is light. I never try to climb a hill that slowly, because the engine doesn't have enough torque to do that safely and you'll lug it. It ain't a diesel. If traffic is moving too slow up a hill, I'll clutch in and out as necessary to ease it along.
It's very easy to get into a driver-induced oscillation at low speed and start bucking. People think it's the car bucking, but it's not. It's the driver. At low speeds small inputs make bigger changes than at higher speeds. Because this car's throttle is so responsive, a slight sudden change on the accelerator can make it buck. You take off too fast, you let off too quickly, you take off too fast again, and very shortly you're behind the car trying to catch up but causing it to turn into a bull ride. You have to use a light foot and drive through the bucking until you smooth out.
Traffic will not want to cooperate, especially in places like Texas where dipshits tailgate out of a desperate fear someone will manage to get in front of them and "beat" them at traffic. You'll find your groove, some guy will slow down, some tailgating fool will slam on his brakes, and you'll have to stop. Then the guy up front takes off, the guy in front of you slams down the accelerator out of fear someone will get in front of him, and you'll have a big gap in front of you that is difficult to resist sprinting through to the next dead stop.
Instead, you have to read traffic and find the average speed, then just ease your foot up and down as necessary to try to stay close to that average. You'll leave a big gap at times, and people will jump into it. Fuck 'em. Let 'em do it. People behind you will also get mad when you leave a gap and tailgate you. Fuck 'em. Let 'em do it. You'll also have to clutch in sometimes when the idiot tailgaters have to stop. Fuck it, just coast in, then remember to leave some room when they all sprint forward again, because they're just going to stop again in 100 feet. If you time it right, you won't have to.
If you watch several cars ahead of you so you can see what's coming, pretty soon you'll be easing along in a nice slow crawl without ever having to hit your brakes. If you can't see the cars themselves because of the brodozer in front of you, watch their shadows off to the side. When you see a dipshit tailgater's shadow slam to a halt up ahead, ease off the accelerator and start increasing your gap so that you don't have to stop.
I make a game out of seeing how little I can use my brakes in traffic. It REALLY smooths out the experience and makes it a lot less annoying. If everyone would do it, traffic would actually move faster. And it's a lot easier to do in a manual than in an automatic.
I know that road. It's pretty annoying, but not enough that it would make me want to give up the manual.
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lol, nice write up. Liking this site and people much more than Miata forum. They are sensitive over anything you say.
You are right, idiots here ride ass everywhere I go and it’s super annoying. But it’s everywhere, had guy with Florida plates yesterday almost drive right into back of my Jeep in his Mustang which would have been a shitty problem for him more than me. Then raged and did same to multiple other drivers. Everyone’s tough behind wheel of car, unbelievable.
I’m getting sticker for back of my Jeep that says “the closer you get, the slower I go”. Anyway, I do feel like with some newer cars, possibly BRZ included you get best of both worlds with AT with paddles and manual shift lever. Everyone’s different and good they make both. I know one thing, my old man drove nothing but stick his entire life and never had knee or leg problems but when he did go AT, he never went back.