General > The Shed

- the mind boggles - or mine does!

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Hugh_Jones:
Tim, they didn`t have steering wheels anyway

tim:
- so right! But it was a damned hard pull! = Tim

Garden Manager:
Talk of gears got me thinking.

When I was learning to drive I had profesional lessons, but was given extra practice by my Dad, who tried to teach me to change down through the gears to slow the car down. This instead of the brake method now taught. I thought i'd be clever and try this old/new technique during my next proper lesson. Suffice it to say my instructor soon put me right, giving the reason as brake pads being cheaper to replace than gear boxes.

I have ever since used brakes rather than gears.

In subsequent years though i have through experience come to realise that gears do have another function one i don tthink many people know or use. That is to limit speed.  It is far too easy to change up into a to high a gear in say a 30mph zone, and then end up breaking the limit (or having a hard job staying under the limit).

Much better (though i dont know what it does for fuel comsumption) to stay in a lower gear, since the engine rev noise will then tell you if you are going too fast. on this basis, in my car 3rd is about right for a 30mph zone.  

The system does though get a little tricky for 40 and 50mph zones

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