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>gear-shift indicator in the dash. My VW has this. It's useless, I never look at it. It is very simple and clearly intended only to give the best results on
by fazzone 10y ago
>gear-shift indicator in the dash.
My VW has this. It's useless, I never look at it. It is very simple and clearly intended only to give the best results on the controlled gas mileage testing - I believe that if a manual car has a gear-change indicator, the EPA test drivers are supposed to follow it. The advantage of a human selecting gears is that they can use more information than just the speed and engine rpm; for instance there is no point shifting into 6th gear if you see a big hill right in front of you. It also never indicates for the driver to skip a gear. Maybe you will save a few bucks on gas if you follow the indicator religiously but you'll probably break even after you have to replace your clutch early.
- Tempest1981 10y agoYou say it's useless, but then say "maybe you will save a few bucks on gas if you follow the indicator". Isn't that the point? To teach/remind you how to save gas? I agree that it is imperfect, and imo annoying/distracting. But it may work for a large number of drivers, most of the time.
- fazzone 10y agoMy point is that they far over-prioritized fuel economy. If you actually drive like that you will be spending a lot more time changing gears than necessary, and that almost any acceleration will require a downshift. I wouldn't recommend trying to stretch the gas mileage in the snow, for example, since you might need power to recover if you start to slide.
- blub 10y agoCompletely agree. Those indicators ignore that we can't accelerate as fast as a double-clutch automatic in case of emergency.
- rini17 10y agoOverusing clutch is not such a big problem, but that it leads the driver to keep low rpm. Especially diesel engine is sensitive to that and can be damaged.
- vetinari 10y agoIt is a trade off - you can trade a some of engine lifetime for a slightly better consumption by keeping the engine in low rpms, where it is stressed more than it should. That's exactly what the indicator suggests.
- gcb0 10y agoit's not useless if you're deaf.