electric cars and frosty roads

The only ones I've seen which have gears are the classic car conversions of e.g. E-type, Beetle where they wanted to do the minimal changes (see Bobby Llewellyn)

Change that to ?no car should unintentionally...? and I might agree. In normal non-slippery conditions ?one-pedal? driving in an EV in town can be a useful facility with highish levels of regenerative braking available on the overrun. Saves a lot of foot dancing between pedals. So, there are times when it?s a useful feature.

As far as I?m aware, it?s always a driver selectable option.

Tim

There is naff all engine braking in my car until you get down to 4th,

I think a lot is down to anticipation of what your expect to happen as you lift of the accelerator. Like the strange sensation of acceleration the first few times you take your foot off when you've engaged cruise control. You expect to slow down but you remain at the cruise speed which is perceived as accelerating. You soon get used to it though, just as you get used to the varying amounts of engine braking in each different gear.

IIRC "winter" tyre compounds are high silica and supposed to remain softer at low temps, below 7 C is often quoted. They are also supposed to wear quicker in the summer but I can't say I've noticed. First set of winters I had I'd take off in the summer until the end of their third maybe fourth winter when they were starting to not perform quite as well but still had a good few thousand miles left. Kept them on for the summer no noticeable difference in wear rate...

I think you are overstating there with "No car".

My car has adaptive cruise control. It can go into a coasting mode. It can apply braking. Very obvious if you set it to something like 50 on an up and down road. So simply lifting your foot off the power can brake quite hard if you are going faster than the ACC is set and downhill. Almost unnoticeable if fairly level and ACC speed is what you are doing.

I'm sure when you're struggling for range, regeneration is preferable to braking. But then the same applies to any vehicle. If you brake when not actually needed you'll use more fuel.

However regenerative braking is still more inefficient than 'coasting' to a stop.

But you have no clutch so left foot braking is surely the norm?

Following what I assume to be automatics down relatively shallow slopes, it is common to see the brake lights coming on a intervals.

I vaguely assumed 4th on my 5 ratio manual box was providing more engine braking than that available on an automatic.

Do you left-foot break in an automatic? I don't.

I don't, but then I've drive manual box cars for 50+ years befoer getting an auto.

Why would that be any different to a manual?

If the car is gaining speed downhill with zero throttle, many autos will drop a gear or two on a touch of the brakes.

I learned to left foot brake on my first auto getting on for 50 years ago. It had rather peculiar brakes - a mechanical servo. At very low speeds no servo action which then came in when the car moved. But also had direct mechanical connection to the rear brakes from the foot pedal - same as the handbrake. But the handbrake was in an awkward place for manouvering. So much easier to use the left foot on the pedal which did much the same as the handbrake.

Never had a problem swapping back to a manual. Although could be different if I started left foot braking at my present age.

oh yes. Always. How else can you inch forwards? Do a hill start? Do a rapid take off? force the thing to kickdown mid corner slowing down?

I treat it like a clutch when taking off and a brake when slowing down.

Its just another thing to learn.

It should certainly be driver-selectable if it is present. I wouldn't want it to happen unless I was expecting it to happen. It's not how petrol/diesel cars behave and I would not *expect* an electric car to behave any differently because I would want to drive it the same: right foot for accelerator and brake, left foot for clutch in a manual (petrol/diesel), otherwise not used. Lifting off the power to brake is a very different behaviour and one which requires a very different driving style.

In message snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk>, "Dave Plowman (News)" snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk> writes

I didn't know auto boxes would drop a gear. I did my *nose on the windscreen learning* in America as the hire place did not have anything with a manual shift. 1985 and not driven one since.

You misunderstand. All EVs use regeneration when using the brake pedal until you require more braking than regen can provide on its own, at which point the brake pads are called into action. You can?t normally turn this off. Consequently you do get regenerative gains in normal driving.

The only controllable regeneration is that which occurs on the over-run. Some EV owners incorrectly seem convinced they need to keep this setting on max for maximum economy. In hilly country where you?re coming on and off the throttle frequently high regen settings can make driving easier as you?re less likely to need to shuffle you foot twixt throttle and brake.

Indeed. Anticipation and smooth driving are key.

Tim

Not when I also drive a conventional manual occasionally. My brain can?t cope with transition. Additionally, I also have the option of braking by hand using a paddle control to maximise regen.

Tim

Take my foot off the brake.

Auto handbrake

Stomp the accelerator.

Kickdown? How quaint. ;-)

Yeah, I?ll admit that left foot braking is probably a useful skill in some autos but It?s lovely not needing all that mechanical nonsense anymore. Still, each to his own.

Tim

I know that automatics are given a wider footbrake to allow for either foot to be used, but if I was going to switch between a manual and automatic I would not want to rely on my left leg, which has built up muscle memory for a large movement of the clutch, for the much more delicate task of controlling the footbrake. When I drove a go-kart for an afternoon's karting, I kept spinning the kart because my left leg was not used to delicate movements.

I *always* use my right foot for braking in an automatic, exactly as I would in a manual.