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Q: Why don't they use first gear when driving?
Will the car blow up if they go above 2000 RPM's? They start off in 2nd gear and usually shift straight into 4th. At 50 km/hour they are already into overdrive (5th). Why?
10 years 19 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
some expert told them they save fuel by always being in the highest gear possible, but in the west we may burn more fuel, but we have a high labor cost for repairs, something they dont have to worry about here.
JungleLife:
that perhaps makes sense; they may save a bit on fuel, but surely the clutch and transmission will wear sooner.
Scandinavian:
starting in second doesn't save fuel. best economy is achieved by using the gears as they are designed to (in most cars)
ambivalentmace:
not an expert but being in the highest gear possible does save fuel in large diesel trucks, owned a fleet of trucks and sold the company, but i also only drove diesel automobiles, never purchased unleaded fuel in my life, but the gears, clutch and transmission are built much more tough for diesel applications. i suspect that chinese drivers have never really had instruction on automobiles, most of the rich folks here would not know how to change the battery or the spare tire since labor is so cheap.
in my high school drivers education class, even the girls in the class had to change a spare tire by themselves to pass the class, the driving schools here are a money racket just like most of the english training schools, bad english, bad drivers, the good news is they have oil supply problems for the long term and fuel will be getting higher, maybe the bad drivers will have to walk.
Same reason that they don't accelerate in each gear, trying to save gas, gotta be harder riding the clutch that much. Maybe the Chinese cars can't take it. I'm sure I would burn one out pretty quick.
I think, and don't laugh here, that it is laziness. It's the same reason the also use the handbrake at traffic lights, so they are not bothered by having to hold the foot on the brake (there can be other reasons for this)
"Why do I have to change gear all the time"
I don't buy into the "save gas" thing. I see so many cars idling for a long time, e.g. during summer while there is a person napping (mental note, always carry a banana) The general driving pattern of constant lane changing, constant brake, gas, brake, gas, brake, gas is really bad for fuel economy. All the poorly maintained cars on the streets are most likely using a lot more than they would had they been well taken care of.
I see zero sign of anyone saving gas in China. Perhaps they think they do, but this is people who eat rhino poo to cure a bad stomach. (made up fact there at the end)
