Team-BHP - Tips on driving an Automatic

It says everywhere that an automatic is good for the left leg but the last couple of years of driving an automatic has taught me that it is actually bad for the right one. So much so that I now have to plan for regular breaks just to relax my right leg.

Before you dismiss my opinion as a personal one rather than being generic, please consider these scenarios:

1. In a manual car, as I would approach a red signal on an empty road from, say, 200 meters; I would put my car in neutral, take both my legs off the clutch/brake/accelerator and approach the signal in a relaxed way - cannot do that in an automatic - as I cannot (should not) put the car in neutral while it is still running and taking right foot off the accelerator means that engine braking would stop the car. Hence I have no option but to keep using my right leg and keep accelerating.

2. At a toll plaza with a queue, in a manual I would keep the car in neutral while waiting but in an automatic, I would typically use a brake while the car is stationary and creep to move forward, again using the right leg, thus keeping my right leg busy all the time.

On multiple occasions, I experienced a lot of stiffness in my right leg after just a couple of hours of driving and that made me think and then I realised that my right leg is in CONTINUOUS use when I drive an automatic while that was not the case in manual i.e. it used to get time to “breathe” in the manual car but not in an automatic.

I do have a few more points to add but am interested in hearing your experiences first, to make sure that I am making sense.

My motivation for starting this thread is that, if this is indeed an issue then there should be awareness about it and it should be addressed by consciously planning for more frequent breaks, like I do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit73 (Post 5001760)

No advice on the topic, but one concern: Do not put the gear in neutral when such distance away, braking capability is diminished when free wheeling. As always, free advice to be taken with a pinch of salt :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit73 (Post 5001760)

This may not apply to all automatics but recently the trend of introducing EPB with Auto-hold functionality significantly reduces the stress in the right leg in situations that you have mentioned and also in stop/start traffic. In cars that do not have this system I always practice putting the car in neutral and engaging the hand-brake (at signals only). This does help the right leg quite a bit.

1. Putting the manual car in neutral is usually considered a bad thing. You have most control over the car when the car is in gear.

2. In an AT car, let go of the accelerator at those 200 ms and it will downshift soon and slow the car down unless you are quite fast.

3. At the signal, you can always put the car into neutral or Park. A lot of people do that, instead of keeping the foot on the brake.

4. In an AT, usually you do not need to accelerate to move forward in D. You let go of the brake and it will start crawling forward. No work for the right foot, though you have to be prepared to control the speed by hovering over the brake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit73 (Post 5001760)

My motivation for starting this thread is that, if this is indeed an issue then there should be awareness about it and it should be addressed by consciously planning for more frequent breaks, like I do.

Your observation is right that in frequent stop and go crawling traffic the right foot in an automatic gets more exercised and frequent changing of gears in automatic is not recommended as it contributes to more wear and tear of gear system leaving you with limited option of braking. In manuals the neutral option saves you from shortening the life of the clutch too in such situations.

While your right leg gets exercised more, your left leg and left hand gets all the rest as compared to manual from changing gears and pressing clutch apart from also using your right leg may be albeit a less. But its a trade-off for the convenience you get. iMTs may be midway as you can neutral frequently.

The permanent solution is Automatic Brake Hold which prevents the car from crawling forward unless you press throttle once a car is halted by braking. In entry level, Renault Kwid AT has this feature implemented. Even some aftermarket products are there like those from AutoMate India who offer similar products including adding hill hold like features in your manual / automatic car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit73 (Post 5001760)

On multiple occasions, I experienced a lot of stiffness in my right leg after just a couple of hours of driving and that made me think and then I realised that my right leg is in CONTINUOUS use when I drive an automatic while that was not the case in manual i.e. it used to get time to “breathe” in the manual car but not in an automatic.

Have you tried switching legs? I mean using left one for accelerator/brake whenever right one is tired. Just kidding :D

Not sure what car you drive but try cruise control so that you can relax both your legs. I do that within city even for short distances of 5-10 km whenever I get a chance.
On the experience front, I drive an automatic as well as a manual and don’t see much difference in the amount of time my right leg is engaged across both the options. My suggestion would be to consult a doctor so that any posture issues, etc can be diagnosed (just to be on the safe side).

There was another thread on a slightly different problem a while ago.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...sponsible.html

Been driving an automatic for over 8 years now, and these are what I do in the situations you've described.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit73 (Post 5001760)

1. In a manual car, as I would approach a red signal on an empty road from, say, 200 meters; I would put my car in neutral, take both my legs off the clutch/brake/accelerator and approach the signal in a relaxed way - cannot do that in an automatic - as I cannot (should not) put the car in neutral while it is still running and taking right foot off the accelerator means that engine braking would stop the car. Hence I have no option but to keep using my right leg and keep accelerating.

While approaching the signal, I gradually ease off the accelerator, and the car slows down as it approaches the signal. By the time I approach the point where I need to stop, a gentle braking is all that's needed to stop the car. At the signal, if the stop is for less than 30 seconds, I hold the brake, else, if it's longer than 30 seconds, I shift into neutral (hold the brake, shift to neutral) and apply the hand brake, and take my leg off the brake and relax both my legs while stopping at the signal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit73 (Post 5001760)

2. At a toll plaza with a queue, in a manual I would keep the car in neutral while waiting but in an automatic, I would typically use a brake while the car is stationary and creep to move forward, again using the right leg, thus keeping my right leg busy all the time.

For the situation that you've described, it's more or less the same approach - if the vehicles are moving steadily and the wait is for a few seconds before each movement, I brake and release the brake to creep and move forward; if the toll is slow moving, I switch to neutral and apply the hand brake and wait.

So, I do not see a whole lot of difference in longer waits between the manual and the automatic.

Correct me if my understanding of your situation is mistaken, but, I believe you are not switching to neutral even for longer waits in your automatic, which might be causing the strain on your right leg. You can do that, provided you hold the brake, keep the vehicle stationary, switch to neutral and apply the hand brake. To switch back to drive mode, you again need to depress the brake, release the hand brake, switch to drive mode and gently release to brake to creep and move forward.
Please do try this out for longer stops and see if it helps.

Some of these threads might also help you:

Automatics : P or N at signals / traffic lights? - Team-BHP (team-bhp.com)

Tips on driving an Automatic - Page 26 - Team-BHP (team-bhp.com)

Cheers and happy driving!

Quote:

Originally Posted by anb (Post 5001816)

Your driving style is totally wrong. Putting into neutral will consume more fuel than coasting in a gear. It also reduces life of brake pads. In automatic, you can use P ( parking mode ) or you can shift to neutral as well while waiting.

Putting in neutral was not to save fuel but to relax and avoid unnecessary braking. Curious to know how it consumes more fuel though; it would be good if you could please provide a brief explanation or a link.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiftlock (Post 5001817)

Thanks! I would look for EPB with Auto-hold (along with Cruise Control) when I buy my next automatic!

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 5001829)

AT's have lesser engine braking - have you thought about letting go of the accelerator earlier than in a manual ? This could even give lesser work for your right leg than with manuals .. !

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawdgawd (Post 5001846)

2. In an AT car, let go of the accelerator at those 200 ms and it will downshift soon and slow the car down unless you are quite fast.

I drive an Amaze petrol CVT and your observation on engine braking is not consistent with my experience which could be because there are several types of automatics and each might have a different behaviour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by warrioraks (Post 5001944)

Not sure what car you drive but try cruise control so that you can relax both your legs. I do that within city even for short distances of 5-10 km whenever I get a chance.

I drove automatics extensively in Australia but never faced this problem and it must be because I was also using cruise control most of the time. I would definitely buy my next automatic with cruise control. In fact, now I feel that all automatics should come with cruise control as a standard. Good to know that it is useful even within the city.