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CONTROLS
This will be your first lesson and introduces
you to the main controls of the car! There are two types of control: - the foot
controls and the hand controls.
FOOT CONTROLS
There are three foot controls. Starting from
the right they are
1.
The "GAS" pedal (also known
as the accelerator). This pedal is used by the RIGHT foot and increases or
decreases the engine speed. The faster the engine runs the more POWER the
engine produces. When the engine is started the speed at which the engine runs
without your foot on the gas pedal is known as the "tick over " or
"idle speed" To provide sufficient power to move the car away on a flat
road and prevent the car from stalling or juddering you must approximately
double the tick over speed by gently pressing your foot on the
gas pedal until the required speed is reached and then keeping your right foot
still to maintain the engine's speed. If you are moving off uphill
you will need more power, downhill requires less power.
2.
The "FOOTBRAKE" pedal. This is the pedal, which stops the car. It has
an effect on all FOUR WHEELS.
The front wheels do 70% of the total braking and only 30% is done by the
rear wheels. This is because when you brake, the weight of the car is thrown
forwards and over the front wheels pressing the wheels into the ground and
thereby increasing their grip. The rear wheels on the other hand are being
lifted off the ground and as a result lose their grip slightly on the road. You
don't have to do anything special to achieve this, the brakes do it all for
you! However you can screw the system. This occurs if you apply the handbrake
before the car has fully stopped because the handbrake only operates on the two
rear wheels. Never apply the handbrake until the car has come to a
complete stop.
3.
The "CLUTCH " pedal. This pedal is the most misunderstood of all the
car's controls. All this pedal does is to disengage the engine from
the driving wheels. This is so that the wheels can stop turning
without stalling the engine. With the clutch pedal fully up the clutch
plates are pressed tightly together forming a solid connection between the
engine and the wheels so that whatever happens to the engine happens to the
wheels and that whatever happens to the wheels happens to the engine. Therefore
if you increase the speed of the engine you must increase the speed of the
wheels and if you stop the wheels you must stop (in other words "stall")
the engine. If you want to stop the car's wheels without stalling the engine
you must break the connection between the engine and the wheels and you do this
by pushing the clutch pedal fully down to the floor just before the car comes
to a stop. There is a secondary use of the clutch which comes about by the fact
that the clutch disengages the engine from the driving wheels and that is that
it makes it very much easier to change gear if the clutch is pressed down to
the floor whilst the gear lever is moved from one gear to the next.
HAND CONTROLS
There are
a number of hand controls and their positioning varies with the make of car you
are driving. I will deal here with the main hand controls, which are the handbrake,
gear lever, steering wheel, indicators and the ignition switch.
1.
The "HANDBRAKE". This lever shaped
control can normally be found between the two front seats. The handbrake is
"on" when the lever is lifted fully up and "off" when the
lever is fully down to the floor. There is a ratchet mechanism that keeps the
handbrake in the position in which you want it. Always disengage the ratchet by
pushing the button on the handbrake handle before applying or releasing the
handbrake. This brake is not to be used to stop the car but to keep it
safe once the car has been brought to a stop by the footbrake.
2. The "GEAR LEVER". This lever is generally found in front of
the handbrake and is used to select the gears required to move the car either
forwards or backwards. Always try to select the gears using your PALM not your
fingers.
3. The "STEERING WHEEL". This is the largest of the hand controls
and is used to change the direction of the car. Turn the wheel right to
turn right and left to turn left. When you are steering remember to use
the "push-pull" technique using your right hand first to steer
right and your left hand first to steer left. There is a secret to good and
effective steering which you should always remember and the secret
is................LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO NOT WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO
GO
4.
The "INDICATORS". This control is
usually placed on the steering column close to the steering wheel. In European
cars the control is on the left hand side but in Japanese style
cars the control is on the right hand side. In order to ensure you put
on the correct signal remember that the indicator is turned in the same
direction as the steering wheel is going to be turned. The indicators generally
cancel themselves after use but do make sure that they have cancelled after
you have completed your turn and when the car is straight. Do not interfere
with your steering merely to cancel the indicators.
5.
The "IGNITION SWITCH". This control
is on the steering column, normally on the right hand side and looks like a
keyhole (which is what it is). You insert the car key into the hole and twist it away from you.
There are generally three positions in which the key will rest. The first frees
the "Steering Lock" and thereby allows you to steer the car. The
second switches on the "Warning Lights" so that you can check all is
well when the engine starts (the lights should go off, with the exception of
the handbrake warning light). The third position makes the "starter
motor" engage with the engine and starts the car. As soon as the engine
starts to run let go of the key so that the starter motor is not damaged.