How do you go round a corner in an automatic car?

[Samson]

Say you are in a car approaching a corner that has great visibility, such that the only limit of your speed is the friction you can generate between the rubber of your tyres and the tarmac of the road. If you are in a manual car you would select the appropriate gear for the corner while braking, and as you approach the turn in point you come off the brake and onto the throttle to get the weight balance between front and back axles roughly equal, and as you go round the corner you use the throttle to maintain the appropriate weight balance and traction for your car and driving style.

I have recently be driving an automatic with a gear selector like the spoiler below. If I stay in drive and use the brake and throttle like I would in a manual at the point I get on the throttle from the brake I get a moment of power, but just as I turn in it decides it should be in a lower gear and goes into neutral and the new gear is not selected until I am straightening out, such that I am going through the whole corner with no control of the weight balance.

I have tried selecting one of the 1 - 2 - 3 options beyond drive on the gear selector as I am braking, but it is really hard to know which point on a straight line the selector is at, while one is also managing the braking, watching for hazards and spotting your turn in point so I really do not know which I am in and it does not seem to make much difference anyway.

I have tried the S - E - M switch beside the gear selector, and that seems to make no difference.

How are you supposed to use an automatic car in such a situation? Is the difficulty just that I do not have the experience with autos that I do with manuals, or autos just not as good at going round corners as manuals? Why do you have to select a point on a straight line rather than the points of a H, as on a manual car?

Spoiler Gear selector :

 

[IglooDame]

I've never changed gears in an automatic on a turn. In fact I've never used the numbered gears other than driving up or down extremely steep hills with iffy traction.

 

[Samson]

Then how do you get power as you turn in to a corner?

 

[Kyriakos]

I don't even drive...

 

[Farm Boy]

If you double foot it, can you keep the rpm high enough it doesn't shift in the middle?

 

[Samson]

If you double foot it, can you keep the rpm high enough it doesn't shift in the middle?

I have wondered if you could do it by applying the throttle while braking. It kind of seems wrong, but I will try if you tell me that is the way.

 

[Farm Boy]

The engine can definitely override the brakes some. Whether you want to wear the brakes that way, or balance the traction keeping you on the road behind one more layer of friction(the brakes), that's on you. I'm not full of all good ideas.

Spoiler :

 

[EnglishEdward]

Re: How do you go round a corner in an automatic car ?

Simple, I use the steering wheel !

Re: How do you go round a corner in an automatic car ?

If one goes round a corner at a steady speed, the auto-box is unlikely to change gear.
After driving a particular car for a while one develops a sense of when that will occur.

If driving around a corner on a wet hilly slope, one might even try to select a speed matching
the middle of the gear range. Otherwise the thing to do is to slow down before the corner,
go around at a steady speed, and once around the corner accelerate on the straight.

I really advise not to try throttling and breaking at the same time.

Because the car manufacturers have concluded the only way to make it safe,
is for the engine management software to switch off the throttle if the brake is
pressed hard, and they don't like to do that because once an auto box has some
wear, it is necessary to press the brake when on a hill while the throttle engages.

I have done it accidentally and I don't like it. The whole car tends to judder horribly.
Thing is for most cars, the throttle applies to just two wheels (and the distribution of
drive energy between those two wheels varies due to the univeral joint), while the
brakes apply to four wheels (for which braking force varies unpredictably according
to wheel alignment, brake/tyre wear and loading of vehicle); so the behaviour
becomes chaotic, unpredictable, and could very easily put your car in a spin.

In my experience it is best to leave the gear box in auto, let the engine management system
make up its own mind. With much older cars it occasionally helped to over ride the old auto-box
and manually select the gears particularly when going up a hill, towing or in snow. With modern cars
needing to do because the auto is mis-selecting is a last resort, and a hint it is time to scrap the car.

The key thing is not to go try to go around as fast as you think the tyres ought to grip the road,
and be surprised when it changes gear, and the resultant torque change impacts tyre/road adhesion.
(Even if that doesn't happen, you will likely encounter an oil slick sooner or later.)

This means you fall further behind the youngster revving a lower gear in a manual, but so what.

 

[Angst]

i thought this was self-driving car, was puzzled for a while by the op until like oh right year automatic gears exist

 

[IglooDame]

<excellent advice deleted>

This means you fall further behind the youngster revving a lower gear in a manual, but so what.

Who are you calling a youngster?

 

[Farm Boy]

I didn't account for up-to-date driving software ******* up the experience more, but damn. I think you're right. Only override the brake on something that isn't going to kill you for doing it! It's a feel thing. Dry pavement before wet, if wet at all. Also remember, I don't drive on... what do you call them. Hills?

 

[Samson]

The car I am driving is not up-to-date by any measure, 1997 I think. I really want to know if it is a general thing, I am thinking about buying a car like this, 'cos they seem really cheap (that just sold for £565). They are all autos.

Spoiler Car details :

2003 MERCEDES CLK 320 ELEGANCE AUTO Convertible
MILEAGE AT LAST MOT:140,106
Keys: No
MOT: 08/04/2023
Transmission: 5 Speed Auto Petrol

 

[Farm Boy]

She's pretty. Would have to stretch her legs a little every now and then.

Convertibles seem to add a little weight, but I bet they'd be nice where it doesn't get so cold. They're a rough go in January around here.

 

[Samson]

She's pretty. Would have to stretch her legs a little every now and then.

Convertibles seem to add a little weight, but I bet they'd be nice where it doesn't get so cold. They're a rough go in January around here.

In the past I was really scathing of convertables, as they add weight and lose torsional rigidity. However after having one I love them and want another. I think it is a safety feature, as it seems like you are going faster so you actually drive slower.

 

[Farm Boy]

Getting out into the ride seems to be a lot of the appeal for a bike, so makes sense that it feels nice on a car too!

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Convertibles like that CLK usually have weight and/or rigidity issues since they are normal roofed cars with the roof removed, so designers need to add a number of beams to reinforce the chassis. If you like driving and like to drive under the sky, and don't mind to have only two usable seats you should consider a roadster, so a sporty roofless car designed without a roof since its conception. For instance a Mazda MX-5, BMW Z3 or an Opel GT like the mine (Saturn Sky if you live in USA).

 

[Samson]

Convertibles like that CLK usually have weight and/or rigidity issues since they are normal roofed cars with the roof removed, so designers need to add a number of beams to reinforce the chassis. If you like driving and like to drive under the sky, and don't mind to have only two usable seats you should consider a roadster, so a sporty roofless car designed without a roof since its conception. For instance a Mazda MX-5, BMW Z3 or an Opel GT like the mine (Saturn Sky if you live in USA).

The thing is those cars still go for loads of money. The CLK is one of the cheapest convertible cars you can get ATM.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

The thing is those cars still go for loads of money. The CLK is one of the cheapest convertible cars you can get ATM.

Not necessarily. You can find many bargains. Second/third generation MX-5 can be really cheap and are extremely reliable cars so you can get some units really cheap with big mileages but still a long life ahead. Z3 and GTs are usually more expensive as you said. There is also less sporty and pretty cheap roadsters like the Fiat Barchetta.

 

[Samson]

Not necessarily. You can find many bargains. Second/third generation MX-5 can be really cheap and are extremely reliable cars so you can get some units really cheap with big mileages but still a long life ahead. Z3 and GTs are usually more expensive as you said. There is also less sporty and pretty cheap roadsters like the Fiat Barchetta.

I have written software to analyse the prices that cars go on that site, and I cannot find anywhere cheaper. Seriously, you will not get an MX-5 for under £1,500 and those will be ropey. The 1.8 Z3's can go for reasonable prices, and I would be tempted by one but there are a lot fewer and that engine is not rated well. There a few early 2000's CLKs going every week for well under a grand. The Barchetta is FWD, which puts me off a bit, and you see few of them. I am not sure what the Opel GT was in the UK, I assumed it was the Vauxhall VX220 but wiki says not. Anyway, I am sure there are not lots coming up cheap.

 

[EnglishEdward]

@ Samson.

It is 25 years old.

You are not an auto-mechanic. See what warranty they offer you.

If you do decide to get it and are not a member of the AA or RAC etc,
make sure your insurance includes some form of breakdown cover.

And if it does break down, and they or nearest garage can not fix
it easily; be prepared to promptly scrap it and just get another one.