Lesson 2: The Pedals

In general there are 2 Main Pedals, and a third with Manual Transmission:

1) Accelerator
2) Brakes
3) Clutch

The order goes from right to left (when you sit behind the wheel)

The Accelerator is very sensible, a little push will cause a high impulse, even more with a bigger engine. Accelerating slow consumes less gas for the same distance, and it will improve your tire's life span by preventing slip. Newer tires with proper inflation improve acceleration and help consume less gas because the better grip offers less work and less energy wasted to move the car around.

The Brakes could also be sensible, especially for new cars. Stepping all the way unto the brakes pedal will cause the car to slip, which ironically might take the car longer to come to a stop. Some cars come with ABS (Anti-Block System) to prevent slipping. This gives you better control. Also, changing tires for newer ones improves braking on time. Deflating tires can also help coming to a stop faster, but under-inflated tires consume more gas, only do this with slippery roads.

In summary, proper inflated tires (and newer ones) will consume less gas, and accelerate faster.
A bit under-inflated tires (and new ones) give better grip, good for slippery roads, but lower MPG.


The Clutch (manual) offers some advantages over auto, mainly because auto cars generally have only 3-4 gears, while cars with clutch (manual) have 5-6 gears for the transmission The main affects are the following:

1) It allows you to get better performance out of your car. With more gears to switch in between than auto, your engine is more efficient to deliver its power (this means speeding up faster) by taking longer to switch in between gears than auto. The Clutch also allows you to "down shift" (moving to a lower gear) to slow down, this is a plus over auto-transmissions because you don't rely on brakes alone, which in a steep ramp  going down can make the brakes fail for too much heat. Down shifting takes some of the braking, giving your brakes a break.

2) Besides offering better performance than auto, the clutch also offers some savings for your wallet. By allowing you to switch with more gears, the car can go to a lower gear sooner than an auto-transmission (the opposite of accelerating faster). A lower gear means less rpm for the engine, which for you means higher MPG.