# someone teach me to drive in the manual mode!



## MamaCruze (Apr 12, 2014)

on my automatic shifter there's a part where you can switch it into manual mode.
is there any benefit to driving in the manual mode and exactly how does it work? does it make you go quicker?

a couple times i have acidentally bumped the shifter into the manual mode while driving and the engine sounds like it's about to break! scared the blank outta me, but think it would be cool to play around with if someone can give me a simple online lesson

:signlol:


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## UlyssesSG (Apr 5, 2011)

MamaCruze said:


> on my automatic shifter there's a part where you can switch it into manual mode.
> is there any benefit to driving in the manual mode and exactly how does it work? does it make you go quicker?
> 
> a couple times i have acidentally bumped the shifter into the manual mode while driving and the engine sounds like it's about to break! scared the blank outta me, but think it would be cool to play around with if someone can give me a simple online lesson


*Great question, MamaCruze.* I drive a manual transmission Cruze so will defer to the resident CruzeTALK gurus familiar with the the Cruze's 6-speed autobox to offer you a more detailed, easy-to-understand tutorial. In the meanwhile, be sure to check out the YouTube video shown below which explains the Cruze's manual mode in 18 seconds flat.

Until we meet again pretty lady,_ Happy Trails To You!_ 






Other information sources:
Automatic Box, Manual mode questions!
Automatic gear box - manual mode?


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## XtremeAaron (Jan 22, 2012)

When I use it ill shift at 2500-3000 rpm. You can shift whenever but if the car refuses you'll get a "Shift Denied" message. You do not need to downshift at all, the trans will do it for you.


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## stamas (Mar 7, 2014)

its so easy mama cruze its unreal .... all you have to do is move the stick forward to change up and pull back to change down. this can also be usefull if you are going down a very steep hill and want to change down to do engine braking . if its still a bit hard for you to understand ask one of your friends who has some sort of knowledge with maunels . or even better go to your dealer where you bought the car and ask the sales man . best of ringing in advanced befor cruzing up


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

You can increase your MPG in and around town by utilizing the manumatic mode . When coming to a stop light or at the light shift to manu mode , shift up 1 to second gear . That will be displayed on the DIC ( 2 ) start out slow at 2000 RPM's shift up to 3 rd and then 4 th and so on . You can safely drive 30 MPH in 6 th at low RPM"s . This takes a lot of practice to achieve and Patience . 

My daily commute ( city ) is a resounding 29.6 Mpg which impresses me for the 1.8 auto .


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

You ever drive on a 35mph street with traffic flowing at 38-45mph? you will feel your automatic in D hunting between 5th and 6th gear(since the car shifts into 6th at 42mph & downshifts back to 5th at 40mph). With manual made at 35mph if you bump the lever into M it will just hold 5th gear until you decide to upshift to 6th. This would eliminate this unwanted constant shifting as you speed hovers around the shiftpoint. 

The above is also true of the 4th/5th shift at 28mph, its always better to just use the lower gear and stop the transmission from constantly shifting between two gears if your speed is near a shift point.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

brian v said:


> You can increase your MPG in and around town by utilizing the manumatic mode . When coming to a stop light or at the light shift to manu mode , shift up 1 to second gear . That will be displayed on the DIC ( 2 )


You use a ton of gas getting the car moving off the line, utilizing the much lower gearing of 1st gear will accomplish this with less fuel burned. With the 1.4T you also get the turbo boost with the auto starting around 1800RPM, in first you hit this in a second off the line & shifting by 2500rpm better utilizes the initial boost to get into the MPG sweet zone(25-70mph) quicker. 

Remember any acceleration below 30mph uses a ton of fuel even at light throttle as shown in the graph below.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

brian v said:


> You can increase your MPG in and around town by utilizing the manumatic mode . When coming to a stop light or at the light shift to manu mode , shift up 1 to second gear . That will be displayed on the DIC ( 2 ) start out slow at 2000 RPM's shift up to 3 rd and then 4 th and so on . You can safely drive 30 MPH in 6 th at low RPM"s . This takes a lot of practice to achieve and Patience .
> 
> My daily commute ( city ) is a resounding 29.6 Mpg which impresses me for the 1.8 auto .


30 mph in 6th are you a 1.8? 41 mph was the magic number for the 1.4 rental I had to not be "shift denied" to death. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Merc6 said:


> 30 mph in 6th are you a 1.8? 41 mph was the magic number for the 1.4 rental I had to not be "shift denied" to death.


I believe the gearing of the 1.8L is close or the same as the 2011 1.4T automatic. Those cars could also be in 6th around 30mph from what I have read on here. It also explains the 3MPG highway difference between the 1.8L/auto and 2012+ 1.4T/auto. The 2011 1.4T auto has a 36mpg hwy rating, the 2012+ 38mpg rating. That means in 2011 there wasn't much difference in highway MPG between the engines.


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## Trinkah (May 3, 2014)

I don't know about others experience, but in city stop/go traffic there is no way I'll let the trans shift for me. It's always in the wrong gear. I can't count how many times I go around a corner at 25 (Such as making an arrow) and the thing is in like 5th gear. I mash the gas and then it jumps like 3 gears. I got so annoyed I learned to just shift myself.

Also the service adviser told me I get 1 more pound of boost in slapstick mode vs. normal. It does seem quicker to me, but I just attribute it to knowing the power curve of the engine and when to shift.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

XtremeAaron said:


> When I use it ill shift at 2500-3000 rpm.


This is pretty much exactly what I do in manual mode, when accelerating briskly I usually shift in the 2800-3200rpm range in 1-4 gear. Still mange over 36 mpg average too. Its really key to use those lower gears(1-4) like that if your final speed is 45mph+ or you will end up burning more fuel since your on the gas for a longer period babying it and shifting below 2500rpm. 

If I'm in the city below 30mph I never use manual mode anymore, unless to hold 4th or 5th gear for a hill. With a light foot my auto shifts every gear at around 2200RPM, much easier than shifting all those gears. If I wanted to shift 5 times at every stop light to get back up to 30mph I would have bought a manual transmission car. 

I do use manual mode to downshift to 3rd gear for a corner or turn in the city or on a back road, other than that I just use to keep in the proper gear or to keep my RPM for screaming to redline like the auto likes to do. I would go as far as to say 98% of my driving I never see above 3000RPM.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

spacedout said:


> I believe the gearing of the 1.8L is close or the same as the 2011 1.4T automatic. Those cars could also be in 6th around 30mph from what I have read on here. It also explains the 3MPG highway difference between the 1.8L/auto and 2012+ 1.4T/auto. The 2011 1.4T auto has a 36mpg hwy rating, the 2012+ 38mpg rating. That means in 2011 there wasn't much difference in highway MPG between the engines.


When I had a 13 LS auto it revved higher than my ECO by almost 1k. 65 mph it was almost 3k from what I can remember a year ago. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

You should have bought a manual and have a real man show you how to drive...


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

30 Ounce said:


> You should have bought a manual and have a real man show you how to drive...


Scandalous words.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Lol thread about to end up in the badlands.


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

Merc6 said:


> Lol thread about to end up in the badlands.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iFail 5s


Fine by me


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

My diesel has the same type of gearbox to the 1.4T - 1.8 Cruze just a bit stronger 6T45. I tried it in manual mode at 80kph (50mph) and it refused to move to 6th at that speed. Mind you at 110 (68) it is doing 1700rpm in 6th. The gearbox works so well in auto I find manual only useful when I want to know what gear the car is in.


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## XtremeAaron (Jan 22, 2012)

The cruze is my first automatic. That said I rarely use the manual mode, just not the same without a clutch!


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

XtremeAaron said:


> The cruze is my first automatic. That said I rarely use the manual mode, just not the same without a clutch!


This is the opposite for me. 1st manual trans car. All my cars to include the Subaru are auto. Subaru and my Mazda had the manual option. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

The computer does a very good job in the Cruze, but I do find times when the manual mode helps me get what I want a little better. I also engine brake on steep hills. I think the Cruze has been learning how I shift because it is now automatically shifting the way I do in manual mode. I forgot that I was in manual mode once and bounced the RPMs off the limiter a few times. Oops. I think the manual mode is useful for people who know how to drive a stick and know what they want the car to do. For everyone else, just leave it in drive.


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## Snappa (Mar 31, 2013)

brian v said:


> You can increase your MPG in and around town by utilizing the manumatic mode . When coming to a stop light or at the light shift to manu mode , shift up 1 to second gear . That will be displayed on the DIC ( 2 ) start out slow at 2000 RPM's shift up to 3 rd and then 4 th and so on . You can safely drive 30 MPH in 6 th at low RPM"s . This takes a lot of practice to achieve and Patience .
> 
> My daily commute ( city ) is a resounding 29.6 Mpg which impresses me for the 1.8 auto .


could you describe how do you go about downshifting?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Snappa said:


> could you describe how do you go about downshifting?


Downshifting happens automatically in manual mode if your RPM in that gear drops low enough. If you want to downshift like if you are coming up to a turn or corner and are going to slow significantly from your current speed/gear just pull the lever back a couple times to bring your RPM up and drop a few gears, its that easy.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Didn't know the Cruze has engine braking, maybe just a little in 2nd gear, but is noticeable in 1st gear with a MT. But have to know your car, speeds, and so forth so you don't red line the engine.


With AT vehicle with a D and an OD, driving around town would strictly use D to prevent this constant shifting, not only do they shift but also wearing out the torque converter lock up as well. Any shift requires a co-ordinated depression on the gas pedal. This takes practice if you want your AT to last.

With a ton of kids having profession driver's training, they don't teach stuff like this, so have to teach them yourself. Ha, don't even teach if there is a 1/4" of snow on the roads, cancel on days like this. DMV is the same way, and sure no training on interstates. Just around the block in town.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

NickD said:


> With AT vehicle with a D and an OD, driving around town would strictly use D to prevent this constant shifting, not only do they shift but also wearing out the torque converter lock up as well.


This information doesn't apply to the cruze automatic as there is only a P,R,N and D modes with a pull to the side to enter manual shifting mode which is a forward/reverse pull upshift/downshift spring loaded slap stick. 

I do however do something similar with the cruze, once at 30mph I pull the lever into manual mode to hold 5th gear until I want to shift to 6th. normally as soon as you hit 42mph it automatically shifts to 6th. Only exception is if your on a hill the transmission will not upshift until the road grade levels out(in D, full auto mode).


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

spacedout said:


> Downshifting happens automatically in manual mode if your RPM in that gear drops low enough. If you want to downshift like if you are coming up to a turn or corner and are going to slow significantly from your current speed/gear just pull the lever back a couple times to bring your RPM up and drop a few gears, its that easy.


Downshifting is also useful if you are driving down a steep hill. The Cruze will usually downshift automatically, but not always, and sometimes not enough. When I am on a steep, downhill road, and the Cruze is not downshifting enough, I just put it in manual mode and pull back on the shifter. The DIC will display the gear I am in. I watch the RPMs to make sure they don 't go too high. The engine will then slow me down. If the RPMs go to high then I either need to upshift to go faster or hit the brakes for a second to slow down. This is good to learn if you drive in the mountains or on hills because you could possibly overheat your brakes if you don't downshift. I have seen people overheat their brakes so much that smoke pours out of the wheels and the hub caps melt off. If done properly, I only need to use the brakes for a few seconds at a time.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

I rented an Impala about 10 years ago and was really impressed with the responsiveness of the 4 speed Transmission. Felt like a Police Car, very unlike my more powerful Car with a 6 speed CVVT 3.3 V6. Well the CRUZE 6 speed transmission is really benign, much like the Turbo performance. The CRUZE is a Snail, and it is best not to play with the Manumatic except for extended braking like on a steep hill.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

I read all of the rest of the Goof Balls showed up to only confuse this poor girl even more . Good job guys !


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

MamaCruze - let's keep this simple. Go out and try it. The ECU will NOT let you do something that can damage the car. If you get a shift denied message you are out of the "safe" range to shift into the gear you're looking for. It takes some time getting used to the manumatic so I would start with decelerations from speeds above 45 MPH. At 45 MPG on level roads your car will be in 6th gear. Once you're comfortable doing this then take the time on an empty road to get used to up shifting from a stop.

As a manual transmission driver who has also driven manumatic systems the responses you've received have confused me.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

Eddy Cruze said:


> Well the CRUZE 6 speed transmission is really benign, much like the Turbo performance. The CRUZE is a Snail, and it is best not to play with the Manumatic except for extended braking like on a steep hill.


For a compact economy car the 1.4T has a lot of power in my opinion, and get's excellent gas mileage when I drive it carefully. It's not the fastest car I have driven, but I have kept up with every car that has tried to beat me off the line so far. I wasn't racing, just seeing if the Cruze could keep up. 

A few weeks ago I had a guy in an older BMW 3 series get pissed off at me because he thought I was in his way. At the next light I was right behind him. I knew he would give it everything he had after the light changed, so I thought I would see how well I could keep up. He was edging ahead, but I kept right behind him, which pissed him off immensely. I slowed down after we hit the 45 mph speed limit, but he kept accelerating until I couldn't see him anymore. I think he was still trying to prove his masculinity. I wish I would have downloaded my dashcam video of this. I thought it was hilarious. 

About a week ago I was showing my sister what the turbo felt like when it kicked in. I let off the gas when we hit the speed limit. About a second later a Ford truck went roaring past me in the other lane, giving it all he had. We both wondered if he thought I was trying to race him and he was pissed off that I jumped ahead so fast. 

Maybe my Cruze is different, but is seems to me that it has a lot of power and gets great gas mileage, and I am very happy with it. If I wasn't, then I wouldn't hesitate to trade it in and get a different car. Life is too short to drive a car you don't like. Like the song says, "enjoy yourself, it's later than you think."

Manual mode can be very useful and fun. The best way to learn is to try it out.


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## UlyssesSG (Apr 5, 2011)

*`
spacedout*, et alia ...

Does DFCO in an automatic Cruze work the same or in similar fashion as DFCO in my 6-speed M32 manual transmission Cruze? I know one of the reasons I report well above average fuel efficiency in my 2012 Cruze LS is that I drive in a manner that maximizes DFCO usage.

And gosh, you know the more I read in this thread the more interested I'm becoming in specifying an automatic rather a manual transmission in my next Cruze. Doesn't appear to be any drawbacks in selecting that route other than my right hand and left foot would die of boredom.

One last observation: it sure is good to have young women like *MamaCruze* and *JukeboxJuliet *on board here at CruzeTALK. They ask the most refreshing and often fun questions. Kudos to the both of them!!!

​:goodjob: *Hip, hip hooray!* Let's hear it for the ladies.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

It is best not to 'race' BMW's or any other model. The Turbo helps supplement this small 1 Liter engine. Stock it is not impressive, certainly no race car with 136 HP. Drive responsibly!


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

dhpnet said:


> Downshifting is also useful if you are driving down a steep hill. The Cruze will usually downshift automatically, but not always, and sometimes not enough. When I am on a steep, downhill road, and the Cruze is not downshifting enough, I just put it in manual mode and pull back on the shifter.


With the cruise control set & in D, once going down hill if you gain 3mph it will automatically downshift to 5th to attempt to slow your speed. Compression braking is almost non-existent in this car however, even in 4th or 3rd gear on a steep grade one will just gain a ton of speed compared to most cars.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Eddy Cruze said:


> Well the CRUZE 6 speed transmission is really benign, much like the Turbo performance. The CRUZE is a Snail, and it is best not to play with the Manumatic except for extended braking like on a steep hill.


You must have a very light foot or never attempted to get on it off the line, as 0-40mph in the cruze will give most cars a run for their money. This makes stoplights in the city very interesting. There is many instances that manual mode is more than useful mentioned in the post of this thread, not just driving down a hill.

Also compression braking is non-existent and on most hill grades the car will be a run away train even dropping down a few gears. I have to ride my brakes to not speed on a few hills around here.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

UlyssesSG said:


> *`
> spacedout*, et alia ...
> 
> Does DFCO in an automatic Cruze work the same or in similar fashion as DFCO in my 6-speed M32 manual transmission Cruze? I know one of the reasons I report well above average fuel efficiency in my 2012 Cruze LS is that I drive in a manner that maximizes DFCO usage.


I utilize DFCO daily in my driving, yes it works the same. I believe on an older post obermd mentioned when he had an auto as a loaner it seemed to take a few seconds longer to enter DFCO however.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

Eddy Cruze said:


> It is best not to 'race' BMW's or any other model. The Turbo helps supplement this small 1 Liter engine. Stock it is not impressive, certainly no race car with 136 HP. Drive responsibly!


I never race and always drive responsibly, but thank you for your concern and advice. My Cruze is new and I like knowing what its got. It is impressive to me - very impressive for an compact economy car with a 1.4 liter engine. The pistons are only 2.5 inches across. That's about the size of the piston in my lawnmower! The Cruze is very impressive what it can pull out of that small engine. And it did keep up with the BMW off the line. Very impressive to me. I am surprised to see someone on this forum that is so unimpressed with the Cruze.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

spacedout said:


> Also compression braking is non-existent and on most hill grades the car will be a run away train even dropping down a few gears. I have to ride my brakes to not speed on a few hills around here.


I think the engine brake does quite well for the size of the engine. This week I drove over the Sierra mountains on I-80. It drops from about 7000 feet to about 1000 feet in a very short distance with many grades over 6%. I hardly used my brakes at all. The engine did most of the work for me. It is a small engine, so it won't do as well as cars with larger engines, but I think it does a good job considering.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

spacedout said:


> I utilize DFCO daily in my driving, yes it works the same. I believe on an older post obermd mentioned when he had an auto as a loaner it seemed to take a few seconds longer to enter DFCO however.


I do notice the DFCO quite often with the auto transmission. It does take a second, but when the instant mileage readout on the DIC hits 99 mpg you definitely feel it. I noticed that when I have the cruise control set with the A/C on, the DFCO seems to be unsure whether it should be on or not, and I feel it go on and off a few times before it settles in.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Eddy Cruze said:


> It is best not to 'race' BMW's or any other model. The Turbo helps supplement this small 1 Liter engine. Stock it is not impressive, certainly no race car with 136 HP. Drive responsibly!


i Liter engine? No wonder it is a snail.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

dhpnet said:


> I think the engine brake does quite well for the size of the engine. This week I drove over the Sierra mountains on I-80. It drops from about 7000 feet to about 1000 feet in a very short distance with many grades over 6%. I hardly used my brakes at all. The engine did most of the work for me. It is a small engine, so it won't do as well as cars with larger engines, but I think it does a good job considering.


There would be quite a few people around here that would disagree with you on that one. Sure on most interstate grades the car handles that with ease, allot of my state highways are more than 6% grades & thats where the car fails. It becomes apparent how heavy the car is and how tiny the engine is very quickly. 

45mph at the top of one 300ft hill here, downshifting to 4th gear I'm above 70mph at the bottom with no brakes used. I live in an area full of rolling hills and steep grades like that. I live in a valley and have to drive one hill daily, with my cruise set at 60mph downshifting to 5th I'm up to 66-67mph by the bottom with no brakes used. 

I need to get some pictures of the signs, have seen 9%-12% grade signs on highways around here. Most are not marked as there would be thousands of new signs needed.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Eddy Cruze said:


> It is best not to 'race' BMW's or any other model. The Turbo helps supplement this small 1 Liter engine. Stock it is not impressive, certainly no race car with 136 HP. Drive responsibly!





Aussie said:


> i Liter engine? No wonder it is a snail.


Eddy must be driving an experimental Cruze of some sort. The smallest EcoTec engine currently on the market is 1.4 liters. GM does have a 1 liter 3 cylinder EcoTec engine in R&D for the next generation Volt/Ampera.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

spacedout said:


> There would be quite a few people around here that would disagree with you on that one. Sure on most interstate grades the car handles that with ease, allot of my state highways are more than 6% grades & thats where the car fails. It becomes apparent how heavy the car is and how tiny the engine is very quickly.
> 
> 45mph at the top of one 300ft hill here, downshifting to 4th gear I'm above 70mph at the bottom with no brakes used. I live in an area full of rolling hills and steep grades like that. I live in a valley and have to drive one hill daily, with my cruise set at 60mph downshifting to 5th I'm up to 66-67mph by the bottom with no brakes used.
> 
> I need to get some pictures of the signs, have seen 9%-12% grade signs on highways around here. Most are not marked as there would be thousands of new signs needed.


I agree that it's not that great on extremely steep grades. The steepest streets I have gone down are about 25-30% here in SF, but no car can go down those without riding the brakes. One hill I drive down quite often is Taylor street on Russian Hill, which has got to be over 25%. The engine helps, but only a little. I am just saying that for normal grades I think it does fine.


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

Well then. This has become quite the conversation!


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Eddy Cruze said:


> It is best not to 'race' BMW's or any other model. The Turbo helps supplement this small 1 Liter engine. Stock it is not impressive, certainly no race car with 136 HP. Drive responsibly!


With a 3rd gear downshift @ 60 MPH it moves fast enough to catch someone off guard. It's like nitrous oxide tho, you only get one good shot at it. That one pull seems to heat soak the system and that next pull is never the same. Then again the Eco shutters may not be opening to cool the IC down.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

spacedout said:


> I need to get some pictures of the signs, have seen 9%-12% grade signs on highways around here. Most are not marked as there would be thousands of new signs needed.


Pics would be cool. I would like to see that hill. Here is a fun pic from my dashcam this week.

View attachment 86154


There are also some fun old signs on this road that date back to the '70s. They say stuff like, "upgrade ahead, let 'er drift", and "downgrade ahead then easy going."


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

dhpnet said:


> Pics would be cool. I would like to see that hill. Here is a fun pic from my dashcam this week.
> 
> View attachment 86154
> 
> ...


Where was this taken at? I need to move to the mountains.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

Jukebox Juliet said:


> Where was this taken at? I need to move to the mountains.


Donner Summit on I-80 in the Sierra Mountains, Northern California. 

Another sign I just remembered said, "Upgrade ahead, crank up." I will have to look through the dashcam video someday and see if I can find the images for these signs.


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

dhpnet said:


> Donner Summit on I-80 in the Sierra Mountains, Northern California.
> 
> Another sign I just remembered said, "Upgrade ahead, crank up." I will have to look through the dashcam video someday and see if I can find the images for these signs.


Ahhh lovely! I just noticed your location is San Francisco. Probably one of my favorite big cities, I used to go there every fall around my birthday.  and Muir Woods!

"Get out among the mountains and the trees, friend, as soon as you can. They will do more for you than either man or woman could."


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

Jukebox Juliet said:


> Ahhh lovely! I just noticed your location is San Francisco. Probably one of my favorite big cities, I used to go there every fall around my birthday.  and Muir Woods!
> 
> "Get out among the mountains and the trees, friend, as soon as you can. They will do more for you than either man or woman could."


Nor Cal is a beautiful place. I love driving around here in my Cruze and do it as often as I can. So, would it be even better to get out among the mountains and trees with a woman? LOL.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

spacedout said:


> You must have a very light foot or never attempted to get on it off the line, as 0-40mph in the cruze will give most cars a run for their money. I have to ride my brakes to not speed on a few hills around here.


 That's called having Drum Brakes. Are you using your transmission properly in these dangerous areas of Wisconsink: I am pleased you find the CRUZE to be really powerful!


obermd said:


> Eddy must be driving an experimental Cruze of some sort. The smallest EcoTec engine currently on the market is 1.4 liters. GM does have a 1 liter 3 cylinder EcoTec engine in R&D for the next generation Volt/Ampera.


 Oops, well it feels like a Liter! It is a tiny motor, the tiniest one I have ever owned?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Eddy Cruze said:


> That's called having Drum Brakes. Are you using your transmission properly in these dangerous areas of Wisconsink: I am pleased you find the CRUZE to be really powerful!


What? Seriously most of the time I have no idea what your trying to say. What does drum brakes have to do with anything? I never said the cruze was really powerful, just 0-40mph it is not slow at all.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

spacedout said:


> What? Seriously most of the time I have no idea what your trying to say. What does drum brakes have to do with anything? I never said the cruze was really powerful, just 0-40mph it is not low at all.


I think he is saying you should be using a lower gear (m3 over m5) instead of riding brakes. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Merc6 said:


> I think he is saying you should be using a lower gear (m3 over m5) instead of riding brakes.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iFail 5s


You must have a degree in cryptology to decipher anything from eddy's posts. 

Seriously though if thats what he meant I ALWAYS use a lower gear but the lack of compression braking is scary at times and one has to ride the brakes to not overrun other cars and end up 5-20 mph over the speed limit on steep hill grades. Dropping from 5th to 4th or 3rd does little more to slow my roll than just make more noise. 

My previous car, a 2004 cavalier 2.2 ecotec with a 4 speed auto had no issues at all with compression braking, let off at the top of any hill at 55mph and you would be going 55mph at the bottom.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

spacedout said:


> You must have a degree in cryptology to decipher anything from eddy's posts.
> 
> Seriously though if thats what he meant I ALWAYS use a lower gear but the lack of compression braking is scary at times and one has to ride the brakes to not overrun other cars and end up 5-20 mph over the speed limit on steep hill grades. Dropping from 5th to 4th or 3rd does little more to slow my roll than just make more noise.
> 
> My previous car, a 2004 cavalier 2.2 ecotec with a 4 speed auto had no issues at all with compression braking, let off at the top of any hill at 55mph and you would be going 55mph at the bottom.


 My Subaru acts like that but ECO will keep going. 75ish is where my car seems to stop picking up gravitational speed down hill in 6th. 


Sent from my iFail 5s


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I have to use my brakes when coming down either side of Vail Pass, the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnels, and the descent into Denver. Even 3rd gear won't keep my ECO from accelerating like a rocket.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

obermd said:


> I have to use my brakes when coming down either side of Vail Pass, the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnels, and the descent into Denver. Even 3rd gear won't keep my ECO from accelerating like a rocket.


Next time your going down that pass, make sure to turn on your AC as I have found when the AC compressor is turning it significantly helps the compression braking. My previous car was the same way.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

You shouldn't be needing to ride your brakes in the treacherous hills of Wisconsin? I find the CRUZE Drum Brakes to be harder to operate and annoying. You might consider upgrading your brakes or slowing down you 0 to 40 speedster!


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Eddy Cruze said:


> You shouldn't be needing to ride your brakes in the treacherous hills of Wisconsin? I find the CRUZE Drum Brakes to be harder to operate and annoying. You might consider upgrading your brakes or slowing down you 0 to 40 speedster!


Doesn't matter if its a 10,000 foot mountain pass or a 400ft hill, if the grade is 9% of greater the car becomes a run away train. I suspect you don't know SW Wisconsin's driftless area is covered in coulees(hills and valleys) with extreme grade changes at least every mile. 








Upgrading the brakes will not do much to improve this problem as you will still having to ride the brakes a bit more than you should to maintain a safe & legal speed. I agree with the drum brakes sucking, as it takes a bit more pedal pressure for them to actually do anything. 

I rarely speed, or use full throttle but at every stop light I'm usually the first away from the light with most cars in my dust. That's why I find it strange you think the cruze is slow?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

spacedout said:


> You must have a very light foot or never attempted to get on it off the line, as 0-40mph in the cruze will give most cars a run for their money. This makes stoplights in the city very interesting. There is many instances that manual mode is more than useful mentioned in the post of this thread, not just driving down a hill.
> 
> Also compression braking is non-existent and on most hill grades the car will be a run away train even dropping down a few gears. I have to ride my brakes to not speed on a few hills around here.


I can beat the girlfriends car to 50-60 mph if I don't mess up a shift. Not a bad accomplishment for a stock Cruze, considering it's down 1.1 liters in displacement and down 40 hp. As the best seller in the midsized sedan class, that power benchmark is adequate for most things. 

The Cruze may not be a race car, but it's competitive power-wise with the rest of the class aside from the Mazda 3 2.5. 

And yeah, compression braking is non existent in the stick shift. I can run down a large downhill with the engine roaring away and doing little to slow the car down. Just a tradeoff of a little turbo engine vs a bigger one that makes the same power with displacement. 


Sent from Bill the WonderPhone


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

I can use 4th at lower speeds in my to hold 40 MPH. My last leg to work I use it to hold 40 as 5 and 6th will get me well into the 50's. After finding a all black Charger sitting in the trees at the bottom of the hill I stopped trying to DFCO that hill.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> My Subaru acts like that but ECO will keep going. 75ish is where my car seems to stop picking up gravitational speed down hill in 6th.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iFail 5s


Have you compared the Subaru's final drive ratio to that of a Cruze? Explains a lot compared to other cars. The diesel is a whole different story with engine braking.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Aussie said:


> Have you compared the Subaru's final drive ratio to that of a Cruze? Explains a lot compared to other cars. The diesel is a whole different story with engine braking.


One would think gearing was the problem but if that was the case lower gears should produce better compression braking results as with other cars. It honestly feels to me there is not enough rotating pass in the engine, very small cylinders and a heavy car. 

I would love to test a US diesel cruze on some of these hills, as I suspect it would be a huge improvement. GM could also give me a 2016 cruze to test for them since I live in an area with such peculiar terrain.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

spacedout said:


> One would think gearing was the problem but if that was the case lower gears should produce better compression braking results as with other cars. It honestly feels to me there is not enough rotating pass in the engine, very small cylinders and a heavy car.
> 
> I would love to test a US diesel cruze on some of these hills, as I suspect it would be a huge improvement. GM could also give me a 2016 cruze to test for them since I live in an area with such peculiar terrain.



Great idea , while your at it ask them to give me 1 also since it would need to be tested for city durability !


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Aussie said:


> Have you compared the Subaru's final drive ratio to that of a Cruze? Explains a lot compared to other cars. The diesel is a whole different story with engine braking.


My legacy literally slows down when you lift throttle down hill as if it was regenerating power like a Prius if you put the shiftier in B range. I couldn't tell you the gearing off hand other than my rear end is 4.11 and most my power is to the rear wheels.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> My legacy literally slows down when you lift throttle down hill as if it was regenerating power like a Prius if you put the shiftier in B range. I couldn't tell you the gearing off hand other than my rear end is 4.11 and most my power is to the rear wheels.


Yeah, I have noticed the same from other large displacement 4-cylinder engines - they don't like to coast with your foot off the gas. 

There are several trails up the sides of mountains I like to go on the weekends, and even in 2nd gear, the Cruze will raise from 2000-4000+ RPM in just a few seconds before you have to brake to slow down again. 

Usually fine on Interstate grades - or will hold itself back a bit in 5th, but VA doesn't have real steep Interstates. 



Sent from Bill the WonderPhone


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

spacedout said:


> What? Seriously most of the time I have no idea what your trying to say. What does drum brakes have to do with anything? I never said the cruze was really powerful, just 0-40mph it is not slow at all.


I'm another idiot who finds the Cruze to be pretty quick. 

*shrug*


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Merc6 said:


> My legacy literally slows down when you lift throttle down hill as if it was regenerating power like a Prius if you put the shiftier in B range. I couldn't tell you the gearing off hand other than my rear end is 4.11 and most my power is to the rear wheels.


Anyone else think that shifting a Prius shifter is like playing with a non-erect penis?

Never have driven one, fortunately. Man-card carrying members could not attempt such a vehicle.


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

Sunline Fan said:


> Anyone else think that shifting a Prius shifter is like playing with a non-erect penis?
> 
> Never have driven one, fortunately. Man-card carrying members could not attempt such a vehicle.


Everything about a Prius makes me think of a non-erect penis. 



 Sent with iLove


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## UlyssesSG (Apr 5, 2011)

Jukebox Juliet said:


> Everything about a Prius makes me think of a non-erect penis.
> Sent with iLove


*Gosh Julie, I love your mind.* :wub:
Mia bella bambina, may I call you Giulietta?


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

spacedout said:


> One would think gearing was the problem but if that was the case lower gears should produce better compression braking results as with other cars. It honestly feels to me there is not enough rotating pass in the engine, very small cylinders and a heavy car.


Actually the reverse is true, the lighter the parts, especially the flywheel, the quicker the engine drops revs and the quicker it will pick up revs as well. I learned this when helping to build race engines with my friends when I was active in a competition active car club. In my own experience raising the compression also made a noticeable difference to engine braking. Most turbo engines run lower compression than a non turbo engine and that could explain the lack of engine braking in the heavy for a 1.4 engine Cruze. The diesel runs a much higher compression than a petrol engine and that is the reason that even with a 2.66 final drive my diesel has excellent engine braking.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Wife driving an MT all of her life has problems with an AT. What does the R, N, and D mean? Where's the clutch?

Try to explain to her the R stands for reverse, and D for Drive. Isn't Forward the opposite of Reverse, so shouldn't that D be an F instead? Or shouldn't B be used instead of R, for backing up?

Then what does N do? Suppose to disengage the engine from the drivetrain, stand for Neutral. If they are disengaging the engine, shouldn't they use a D?

Then what does P stand for, reply, when in that position, it locks the wheels so the car won't roll. It Stands for Park. Really don't like that, because you can't remove the key unless it is in P. If someone hits our bumper, can break a pawl causing about $4,000.00 worth of damage. If it locks the wheels, shouldn't they call this an L for Lock? No because on some cars, L stands for Low. What's Low? Forget about that, just remember P, R, and D.

Way too confusing for me, let's just stick with a manual. Oh and on console shifts, have to look down when changing gear shifting positions, and if that bulb burns out, good to have a flash light so you can see it. 

So talk about trying to teach a person how to drive an automatic.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I actually nearly gave my wife whiplash one time - I had switched to her car (automatic) and had to stop the car quickly. Left foot went down on that obnoxiously wide brake pedal just like it would have on a clutch. Definitely a two footed stop as my right foot was also on the brake pedal.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Aussie said:


> Actually the reverse is true, the lighter the parts, especially the flywheel, the quicker the engine drops revs and the quicker it will pick up revs as well.


Um... thats what I said, please reread my post. Less rotating mass causes the engine to more easily spin freely & gain speed. I also was pointing out that the gearing would make little difference since the engine would always spin so freely.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

NickD said:


> Oh and on console shifts, have to look down when changing gear shifting positions, and if that bulb burns out, good to have a flash light so you can see it.


The cruze auto doesn't have this problem, if the bulb burns out you can still easily shift without looking. Park all the way at the top, one click down is reverse, all the way down is drive. Manual mode is a pull to the left from drive then forward to upshift and reverse to downshift & the current gear is indicated in the DIC(drivers information center).


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

spacedout said:


> Um... thats what I said, please reread my post. Less rotating mass causes the engine to more easily spin freely & gain speed. I also was pointing out that the gearing would make little difference since the engine would always spin so freely.


The engine speed I was talking about is only affective in a power on power off situation, lighter internal parts should reduce the time it takes for engine RPM to fall or rise as heavy parts tend to taker longer to change speed. If you ever get the chance to drive a car with a race built engine you would see what I mean. The real trick in a road car is low gearing and high compression. You can shift gears in the Cruze turbo but high compression is not really an option. I have not driven a petrol Cruze so maybe someone can tell me if the 1.8 has better engine braking than the turbo? In theory it should be better.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

A massively heavy flywheel as is fitted to most daily drivers will mask the effects of the lightweight engine a bit. It revs slowly and decreases revs slowly (electronic throttle is partly to blame for that) for smoother gear changes and drivability. 

Had a 1.8 auto as a rental for a day - it does indeed engine brake much more effectively. Higher compression and more moving mass. 


Sent from Bill the WonderPhone


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

NickD said:


> Wife driving an MT all of her life has problems with an AT. What does the R, N, and D mean? Where's the clutch?
> 
> Try to explain to her the R stands for reverse, and D for Drive. Isn't Forward the opposite of Reverse, so shouldn't that D be an F instead? Or shouldn't B be used instead of R, for backing up?
> 
> ...


Or you can just get a Prius and do this conversion for simplicity 
















Sent from my iFail 5s


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## UlyssesSG (Apr 5, 2011)

Aussie said:


> I have not driven a petrol Cruze so maybe someone can tell me if the 1.8 has better engine braking than the turbo? In theory it should be better.


As it is in theory so it is in practice, especially when the 1.8L petrol motor is coupled with the 6-speed M32 manual transmission. Total control and an overall more satisfying driving experience than with the turbo 1.4L we get in North America.


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

But we are talking about the Automatic transmission Ulysses !


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