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Driving diesel vs petrol as learner

I’ve been practicing driving with an instructor for 4 months now and have had like 6 different cars which were all diesel and now the new car which will be permenant until my exam next month is petrol and I keep stalling even on my third lesson. It’s starting to worry me and I just prefer the diesel. Is it easier to drive diesel or I’m I just bad a driving
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nerops
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Hi there,

Personally I don't think stalling a car is affected by fuel type (after a bit of googling the main difference between petrol and diesel with regard to driving experience is how often you change gears!). The more likely answer is that different cars in general have different biting points, I think this is what you're experiencing and why you're stalling a bit more - so it's just a case of getting used to this particular car.

Long story short, you're stalling because you're not used to the biting point of this car - it is not a question of petrol vs diesel. Hope this helps :smile:
Original post by nerops
Hi there,

Personally I don't think stalling a car is affected by fuel type (after a bit of googling the main difference between petrol and diesel with regard to driving experience is how often you change gears!). The more likely answer is that different cars in general have different biting points, I think this is what you're experiencing and why you're stalling a bit more - so it's just a case of getting used to this particular car.

Long story short, you're stalling because you're not used to the biting point of this car - it is not a question of petrol vs diesel. Hope this helps :smile:

Spend enough time in here and you'll constantly find people posting about how they learned in a diesel and now drive a petrol and can't stop stalling their car. This isn't because they're not used to the biting point, it's because of the power characteristics of the engines. I learned to drive in a petrol and drove a diesel afterwards (still do). I couldn't've got used to the biting point the moment I got in the car, and there have been plenty of times where I've set off using less power than I actually needed without stalling. Have I stalled it? Sure. But I feel pretty confident in saying that in the 3 years I've been driving my car, I've stalled it less than I did my instructor's car. Diesels are a lot more forgiving with the clutch than small petrols.

If we're comparing big petrol engines to diesel, yes, it's the biting point that's the issue. However, small petrol engines compared to diesel engines? It's purely a matter torque. That extra bite on the low end makes the clutch a lot more forgiving. You can get away with not using enough power to set off in a diesel, in fact, you can set off and work your way through every single gear without touching the gas pedal. Most diesels are perfectly capable of pulling the car at idle RPMs. Just slip the clutch to build a bit of speed, then come off and the car will pull itself. The same can be done with larger petrol engines, I've yet to see a small petrol engine (without some electronic anti-stall aid) that can accomplish such a task, normally they just flat out stall once you come off the clutch.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous
I’ve been practicing driving with an instructor for 4 months now and have had like 6 different cars which were all diesel and now the new car which will be permenant until my exam next month is petrol and I keep stalling even on my third lesson. It’s starting to worry me and I just prefer the diesel. Is it easier to drive diesel or I’m I just bad a driving


Hi, so what happened after, did u end up passing :smile:)

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