LMaRiE91MaXiMa

Hey all...just a quick and probably extremely dumb question, but here goes:

I own a 91 Nissan Maxima SE V6 3.0L Automatic tranny...my question is, Is it better to drive in Overdrive ALL the time (except obviously on long slopes, etc.). Or is it better to turn the overdrive off when driving at low speeds and manually change it into overdrive at higher speeds.

About half the people I know tell me to keep it in overdrive all the time cause supposedly it'll save gas (seems like it burns more gas from the get-go if you ask me cause it seems to take longer to shift outta 1st and 2nd gears). Then the other half say to switch it on/off as you go...(depending on your speed).

Does it really make a difference, I mean, am I hurting my car/transmission either way?!?

Also, I doubt it, but it almost seems like theres 2 gears in my overdrive - but that cant be true, can it? I just dont think it switches into overdrive all the way and the idle drops a little at first, then when it fully switches into overdrive, drops idle more, thus creating an illusion of 2 gears...(maybe im just CrAzY )

Thanks for your input!

blacks92seAuto

think of the overdrive switch as 4th gear....I personally keep my overdrive ON(light off) it shouldn;t even turn on until 35+mph anyway. I would just leave it on all the time, unless your going up hills and stuff in the city, or even sitting in rush hour(or last minute shopping traffic). You are not hurting your car or tranny by playing with this switch. All it does is allows the tranny to downshift into 4th gear when conditions are right(above 35mph and not under WOT) I hear tho if you have O/D on while going up steep hills, you can burn out your bands or clutches...I hate autos

LMaRiE91MaXiMa

Thats what I figured. Where I live is the Naugatuck River Valley of CT, and there are lots of hills so I usually keep it out of overdrive (light on) and manually switch the overdrive on myself at about 45mph (i judge by the sound of the engine/tranny and my rpms, but it usually wants in at around 45, sometimes 35 like you mentioned.) Also, I NEVER leave it in overdrive when going up hills, I lose power if I do that and even I can tell that it's not good for my car! I just wanted to make sure that I was not hurting my Maxine by doing this, I didn't think I was; but like i say over and over again - I dont know much about cars and wanted someones educated opinion.. ThAnK yOu!!! ROCKON!!! (lol)

Oh yea...I probably would love standards too, if I knew how to drive em!!! I was learning and did get the hang of it, but then the car I was learning on crapped out and that was that! (and no, it was not my fault - lol...i was actually doing real good..got the car outta 1st gear the first time I tried) - Everyone told me I probably wouldnt be able to get it out of first...I did have a problem with trying to reverse tho.. O well - I'll get it someday!!

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

O/D isn't supposed to kick in until like 60 on the later max (92) so use the power switch, it keeps the trans in a lower gear longer

Maxzilla91

i do OD off in city when there are medium to heavy traffic. OD on for freeway and long stretches of road where i don't have to stop and go..

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

od should be turned on whenever you're on the highway or the 3rd gear will never get you above 65mph. with overdrive on, then you should be able drive 100+ mph easily. then again, it's really depending on the place where you live, if you're in S. Cali all of the damn roads, esp hw are like parking lots here at all time 24/7. od don't really help out much at all, rather it does more damages to the brake pads.

Scope

iTrader: (5)

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ight=overdrive now shut up!!

Loe max

iTrader: (6)

LMaRiE91MaXiMa

Well I have a 1991 Max and if I leave it on, it will actually kick in at 35mph...but if I have it off, it seems to want overdrive at 45mph...definitely not 60 - I think if I waited that long, I'd burn out 3rd!!!!

B.t.w. - I just leave the transmission in a/t as I dont see any significant difference when putting it in comfort or power - I'd rather have the car sense what it needs to do then me guess!

LMaRiE91MaXiMa

Thats how I drive maxine - I just wanted to make sure it was OK to drive it this way as opposed to leaving it in OD all the time...

LMaRiE91MaXiMa

Sorry..that threads too long for me to go through...I already got my answer waaayy before you, so you should've shut up before you even posted!

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Sorry for the late entry, but my OD will kick in at 25 or 26. For non performance driving, the extra downshift is no big deal to me.

Maxima-4DSC

iTrader: (1)

im gonna cut and paste what i said but you seem nice so ill edit my post !

overdrive is just the nickname for 4th gear. why do they call it overdrive ? because its OVER drive meaning over the 1:1 ratio. Henceforth the output is faster than the input. Pushing the "button" just locks out the gear so when your driving uphill its not constantly bogging and switching stressing the tranny and wearing the crap out of the bands and clutches. at anyrate its not a magical thing to make you faster. and btw leaving it off will hurt your fuel economy because your letting the motor rev higher. but youll never notice it unless your highway driving. theO/D kicks in at around 40-45 dependant on the condition of your sensors and tranny. its programmed for 42mph i think but ill have to get facts on that. imagine driving a stick in 4th gear at 65mph.....then in 5th gear which one is gonna give you better MPG ? 5th gear on manuals is OVERDRIVE because its over the 1:1 drive ratio. hope this helps !

Loe max

iTrader: (6)

You'll have to do the same thing in a couple weeks

tripleGmax

iTrader: (8)

Well it actually will kick in around 30-35 if you dont drive it hard. try it for yourself leave O/D off and drive about 35 contantly for awhile then press the button, tell me it doesnt turn on and shift into O/D. and vice versa, drive it at 35 with it on, then press button to turn it off, it will downshift, because it was in O/D at 35. i guess only time i use it is when im on a hill and i dont want it to go into O/D so i can easily get up the hill. but i still rarely ever use it. i guess supposed to and what it actually does are two different things.

95turbo gxe

iTrader: (25)

1 2

1 3 5
2 4 R

Scope

iTrader: (5)

It's more like:

P
R
N
D
2
1

Either way O/D or no O/d auto's still suck.

Scope

iTrader: (5)

Wow 21 posts most of which can take less than 10 secs to read. Too long - No. There are possibly some useful stuff in there if you had been willing to read such as TC lockup. You got your answer but it wasn't in such depth as the link I had posted which also had a useful link. I also see this type of thread atleast once a month so the shut up part wasn't directed at anyone. But you know what they say the ones that know they should always feel offended. Even when not pointed out.