Automatics and OD
#1
Schnell kaputt
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Join Date: May 2003
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Automatics and OD
Lately this has caused me to wonder..
I do mostly city driving, ~90% and a lot of that is hilly stop and go driving. I"m also real easy on the throttle and I pretty much drive speed limit (50-60km/h), which I believe is around 35mph?
Anyways, I typically drive in "D" w/ OD on, but at those speeds and with my light foot, my engine is only revving at around 1,200-1,500rpms, albeit at a constant as I'm upshifting faster and getting into the 4th gear faster. At those rpms, the Max sounds like its under-revving. Would that be bad for it?
Just curious to know at city SPEED LIMIT speeds, which gear should I stick with? "D" w/ OD on or "D" w/ OD off? I've driven in "2" a few times but I'd have to constantly apply throttle to keep speed. "D" w/ OD off seems to be the happy medium, with my rpms at around 2,000 though..But what do you guys say?
Also, would there be any problems associated with turning on and off the OD button while in motion? I'm assuming that it is electronically controlled, so it wouldn't wear down the transmission or torque converter..Just trying to prolong the life of the tranny and engine..
Sorry for the loaded questions. I checked out the FAQ thread but it says nothing about harm to the mechanics
I do mostly city driving, ~90% and a lot of that is hilly stop and go driving. I"m also real easy on the throttle and I pretty much drive speed limit (50-60km/h), which I believe is around 35mph?
Anyways, I typically drive in "D" w/ OD on, but at those speeds and with my light foot, my engine is only revving at around 1,200-1,500rpms, albeit at a constant as I'm upshifting faster and getting into the 4th gear faster. At those rpms, the Max sounds like its under-revving. Would that be bad for it?
Just curious to know at city SPEED LIMIT speeds, which gear should I stick with? "D" w/ OD on or "D" w/ OD off? I've driven in "2" a few times but I'd have to constantly apply throttle to keep speed. "D" w/ OD off seems to be the happy medium, with my rpms at around 2,000 though..But what do you guys say?
Also, would there be any problems associated with turning on and off the OD button while in motion? I'm assuming that it is electronically controlled, so it wouldn't wear down the transmission or torque converter..Just trying to prolong the life of the tranny and engine..
Sorry for the loaded questions. I checked out the FAQ thread but it says nothing about harm to the mechanics
#2
hmm..all i'll say is that I only use o/d on the highway...i have a habit of starting the car and turning off o/d right away... when getting on the highway i turn it on. . .
It doesn't do anything to your tranny...you just have 3 gears instead of 4.
It doesn't do anything to your tranny...you just have 3 gears instead of 4.
#3
OD is 4th gear and I only use at 40mph+. You said you drive in sometimes, does that mean you shift the gears yourself? Either way you want is fine I didn't notice any gains/losses either way. It just means your tranny has an extra shift to make.
#4
Originally Posted by Bonka
Also, would there be any problems associated with turning on and off the OD button while in motion? I'm assuming that it is electronically controlled, so it wouldn't wear down the transmission or torque converter..Just trying to prolong the life of the tranny and engine..
Sorry for the loaded questions. I checked out the FAQ thread but it says nothing about harm to the mechanics
#5
Schnell kaputt
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Join Date: May 2003
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Posts: 1,559
Originally Posted by Big D
OD is 4th gear and I only use at 40mph+. You said you drive in sometimes, does that mean you shift the gears yourself? Either way you want is fine I didn't notice any gains/losses either way. It just means your tranny has an extra shift to make.
"D" w/ OD off seems to be the best compromise though with regards to the rpm band as I'm in the 2,000 range..
#6
It jerks because it's dropping down a gear and giving it more power O/D was designed to be used while in motion, like when you want to overtake another vehicle or to help slow down on zig zaggy mountain terrain. Been using mine this way for the last 133000km's (82000miles) and it still works like a new one
As for city driving, I drive with O/D on. I cut it down to 2, or even 1, in slow moving traffic to stop it from shifting up and down all the time and to help in slowing down as well. No damage has occured yet
As for city driving, I drive with O/D on. I cut it down to 2, or even 1, in slow moving traffic to stop it from shifting up and down all the time and to help in slowing down as well. No damage has occured yet
#8
od is good, just dont overload it
If you have a soft foot and get into od at 50-60 km that should be fine as long as you arent towing anything or going up a steep hill. If you are loading the engine at low rpm then you may get some knocking and carbon etc. I let my od do its thing and always cruise the city at 60 km for better mileage. If I feel the engine is loading I just push a little harder on the gas and it kicks the od off on its own. Take her on the hiway from time to time and blow the carbon out of it, that will keep everything nice and clean, dont be light on the gas when you come up to speed though, stomp on it and blow all that carbon out the tail pipe, the guy behind you will love it
#9
Originally Posted by Matt_NZ
It jerks because it's dropping down a gear and giving it more power O/D was designed to be used while in motion, like when you want to overtake another vehicle or to help slow down on zig zaggy mountain terrain. Been using mine this way for the last 133000km's (82000miles) and it still works like a new one
As for city driving, I drive with O/D on. I cut it down to 2, or even 1, in slow moving traffic to stop it from shifting up and down all the time and to help in slowing down as well. No damage has occured yet
As for city driving, I drive with O/D on. I cut it down to 2, or even 1, in slow moving traffic to stop it from shifting up and down all the time and to help in slowing down as well. No damage has occured yet
#11
Originally Posted by Big D
OD was designed for the highway not passing people. It only jerks(for example) when you're doing 20mph in 3rd and go WOT, then it down shifts. If you're in 3rd and put OD on your acceleration in 4th is weaker than in 3rd. And what's the point of manually shifting down a gear, you're just adding additional wear to the tranny
#12
turning the od off when driving city and in traffic is fine. it helps by keeping our wonderful auto ecu's from gear hunting all the time, as they will always try to reach 4th gear even if your only going 30mph or so.
with the od off you will use more gas as you will be running higher rpms.
downshifting isnt going to hurt your car, but it certainly dosent help anything. this is of course in moderation, if your driving your auto like a 5spd your asking for trouble.
if your worried about your transmission, go out and buy a transmission cooler, they are cheap insurance and very easy to install with basic tools and knowlege. in fact there is a fantastic write up on it here on the org in shoptalk.
good luck
with the od off you will use more gas as you will be running higher rpms.
downshifting isnt going to hurt your car, but it certainly dosent help anything. this is of course in moderation, if your driving your auto like a 5spd your asking for trouble.
if your worried about your transmission, go out and buy a transmission cooler, they are cheap insurance and very easy to install with basic tools and knowlege. in fact there is a fantastic write up on it here on the org in shoptalk.
good luck
#14
It's BS. I drove the car for over a year with OD on. For the last 7 months or so I've turned OD on only on the highway There is NO DIFFERENCE. My fuel economy is just as terrible as it was before..
#15
constant use of downshifting in auto can grind up the gears so dont bother trying, the feel of it is nasty too. if youre downshifting to slow the car down, thats no good for the transmission. why would you wanna do that anyways... use common sense.
#17
Originally Posted by Mr****s95SE
constant use of downshifting in auto can grind up the gears so dont bother trying, the feel of it is nasty too. if youre downshifting to slow the car down, thats no good for the transmission. why would you wanna do that anyways... use common sense.
#20
your overdrive trans was designed to operate in the normal 4spd (o/d on) mode during all normal driving conditions....the only time you need to turn the o/d off (light on dash is on) is if the car is hunting for the correct gear....example very hilly roads with a heavy load in the car.....if your car is constantly switching from 3rd to 4th and back again switch the o/d off.....other than that leave it on....
#21
Originally Posted by BadKarma99-4spd
check you fuel injectors, this might be causing your problem
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