i have a 01 automatic....is it ok if i shift with the over drive...or i just should be shifting!!!!.....i know i know...get a stick!!!


please advise!!!!

 

some people have reported better times at the track by leaving it in drive. on the street, i shift occasionally. i put a trans cooler to deal with the extra heat by me cruising around 30-40 and dropping it in 2. if i know i can take the guy, i leave it in drive but if its going to be close i shift so i can take it as close to redline as possible.

 

see.....when i drive i try not to drive to crazy...just when people **** me off....so if i am at a light and some other car that can keep up with mine trys somthin with me...then i throw it in 1st w/ overdrive button pressed and the switch like its a manual...this is not good for the engine...right??? or is it ok once-in-a-while!!????

 

i think id be more worried about the tranny messing up, the engine should be fine as long as you dont go past redline

 

thanks for the info...i will take that into consideration!!!

 

I don't see how manually shifting an automatic would harm your tranny? Engine, yes, like you said if you shift past redline.

When shifting, you have to shift around 500 rpms before redline if you want it to shift at redline, there is a little delay when shifting the stalk and shifitng gears. You have to play around with it to see what the best point is in each gear to get it to shift at redline. BTW, I got better times when manually shifting at the track.

 

Let the comp do the work. I used to shift, and now I'm on my 2nd trans. 3rd if you count the rebuild after the 2nd went on me with the sc install.

 

well i used to do the same thing but after going through two trannies i was done with shifting and now i just let it go on its own.

 

At the track I shift it myself, but never tried it in D. I should consider that. Also, I heard O/D off doesn't do anything except to help you accelerate at HIGH speeds

 

yea, turning overdrive off won't affect anything until you either (a) let off the gas and the car shifts up for economy, or (b) accelerate past the range of 4th gear. i turn it off when i want to gun it, just so the car isn't dropping into higher gears at highway speeds (cause then i have to wait for it to downshift when i floor it), but off the line you'll never hit overdrive till you're coasting to a stop. think of overdrive as the "economy" button.

there is definitely a trick to manually shifting your auto, a little practice will give you a feel for it. even letting D do it will heat up the tranny without a cooler if you're flooring it.

get a feel for the range of each gear before you try it too much. stick drivers have a better feel for where their gears lie, us auto folks usually don't pay attention since we don't have to. you want to make sure you're at the right speed and rpm before you dump it into 2... and mind the shift delay, like Greg's2kGLE said. shift a bit before redline, and downshift a bit above your target rpm when decelerating, since the tranny will be a few seconds behind you.

my butt-dyno measurements definitely show better acceleration when shifting myself. plus it's more fun.

if you're gonna do this alot, a tranny cooler's only 50 bucks! worth it!