ryanb860

when i got my 2k maxima se the dealer said to just leave overdrive on all the time. is he right? what is it for and will i notice any difference in performance if i leave it on or off?

Darius

iTrader: (1)

experiment with it. i think my max accelerates faster with O/D off. I've been told that having O/D on keeps your RPMS lower to save gas, but my friend says that having O/D on makes your car shift at the peak torque points for optimal acceleration.

SebringS2k

Umm, I believe that Overdrive is actually your 4th gear, hence it being the overdrive gear...

marky3320

iTrader: (3)

I drive the car w/ the O/D off most of the time...I only turn it on once I am on the highway driving over 60mph.

ryanb860

i may be a newbie but i do know that's wrong.

slickrick

iTrader: (12)

leave od on for fuel economy. for performance leave it off.

Maximam

OD is infact your 4th gear!

Tell me how you know Sebring is wrong? Explain what OD is then! I am real curious to know.

saxdogg

OD is fourth gear, yes. Turning it off limits you to third and no converter lock-up. Leave it in OD for normal driving.

ARFF

limsandy

iTrader: (1)

Newbie question: How do you switch overdrive on and off? Where is the switch?


~limsandy

saxdogg

Lim- On my 2k2, O/D is "D" on the shifter...you put it in "3" for no O/D

Darius

iTrader: (1)

on my 2k1 GLE it's a little button on the side of the shifter

ryanb860

OD is NOT fourth gear.......at least not on my 2k SE auto. there's 1, 2, D, N, R, and P. OD is activated by pressing a little button on the shifter.

saxdogg

Maxman2000

iTrader: (5)

I use over drive to help me slow down. It lets me do less braeking.

cwerdna

Sure it is a fourth gear. Your car comes w/a 4 speed automatic transmission. Try driving w/overdrive off at freeway speeds and look at your RPMs. Then turn it on, you'll notice an upshift and your RPMS will fall.

Also, you can try counting how many shifts it takes for you to get up to freeway speeds.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation in this thread about overdrive. Marky3320, you are wasting gas if you leave it off most of the time.

Here are some articles on overdrive:
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Arch...6/July/01.html
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Arch...97/May/20.html
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/NEW_...tember/01.html
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/NEW_...tember/17.html

Jules Maximus

On the 2k3 auto there is 3 and D. You move the lever to the right and you are in D which engages overdrive. Move the lever to the left and it is in 3 which just gives you gears 1 through 3 only.

Maximam

Well, all I am going to say is your car has a 4 speed auto with a OD button that allows it to engage or not engage 4th gear.

Please explain your reason for thinking the OD button is not to engage 4th gear.

ryanb860

here's the reason:

when i drive with OD on, the car still shifts thru the gears when i accelerate. just because the OD is on doesn't mean the car is in 4th gear.

saxdogg

Yeah, but just because it's in "2" doesn't mean it's in second gear either. Having it in/out of O/D just "allows or disallows" the use of 4th gear, not whether or not you're IN IT.

ARFF

ch13f

With the exception of a few people, the amount of ignorance in this thread amazes me. Turning overdrive off essentially blocks out 4th gear, whether it is done with a button or sliding the shifter into "3" makes no difference. The first 3 gears will perform the same regardless if it is on or off, with the exception of 3rd eventually going into 4th that is.