im really new to how cars work , i just know that i love my maxima. yet i feel i should ask a question that im sure is so basic you will collapse after hearing it lol

i have an ae 01 SE maxima, today for the fun of it i switched from "D" to "1" while at 25mph (accelarating) my rpm jumped from 2 to almost 7

my questions are:

1) Was that a really bad thing to do , meaning did I damage my engine/transmission by doing that? Cuz i did feel the car literally leap forward lol.

2) I guess my next question is when is a good time to shift to 2 or 1, and when is it ok to shift back ....basically how and when do you use 2 or 1...i know stupid question but im really really a

3) Can you shift into those for racing purposes (i guess the answer to 2 would answer this one too )

thx for taking the time to read this and i hope to get some answers lol . thanks again

 

You should NEVER shift your automatic when the car is moving. ever. period.

You use 2 and 1 when going up hills or in snow to avoid the car constantly upshifintg or downshifting.


You have an automatic, if you want to shift, get a manual

 

oh boy...first of all..you own an automatic max...DO NOT DOWNSHIFT EVER!.....you could go from 1st to 2nd...so on...from a stop..but it dosent help much...and i dont think its good for the tranny either....just keep it in D and stomp on it...anything else is murder for your tranny

 

thanks guys for the replies

so i did a really bad thing you think once is ok ? i mean ive never really knew what those will do for your car but going from 2000rpm to 6500rpm, i mean describe how bad that is i guess.....im trying to undersand the SEVERITY of my action today and the short term/long term effect on my car for this.

 

LOL. well i guess that's kinda of a truth. You're not supposed to really shift manually on an auto, BUT if you want to, this is what i did when i had my 2000 max. But like Ryan Maxima said, I got a 6speed.
First find a straight stretch of road and long if u can. Start the car off in 1st gear. and see where it goes to about 6000-6500rpms. and see what speed you are going. This speed is where u dont want to go over when u shift into 1st gear. Do the same thing for 2nd and 3rd. You really do not want to downshift much on your auto, b/c in a manual you can downshift because you can put the shifter in neutral rev the engine and match the rpms to where you need it and ease into that gear. I mean not granny style but not where the car lurches. In an auto, it just jumps the car into the rpm range (like when you went to 1st). but is not good on the tranny. Most people in autos shift from stop going 1,2,3,D. but not usually downshifting.
On the rpm note, the engine can handle that rpm just fine. Just dont do it too much :P. your redline is 6500 rpms i think on the 2000 auto.

 

LOL wow sorry by the time i wrote this 3 people had written replies. I was replying right after Ryan maxima

 

thx lol its ok im glad i posted htis so that i wouldnt do it again. i understand now why those options are ther and WHY people choose manual over automatic lol


i guess ONE MORE question lol, what about overdrive....why would you use that?

 

It's not going to kill the engine to do it once....believe me, all guys who drive manuals have accidentally gone 5th to 2nd once in our lives in a moment of total lack of paying attention ....as long as the tranny isn't sitting on the road below the car, it should be ok...That said, you shouldn't ever be shifting your auto....that's why it's called automatic...

 

lol i know thx for the blunt answer (no sarcasm there i know i needed that!) thx

 

Doesn't your 01 Max have an overdrive button on the shifter? My 03 has that gated shifter where you can shift over from D to 3 which is basically like pressing the OD button on or off. I'll start at 3 instead of D when taking off really quick. Same principle in your car accept with the OD button.

 

ok so overdrive is what i should use or are there consequences of using it often (im guessing there are considering it can be turned on/off ?

 

You should leave your OD on most of the time especially in highway cruising.

 

really...well i dont go on highways often but why would i want to do that...again im new so layman's terms are always nice...and you guyz dont know how helpful you have been so far!!

 

i down shift to 2nd all the time. she has 105,000+ miles. just don't down shift to 2nd after 50 mph.

 

then...if we automagic tranny upshift from 1-D should we turn off the overdrive or leave it on...i mean..when we try to race from a start..

 

Hell yeah another AL guy on the board. Welcome brother

 

hmpph..

remebering going from 5th to 1st (in 6spd) ; ) learning pains.


a few people can vouch for the fact it won't destroy our trannies, i am one ; )
you really shouldn't do that, but you know once or twice won't hurt.

 

Just Stomp It..

 

If you know you were going to race .Stickshift is always better for racing.

Dont mess with your tranny (leave over drive on all the time ,because you never know when you need to acclerate fast to avoid an acident.)

 

Ummm this has nothing to do with acceleration. OD puts your car into the final gear. This is useful for highway travel because your car is not revving so high. Turning overdrive off means your car will not go into that final gear therefore will hold gear 3. My 03 has 4 gears. When I want max acceleration, I shift over from D to 3 which means my car will not go into 4th which is OD.

 

you can stomp it all you want but the tcm will tell the tranny to shift at around 6k at WOT. if you want take advantage of the extra rpms where you are making peak power and be able to pull a higher rpm when you shift, then manually shift the auto. there is obviously a delay when you shift so make sure you dont shift at 6700 or you will find the rev limiter. this is only done if you want everything your auto has to give. i manually shift mine all the time but ive had both tsb done along with running a tranny cooler and mobil 1 atf.

 

That's what I do. I love sliding the stick over to 3rd and passing people on the highway. Gotta Love that that 3.5L.

 

i leave on the OD. if i want to speed-up qiuckly, i turn off OD and, depending on the speed, downshift to 2...if the speed is already high, i just take off the OD and step on the pedal. then it's bye bye

 

What the hell are some of you talking about? You CAN switch between OD on/off. On just lets the transmission go into the final (4th) gear...which is usefull (and more fuel efficient) when crusing at highway speed or when your speed isn't changing fast to slow and back. You can also go from D to 2 if you are within the correct speed to do so and if you need to for traction reasons (during snow, towing, etc.). I leave OD off sometimes when crusing around the city streets or on backroads in the county. I leave OD on when on the interstate.

Saying NEVER switch an automatic transmission while moving is just stupid.

 

That doesn't make much sense either. If you are indeed using "max" acceleration and your car shouldn't even think about ****ing into overdrive. No matter what position the automatic selector is in, the car will start in 1st gear, then depending on acceleration will shift to 2nd, then 3rd and finally fourth (overdrive). The selected gear is just the maximum gear that you are allowing your transmission to shift too. Some people turn overdrive off on hilly roads where the transmission "hunts" between 3rd gear and overdrive so it is not constantly changing gears. Overdrive should improve fuel economy.

With that said, manumatic transmissions that allow you to maunally change the gears of an automatic will allow you to start the car in a higher gear (good for when too much torque is a bad thing) and will also allow you to put the car in a higher gear than what it should be (third gear at 10mph).

Oh, and manuals will let you put the car into whatever gear you want at any time, but starting in third gear on an uphill is really challenging.

 

It may be my butt dyno, but the car seems to hold gears longer with it in 3.

 

I'm with this guy.. i have a GLE and I manual shift all the time when I want to pass someone.. its just experience in knowing when to do it and when not... if my rmps are at 2500-3000, i'll down shift without thinking about it.. other times when hondas aren't playing with me, i'll cruise with OD on and rpms at 1500-2000

Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a stick, but traffic in Boston is just horrible.. i think i'm getting too old for shifting in Boston traffic

 

OD works great for a good mid-range boost. Say your going highway speeds, 60-70, and wanna take off or get challanged to a quick race, turn OD off and stomp on it, turn it back on when RPM's go too high. Also I find it helps to turn OD off when you need to slow down quicker (off ramps, etc)..because it drops a gear. Jumping from a red light with OD is a slower acceleration than with it on....So use OD for mid range 'power' boost....*I do not condone or suggest racing is right or even safe*

 

To clear up the confusion, here is how OD works.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/automa...nsmission8.htm

 

hehe sup dude.....and thanks to all of you for the info,