Hi guys,
I've been a memeber for a while but this is my first thread. Anyways.........you know how manual drivers downshift to pick up quicker acceleration to maybe pass someone or something..........well in my auto i recently started turning OD off to pick up more acceleration............i assume this is bad but how bad.........i just got into this habit so i'd rather stop doing it now then a year or so later or worse have to go get a tranny. Again thanks for all ur help.

 

When I had my first car I downshifted on a manual to pass a guy and ended up blowing my engine compression. I was 3 hours from home at the time and it took for 4-5 hours to get home because I couldn't go above 35 mph in 3rd gear or the engine would cut off.

I'm assuming when you switch off the OD you're watching your rpms so you don't red line. Perhaps a web site that explains how OD works would be useful for you?

 

dont do it!!!!I used to do that and autoshift all the time.Now after about a year my tranny is about to go.

 

All that happens is you prevent the car from engaging the top gear in the box. Unless, that is, you are driving in O/D at high speed and then disable it... then you might cause an over-rev condition, but I doubt that would be very likely at the speeds you can drive in the US.

 

i guess i'll stop doing it...............yea im normally cruising and then i get too close to the car in the front and when i normally accelerate to pass i feel a lag so i turn O/D off and theres no lag but a nice thrust.........yea im watching the rpms but since im cruisin it only jumps at most a thousand or 1500 so im never too close to redline............but thanks for the info and advice

 

i used to manually shift my auto and always use O/D sometimes, nowit feels like my tranny is going out, shift like crap sometimes, since i stoped doing that its a lil better but i can still feel the effect that all this had on it......
unless u are planning on getting a 5spd anytime soon, i suggext you stop....

my $0.02

 

so much misinformation here..

No, it is not bad, that's the reason the button was put there, so you would have more passing power on the highway. Unless you're redlining the car in 4th gear, I would not hesitate to press it to pass people on the highway. You're not "manually shifting' anything.

And for Juicey, did you shift into 1st or something? I dont understand how you blow engine compression by downshifting.

 

juicey i really doubt u blew ur engine (compression?) because u downshifted to 3rd (O/D off) unless u were going at like 140 or something. under normal conditions if you downshift and the mph is too high for the car to downshift, the car will not downshift unless u slow down... i use O/D Off when i have to slow down really fast in the highway or on the street, OD off while pressing the brake and slightly lifting the e-brake has prevented me from serious accidents and have come to a complete stop within fractions of seconds. thats how I use od. but i wouldnt use it on a regular just to pass someone, why not just step on the gas? if the car is in good condition it should downshift and move on.

 

thats why i am planning on five speed conversion. did anybody did a swap on 97. i waana know how hard is it. or it can be done . i think that it should be worth.

 

yes, it's pretty difficult if you dont know much about cars. it's worth it.

There's a writeup by HLH0501 on VQPower.com

 

can exactly tell me where to look in at vqpower.com. by the way i am tech. so much about cars but i never did some crazy swap like this lol. thinking about do it or not to. just worried about running in to a prob. but i dont if gonna be worth or not. i actuallly try looking for manual 4 gen max. but i cant find one whenever. whatever i saw was in preety bad shap. i loved mine . the only thing i hate is that its not manual. i would love to have manual. if any body got any opinion please let me know. thank u

 

yes u can swap 5sp on a 97, alot of poeple have done it. only problem u will come across is..... i dont think any if you have the right tools and items. let me put it like this, i was supposed to help a friend on here to do a 5sp conversion after work at 5pm. by the time i got to his house, the swap was already done lol. he and his friend had started about 10am. so if u have the right tools and items it is not hard.

 

the od button is there for a reason. its just putting you in 3rd gear... is it bad if you use od off to go up a big hill on the highway? its the same thing as clicking into 3rd to pass someone. its there for teh extra power, use it.

now dropping into second at 70mph while flooring it.. i wouldnt recommend doing often.

 

I have to agree. I did it on my old 00 which had almost 90,000 miles on it before it got totalled and the tranny was still fine. As long as you let 3rd gear engage while still cruising (ie not hit the button while flooring it etc), I think it would be okay. It eliminates the lag u get when the TCM is supposed to downshift when u floor it.

 

I always thought the OD button was there for like hauling heavy loads or climbing steep hills. To help with accelerating and slowing the car with assistance from the engine.

 

Keep doing this than you'll have a good reason to do a Man. swap, LOL.

 

nooo od locks out 4th gear... FTW
Google is your friend guys

 

explain....

 

i don't understand all of what you wrote, but it's in the how-to's of VQpower.com, and it's in the maxima.org 4th gen how-to's. just for reference, I did my whole swap with a $30 set of hand tools, hydraulic jack, and drill.

 

If you werent suppost to use the O/D button and shift to 2nd or 1st, they wouldnt have put it there. Dont abuse and do tranny flushes on time and you should be fine.

 

/////My first car was an Auto. never again. Since then I've had 3 other cars all maxima's all 5 spd. I like driving my car, not have the car drive me........crazy!

 

You're telling me, if you manage to top out your 3rd gear regularly and still have your lisence i'd be VERY impressed .

 

Well, if I get stopped I just show them my Texas licence and pretend to be a tourist... no, seriously, the cops here are human beings, unlike what you have 'over there'. I usually do my morning run at 70, sometimes more if I am late. And I am often overtaken by much faster drivers running Beemers and up. Lot of rich people in this town.

 

Yet, you didn't know a 5-speed conversion was possible... and whether turning OD off to gain passing power is bad or not. Not to mention all the words you left out of your sentences... that statement scares me.