[elantrarida]

hey this might seem like a stupid question but today i decided to drive around with the over drive off and my car reaches 60 alot quicker but it stays in third gear. In order to go faster without making it sound like it has to change gears i turn the over drive button on then it swiches to 4th. So what is the over/drive for. :hmmm:

 

[FrankieJames]

From what I was taught, you turn off overdrive for when you're towing something or going up a really steep hill. Basically, anytime your car may struggle with acceleration or power. That's what I was taught when I accidentally left my overdrive off and my dad explained why I should leave it on. There could be more to it.

 

[imcastock]

Overdrive is a ratio that is more then 1:1 out of the transmission. Meaning the drive axles will be turning faster then the input shaft. Overdive is used to get better fuel economy. The engine will turn less rpms to go a certain speed using less fuel.

 

[elantrarida]

Is it safe for the trasmission to drive on local streets with the over/drive off

 

[elantradan]

hi
judging from what people are saying it would be okay to drive on surface streets with the O/D off, but the O/D is effectively our 4th gear on an automatic.

on city streets our transmission wouldn't select this gear unless we're going at least 40mph or so, with gentle acceleration. when accelerating from stop, you are always at 1st gear, not 2nd, 3rd or 4th (no winter mode like a Benz). with the O/D off, the auto will not shift into 4th gear unless the engine rpms are very high in 3rd gear to prevent damage.

personally, i don't use it for hills although it would give torque for uphill climbing. i just don't like the growling! :devious: i go up hills everyday. its annoying to keep playing with the switch.

 

[furochan]

Um. Like the previous post said...I't's just like you'd be doing if you had a 5 speed and were only using the first 4 gears. You'd get less gas milage at high speeds, and slightly more engine wear, but aside from that, um. ^^;