Overdrive or not to OverDrive

[triad]

That is the question. I've always been "raised" under the impression that overdrive is better for a car's transmission, however lately I have had a few people tell me that overdrive is indeed NOT good for the transmission - can lead to all sorts of problems. What is, I suppose, the final say on this - I consult to the guru's!

Also - how can you tell if your transmission is slipping?

Thanks!

[RedBird98]

If for some reason I am traveling a distance on the Interstate, or at highway speeds, I use overdrive. For normal everyday driving I put it in "3".

The main reason for this is that if you are not contantly driving at high speed, your tranny will constantly be shifting in and out of the overdrive. While I don't know what the wear and tear would be, I would have to think that there would be some.

[black98V6]

the drive vs overdrive thing is mainly for people doing towing... used to be if you pulled a trailer in OD you would more than likely burn up the tranny... but, with our cars having newer electronically controlled trannys I don't have a difinitve answer for ya..

[6Banger]

The way I see it, Overdrive is simply a 4th gear in the automatic transmissions. Not going into OD when needed would be like not going into 5th on a manual. Overdrive is just an extra gear to increase gas mileage at higher speeds. On our manuals, 5th gear is our overdrive. On Z28's, both 5th and 6th gears are overdrives.

[ February 27, 2002: Message edited by: 6Banger ]</p>

[triad]

So for everyday driving (stop and go) OD is bad or good?

[HAZ-Matt]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by black98V6:
the drive vs overdrive thing is mainly for people doing towing... used to be if you pulled a trailer in OD you would more than likely burn up the tranny... <hr></blockquote>

Exactly.

[HAZ-Matt]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by triad:
So for everyday driving (stop and go) OD is bad or good?<hr></blockquote>

It's fine. In stop and go traffic you shouldn't be hitting 4th anyway, and if you do it won't be common enough that you are shifting between 3rd and 4th enough to greatly reduce the life of the transmission.

Think about it another way... Should you just leave it in 1st so that is doesn't shift between 1st and 2nd?

With towing the thing is that most transmissions are not strong enough to hold in overdrive while under a heavy load, ie towing. Also when towing there is a much greater frequency of shifting going on between drive and overdrive.

[Blue Jay]

Because our cars are set up to shift out of OD so quickly, I would reccomend not using OD in the city. It is not just, "Another gear" It is a gear numerically smaller than 1, and therefore it reduces the cars mechanical advantage. So, say if you are climbing a hill in od, the engine has to work harder, even if the RPM's are lower.

Also the constant shifting in and out of overdrive in the city is bad for the friction material (clutches and bands) in the transmission, and will cause them to wear out sooner.

[Skullcamaro]

Before anybody says anything else try looking in your owners manual on the description of Drive and overdrive. Then post if you have questions. Also do a search on this site and you'll find info for this question.

[Blue Jay]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Skullcamaro:
Before anybody says anything else try looking in your owners manual on the description of Drive and overdrive. Then post if you have questions. Also do a search on this site and you'll find info for this question.<hr></blockquote>

I don't think this is a question that comes up all that often and have no problem answering it, especially condiering that a lot of information that may have been given in the past is incorrect.

I don't recommed you tell people that they can't post on the board.

[triad]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Skullcamaro:
Before anybody says anything else try looking in your owners manual on the description of Drive and overdrive. Then post if you have questions. Also do a search on this site and you'll find info for this question.<hr></blockquote>


My car didn't come with an owners manual - I am still waiting on a replacement.
And to the others - thank you for taking the time to answer.

[Liquid Silver]

Some people say that if you drive around under 40mph in OD too much, it will wear the transmission down due to heat.

Simple solution to this topic... buy a shift kit like Transgo. I leave my car in OD all the time and it shifts into gear firmer than silicone t**s. In fact, I tried to compare D and OD with the shift kit and there is really no difference between shifts and firmness so I leave it in OD all the time.

If you're worried about heat in your transmission... you can get Lube Gard addative for your tranny fluid. http:/www.lubegard.com That stuff keeps it about 40 degrees cooler! Then install a transmission cooler and that's like an extra 20 or more degrees of cooling... so doing those two tasks will cool your transmission by almost 60 degrees! Which not too shabby.

EDIT: here's a better link http://lubegard.com/automotive/trans_atf.html

[ March 01, 2002: Message edited by: Liquid Silver ]</p>

[Skullcamaro]

Fine, why don't you try doing a search first on this board. I didn't say that people can't post. But I know for a fact that this question has come up several times before. Don't try and misinterpret what I said in my previous post.

[Skullcamaro]

Second, a simple answer to your question since you don't have an owners manual is that OD is supposed to be used for daily driving and highway driving. D is supposed to be used for towing, steep hill drving,etc.

[Jana]

When I had my transmission rebuilt, the guy told me to put it into drive while driving in the city, and put it into overdrive when I'm driving on a highway. He told me this would help my transmission last a lot longer. He did a great job on my transmission, and its lasted over 40,000 miles, still going, without any leaks or mechanical problems, so I trust his opinion.