When would you actually turn off Over Drive in a car/truck?

[vi edit]

Towing?

😕

What's the point of having an overdrive on/off button. All it seems to do is jack up the RPM's a bit when traveling on the highway producing lower milage. What's really the need for it to be toggled on and off?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

You can use it when going down long grades so you don't end up toasting your brakes. "OD off" is like dropping the lever into "3" on a 4 speed auto.

 

[BDawg]

Why not just move to 3 or 2?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why not just move to 3 or 2?

Alot of cars don't have the "3". They kept the PRND21 gate and added a button to control the solenoid for the OD.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
You can use it when going down long grades so you don't end up toasting your brakes. "OD off" is like dropping the lever into "3" on a 4 speed auto.

Gotcha.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
You can use it when going down long grades so you don't end up toasting your brakes. "OD off" is like dropping the lever into "3" on a 4 speed auto.

Gotcha.

and you also nailed it with towing.

before the "Towing" button on GM trucks, my father would always either turn O/D off, or put it into 3rd, as he felt, and im pretty damn sure it was true, that this caused a LOT less gear hunting which causes un needed stress on the engine.

 

[Soapy Bones]

Also very useful for towing heavy loads. Taking it out of OverDrive reduces wear and tear on th engine/transmission by kicking the RPMs up to a higher level which usually is where the max torque is. I usually start out of overdrive when pulling something big or heavy until i get to 60-65 mph and then kick it back in for cruising at that speed.

Gives me some control so that the truck doesn't try to shift too soon and strain everything.

 

[BlueFlamme]

I use it when climbing mountains on the interstate in my Camry when the car is loaded for a vacation, I can hear the engine straining and I'm struggling to stay at 55-60mph, kill the O/D and the revs get over 3K and I can get it up to 65-70mph.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: BlueFlamme
I use it when climbing mountains on the interstate in my Camry when the car is loaded for a vacation, I can hear the engine straining and I'm struggling to stay at 55-60mph, kill the O/D and the revs get over 3K and I can get it up to 65-70mph.

thats just your Camry being retarded and not downshifting properly, stupid Toyota trannys

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE

Originally posted by: BlueFlamme
I use it when climbing mountains on the interstate in my Camry when the car is loaded for a vacation, I can hear the engine straining and I'm struggling to stay at 55-60mph, kill the O/D and the revs get over 3K and I can get it up to 65-70mph.

thats just your Camry being retarded and not downshifting properly, stupid Toyota trannys

You want a stupid transmission...try driving a Ford Taurus w/ the stock V6 through the mountains. I've never been so frustrated in my life driving a car. That thing was constantly hunting for gears and never could manage to get it right.

 

[radioouman]

I always turn OFF overdrive while I'm towing my boat. Always.

 

[TheSlamma]

Engines are a lot stronger then most people think, it's the transmissions that are not very strong.

I would suggest no one ever tow in OD, it's a gear made purly for lowering RPM while CRUISING, not while under any load.

Thats why the ratio's look like this
1st / 3.06
2nd / 1.62
3rd / 1.00
OD / 0.70 <--- Guess where the stress goes?

With that in mind thats also why it's good for long grades as mentioned before.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
You want a stupid transmission...try driving a Ford Taurus w/ the stock V6 through the mountains. I've never been so frustrated in my life driving a car. That thing was constantly hunting for gears and never could manage to get it right.

So far the winner for the stupid transmission goes to a Honda Prelude that was a semi-auto. In full auto on windy roads it seemed like it was always in the wrong gear. I had to put it on manual because it was driving me f'ing nuts (and VTEC only made the problem worse)