IntruderLS1

The RPM's jump, BECAUSE the car has been droped into a lower gear. If you increase the trans fluid's pressure, you'll get firmer/faster shifts, but the engine is compleatly out of that equation. Think of the transmission as a load on your engine (which it is). In lower gears, the load is much lighter, so the engine can spool up faster. Now when your trans shifts into a gear that will give you more speed, your engine has to work harder to move it. That's why it's so hard to take off in a high gear (manual tranny only). But momentum is very easy to maintain and build on. So you start in the low gear to get your momentum up, but then switch into the higher gears to get more speed. The shift kit's have nothing to do w/ the engine, only how fast your car switches between gears.

AirForce2004

Thought it was something like that. Its been awhile since I drove automatic. I also used the wrong term when I said dump. I meant drop. Kinda like when Im going 65mph and a ricer does a flyby... I drop it into 3rd and take off.

Stationed at Shaw AFB. almost 5 years now... They wont let me leave shaw!!!!

Monty

So our "overdrive" is a Manuals 5th/6th gear......Just we are only in 4th..





So a 3 speed auto with over drive.....is really just a 4 speed auto with a really long gear for the last one?

IntruderLS1

Yes, your overdrive in an automatic is 4th gear, while the manual guys have overdrive in 5th (or 6th if a 6 speed), it's always the last gear. As for the "3 speed auto w/ over drive" question, it all depend who you ask. To me, a 3 speed w/ O/D has 2 driving gears, and 1 O/D gear. That is how MOST people would read that. But there are still those out there that consiter O/D a separate part or something crazy. If anybody asks you what kind of tranny you have, you'd be best off just saying it's an A4, or 4 speed automatic. All new cars have O/D, so it's just assumed.

MikeHawke

You guys are right, of course.

Additionally, I always understood that when OD is on, the car will shift at lower RPM and when it is off, the car will hold each gear a little longer and shift at a higher RPM (as well as lock out 4th/OD), so you only use the first three gears. At least that's the way GM used to do it...according to the owner's manual.

They said that when driving a 4 speed automatic around town to leave it in drive, but to switch to OD on the highway. That's on a car where the shifter reads Park, Reverse, Neutral, 2nd, Drive(3rd), and Over Drive(4th). Notice they never gave you the option of going into 1st.

What's on the Mustang automatic shifter?

Keep in mind that my GT is a 5 spd, so I really don't know about Ford's stuff. Never even driven an auto stang.

01GTvertible

i made the mistake of getting a dogomatic stang, but i still love the car. the theory is that intown, to turn od off because your car doesnt shift as much, which doesnt create as much heat to your tranny fluid. at the track, it doesnt matter if od is on or off, if you put the pedel to the floor, my car shifts at the same rpms either way. i have actually posted better times consistantly when i shift it myself. there is less lag between shifts, and can even spin going into second. i have never reached od in the quarter mile but maybe if i change the gears, i would need it. i am looking into getting a shift kit if anybody has any suggestions.

Acer2428

If the aboce is true, then why does the car feel/act different when you have OD off even in 1st and second gears?

Seems like it wasnt to accelerate/decelerate at a faster rate. I use it to slow don when coasting up to a light sometimes.

Deleted User

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IntruderLS1

In a drag race, there will be NO difference in performance, No matter what you do with your O/D button.

01GTvertible

Intruder, i couldnt have said it better myself. my automatic is clearly slower then the 5sp's, so i tried every which way possible to shave time off my et's. nothing i did with od worked.