JIM5.0

Right. And worse, just like Norm said, even after you get rolling forward, when you are shifting gears to continue your acceleration, asshat behind you is still on your rear bumper.

Bmr4life

Do any of you ever take off in 3rd? I drive an auto and when I'm in traffic I just leave my car in 3rd gear until traffic starts to go faster than 25-30 mph. When its time to stop/slowdown, i rarely have to use the brakes due to engine braking. Keeps my leg and ankle from getting tired. Also the constant up and down shifts get annoying every time I start and stop.

jdmcbride

IIRC, when you have the auto selector in 3 and are accelerating from a stop, you are not starting in 3rd gear. It will start in 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd, but won't go higher than 3rd gear. The "gears" lower than D on the auto selector are mainly used for driving down steep grades to regulate speed without overheating the brakes. Someone correct me if I am wrong (it's been a while since I have driven an automatic and used anything other than drive).

Norm Peterson

Sometimes I'll see it coming and I might short-shift or granny-shift intentionally just to throw asshat off-rhythm. But I can't recommend that a newbie to stick-shift driving do the same.


Norm

Norm Peterson

If I ever have, it was purely by the mistake of not getting the shifter into the proper gate. Never intentionally.

Jdmcbride has described quite well what you're doing by leaving the AT in "3". The MT "equivalent" is to simply not (manually) upshift past 3rd, though we do still need to do the 1-2 and 2-3 for ourselves. Sometimes, we don't go past 2nd, or even out of 1st.

I don't think I've ever found running up through the gears to be annoying, though I'm apt to stay a gear lower in slow traffic to avoid an upshift to a gear that I might only be in for just a few seconds. Looking ahead of just the closest set of brake lights helps here.


Norm

Bmr4life

You are guys incorrect. If you put an s197 automatic in 3rd, its in 3rd. No shifts. The rpms don't jump and the car accelerates slowly even when you floor it. Same with 2nd, accept it accelerates faster obviously.

JIM5.0

I have taken off in 3rd gear. Well, not really. My car bucks forward an inch and stalls. Even if I slip the clutch like crazy, it will just eventually die.
For an auto, I have no idea how taking off in 3rd while totally skipping 1st & 2nd is possible.

I do not recommend anyone taking off in 3rd in a manual by slipping the clutch. You will glaze it like a waxed floor.

MustangRSG

What happens when you accelerate beyond the range of the gear? I bet it shifts anyway. Most autos do.

Bmr4life

Thanks, I always wondered if these cars were torquey enough on the low end to get away with it in a manual.

The TC in my auto allows me to get away with it.

Bmr4life

It hits redline and stops accelerating. If you manualy down shift into 2nd while doing 100mph, it won't save you. You will mechanically over rev the same as in a manual.

I occasionally use engine braking to slow down on the highway. First I turn off OD, then I down shift to 3rd. I just really hate using my foot to slow when I don't have to.