when do u use the lower gears in auto transmission?

last SG · 2005-06-25T22:14:41+00:00

Man i miss my old clutch and gear stick. This tiptronic rubbish is awful.

scotts07 SG

Guys,i need you to teach me,
lets say if my car has
P
R
N(WHEN I USE THIS)??
D
2-??
1-??

Thanks as i don't drive auto transimission,so damn boring.But eventually bought a new car with a auto,so need more of your advise.

hisoka SG

heard this b4 not sure if its true but the lower gears are used for instances when you traveling long distance downhill and cannto go too fast. the lower gears act as engin brake so that you dun run out of brake padding which would be a disaster for auto cars

stupidjoe SG

N stands for Neutral. Use this when you are in the car but with engine on (stationery mode).

1 is the lowest gear (but powerful). Use it when you are starting off from a stationery mode (save fuel). Engage 2nd gear after tat, and so therafter. Wink

ceecookie SG

you can use 2 and 1 when u want to overtake cars when u're on the 3rd gear or 4th.....this will make the rpm to very high which will meet the max torque or hp and then u can overtake faster...

but it is easier if the car is with the - and +....this means u do not have to chift high and down from D to 2......but when u downshift the engine only allow you to ram untill the needle reach the reline...above that the engine will auto upshift for u..

sunnyMAN SG

Yes dats true..if you have the '+ -' you can use it to drop gear. Not advisable to drop to 2, 1 for overtaking.

low gears are more for climbing den overtaking. It may damage the transmission if you trash it too often

dats why..auto cars..cannot make it..

tailslide SG

den after "2" shift to wat? then "D" use for wat? Laughing

IcedLemon SG

1 n 2 good for coming down from genting.. when u shift to 2, the highest it go will only be 2 thus more engine braking when downhill.

P|R|N|D SG

Yes. You are right. The lower gears on the automatic transmission act as an engine brake for the car when it is travelling down steep gradients. That is to prevent the car from going down too fast. Very Happy

P|R|N|D SG

You can use the overdrive (OD) button for an automatic without the tiptronic (+/-) override. Laughing

For older Mercedes-Benz cars, just shift to '4'; for the new Mitsubishi Lancer or Honda City/Jazz/Fit, just shift to 'DS' or 'S' respectively, and the transmission will kick down.

As someone mentioned earlier, the Neutral (N) function is used when the car is stopped for a rather long period, say 5 minutes or more, at a traffic light or traffic jam so as to reduce the 'strain' on the transmission. Do take note that it's not advisable to shift from Drive (D) to Neutral (N) and vice-versa everytime as it causes more wear and tear on your transmission. The Neutral (N) is also used for towing a car without using a dolly.

houndy SG

P - Parking
R - Reverse
N - Neutral, use with handbrake but try not to use it, wear the auto tranny
D- Drive
2 - 2nd gear, use for climbing hills,
1 - 1st gear, same function

TwinTurbo_Supra SG

eh, not racing leh uncle. want to overtake just put your foot down can liao.

need to blip the throttle when u downshift? Laughing

scotts07 SG

wat does engine brake means? so when coming downhill,am i not right to say that we shouldn't use D? and for normal driving.can we use 2 or 1 in expressway?

yifengz85 SG

lol…scott…u got license?...do u drive?

ceecookie SG

can overtake but very slow liao....downshifting ca overtake faster.....useful in M'sia....

free4ever SG

A four speed auto transmission as compared to a manual, it is roughly like this

P - Neutral with brakes
R - Reverse is engaged
N - Neutral without brakes
D (with overdrive off - no lights on dashboard) - highest gear achievable: 4th gear
D (with overdrive on) - Highest gear achievable: 3rd gear
D2 (or S) - Highest gear achievable: 2nd gear
D1 (or L) - Highest gear achievable: 1st gear

So in D1 or L, it is just like engaging 1st gear on your manual car, engine brake strong, powerful, but not fast. Sames goes for D2, D...

Notice I mention highest gear achievable, not D2 is 2nd gear. That's the difference between auto and manual. That is to say that in D2, the transmission can still select first gear if it think that the car need the power to move along, eg like when you are very slow or going up a very steep slope.

If you are able to understand the logic, you would know why usually people leave their selection in D, when driving, because the transmission will select the correct gear for you, say 1st gear at 10km/h and 4th at 80km/h.

More slightly experienced auto transmission will know how to select the gear by putting the lever at D and control using their foot (accelerator). The transmission will be able to detect the amount of power demanded by the driver at the moment and select the correct gear for the driver.

ceecookie SG

then what abt manual override? the + and - next to the D

tailslide SG

not all autos are equipped with this function. but those that are will be able to use these "+" and "-" to select their desired gearing juz like a manual car. only thing left "auto" at this point would be that the engine will still upshift automatically when u hit redline with ur foot down on the accelerator.

AE86tofu SG

not really true....was driving an E-class and i went all the way till the rev limiter came in.... Confused

AF1 SG

Generally speaking, overdrive (O/D) is the highest gear in the transmission. On most cars the automatic transmission has 3 speeds and Overdrive (fourth speed). Overdrive allows the engine to have less rpm with higher speed in order to have better fuel efficiency. When you switch it on, you allow the transmission to shift into overdrive mode after the certain speed is reached. When it is off, you limit transmission shifting by third speed and dragging of gears can be noticed. In normal driving condition the overdrive should be always on. You may need to switch it off if you drive in mountaineous areas.

Therefore, OD is engaged when you don't see any lights on your dashboard.

This is a common misconception among a lot of people that OD is turned on when the lights are turned on and that includes my father.

Honestly, I do not see the point of having that OD switch. Reason being that it does not help in fuel efficiency and neither does it give extra power during overtaking(that's my opinion). If any of you own or have driven continental cars, they basically do not include that OD switch as the OD is already built into the transmission.

If the need for power arises during overtaking, don't bother pressing that OD switch thinking that OD is engaged. Just apply the normal kickdown method and power should be more than sufficient.

Apollo_sg SG

neutral (N) use only when u r at causeway traffic jam.

mebbe sometimes when u JUST hit a traffic light at a major road intersection tat may last some 5 minutes or more.

otherwise just shift betw P D and R can liaoz. the rest of gears usually not needed at all.