newbie driving

[MMonnier2302]

Hey i was driving the olds today and was screwing around a bit. its an automatic and was tired of doing the whole overdrive thingy so i decided to but it in one of the numbers. So, i figured lets go in order starting with one. So i put her into 1st, and decided to see what she can do. I slammed on the gas from a standstill, and that damn thing took of like it has never done before, im still hauling and the rpms get up to around 5000, when i got scared. My thinking was that sense its in 1 the gear is 1st, and i didnt know if it would shift into 2nd, with the lever at one. my guess was that it wouldnt. so i slowed down to a stop. and put it into overdrive again. I was afraid that id redline the damn thing and breaksomething because it would stay in 1st.

So my question, what do the numbers have to do with the gearing, it has Overdrive, 3, 2, 1.

thanks for the help.

[Rally Sport]

An automatic, right? I never heard about the third gear, for me its 1,2,D,[D]. Well you really would mess it up if you DID redline it like no tomorrow, but 1st is just for laying down the torque, which is why it kicked and took off, second is the same way just a bit weaker, but yes its exactly like gears, from what im guessing, but sometimes, when I see someone I know look at my car and im just cruising, I put it in 1st if im going slow enough and hit the gas like in patterns, so my car will kick the front end up, its awesome seeing the look in their faces.

[Savage Messiah]

Not too smart on an auto, but basically it just controls the highest gear it'll shift into. Pretty abusive on the trans IIRC.

[MMonnier2302]

SO if i leave it in three it will only go as high as three, just wondering.

[89IROC&RS]

the numbers are not like the gears, they are the gears, or at least the indicators of what gear you are in. the number 1 denotes first gear, the number 2 is second gear, the number 3 (or letter D) is third gear, and the OD is fourth gear or overdrive. automatics have been four speeds up until recently.

so yes, if you put it in first gear (the lever next to the one) it will stay in first gear no matter what, and will not shift.

If you put it in second gear, it will start in first gear, and shift into second, and will not shift any higher.

If you put in in third, it will go first, second, third, and not go into overdrive. This is the setting most people use if drag racing the car to avoid going into overdrive which cuts torque output to the rear wheels. i also use this for passing on the highway, ill be cruising in OD, and to pass, ill pull down into drive for an added boost in acceleration to pass the person, then put it back in OD to cruise.

the OD setting will give the trans full range of shifting and it will do all the necessary work.

as far as redlining, this will not hurt the transmission, it will blow the engine. so leaving it in first gear and driving up to redline is only going to cause premature wear and tear on the engine but the tranny will still be fine.

[whoisdabomb86]

put that thing in first, and shift thru the gears, def. the best for those stop light races..

[nlghtcrawler]

will it hurt the engine if u do it but not red line it? i shift around 5000rpm's the computer shifts about 4600rpms (if its left in D)
i have a auto and my max mph is 30 for 1st gear
around 60 for 2nd and the rest in 3rd, i think thats kinda slow? i get get to about 120 in 3rd at about 5000RPMs (i got a v6, 3.1L)

[will69camaro]

At our local track several people have tried shifting their autos and leaving them in drive and everytime leaving the transmission to perform as it would without being manually shifted is faster...Not sure if that would be true for the 3rd gens but it is for the 4ths.

William

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by 89IROC&RS

the numbers are not like the gears, they are the gears, or at least the indicators of what gear you are in. the number 1 denotes first gear, the number 2 is second gear, the number 3 (or letter D) is third gear, and the OD is fourth gear or overdrive. automatics have been four speeds up until recently.

so yes, if you put it in first gear (the lever next to the one) it will stay in first gear no matter what, and will not shift.

If you put it in second gear, it will start in first gear, and shift into second, and will not shift any higher.

If you put in in third, it will go first, second, third, and not go into overdrive. This is the setting most people use if drag racing the car to avoid going into overdrive which cuts torque output to the rear wheels. i also use this for passing on the highway, ill be cruising in OD, and to pass, ill pull down into drive for an added boost in acceleration to pass the person, then put it back in OD to cruise.

the OD setting will give the trans full range of shifting and it will do all the necessary work.

as far as redlining, this will not hurt the transmission, it will blow the engine. so leaving it in first gear and driving up to redline is only going to cause premature wear and tear on the engine but the tranny will still be fine.

That's interesting. When I put my shifter in 2nd, it starts off in 2nd gear rather than 1st. And if I put in in 3rd, then start accelerating, it will start from 2nd then go to 3rd. Again, it will not use 1st. Maybe that's because I have a 4th gen? Not sure why it's different.

[R.OConnor]

I know there is somthing called "2nd gear start" or something like that which can be used for moving the car after you start it up and its in snow or mud... more torque...

as for slap-sticking it, if it can even be called that, does have its uses. I do believe that you do get better acceleration in first gear but then after that I think it just evens out from my own personal experiance, but what do I know, im 18. It sure does sound cool though and can attract attention, possibly someone who wants to drag or the cops, your choice.... but if you blow your engine im going to call you a retard... and if you want to pretend its a manual (and yes, I do this on occasion) put it in 1st and right before you hit the red line put it into second or third, I would not recommend doing it from 2nd to 3rd, atleast on the 4th gens, because there is a pretty long pause between them and you can easyily take it over the redline

[Mr. Luos]

Originally Posted by whoisdabomb86

put that thing in first, and shift thru the gears, def. the best for those stop light races..

I wouldn't recommend that.

[CamarosRsweet94]

The second gear start is useful for times when you have very little traction like in winter. The point is to keep the engine from being able to spin the tires so easily so you don't just sit there and spin. That's stuff everyone should be taught in driver's ed.

[89IROC&RS]

actually, second gear start is to put less power to the rear wheels to prevent tire spin

and yes, its pretty much been prooven that the 700R4 is faster when left in drive. In some cases its nessesary to manually shift, but for racing its probly best to leave it alone. I plan on testing it myself with my IROC once shes street legal again, but my tranny is almost completely modified with a higher stall converter, so i might get faster times manualy shifting, i dunno. well see. but if its mostly stock, its going to be faster in drive.

as far as damage to the engine, nothing bad will happen by leaving it in first gear if you dont redline the engine. you can drive around in first gear all you want, its the high speeds of redlining it, not being in first gear that causes engine damage.

[MMonnier2302]

you more than answered my question 89. Ok so if its in three or two, and you take traction control off, will you start in first because it wont care about tire spin. Just wondering, pretty sure that mine will stay in 1 regardless because its a 3.1 with only 185ft/lbs.

[89IROC&RS]

yup