put car in overdrive to save gas?
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From: lakewood, nj, united states
put car in overdrive to save gas?
on a 1990 honda accord automaitic the shifter looks like this gears 1-2-D3-D4-N-R-P i know that D4 is used in mostly normal driving, but with gears 1-D3 its seems to turn engine breaking on (if honda engines even have that) i read an article saying that driving in these lower gears can acutaully save gas. could that be true?
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From: New England, USA
Re: put car in overdrive to save gas? (coolrace05)
Problamatic at best. Although it is possible under some conditions, I wonder if we'd do a better job than the TCM (Trans Control Module).
Definitely, most definily run D4 on the Highway. Anything less, and you could expect to see (and definitely hear) high rpms, which would be most counter productive.
P
Definitely, most definily run D4 on the Highway. Anything less, and you could expect to see (and definitely hear) high rpms, which would be most counter productive.
P
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Re: (jokestar)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jokestar »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my car seems to have engine breaking on in D4...is this abnormal?</TD></TR></TABLE>That's normal. You'll have some engine braking, but not as much as if you use D3. The only way to have ZERO engine braking, is to shift into neutral, but that's usually stupid for a couple different reasons.
I can't think of a good reason why the lower gears would ever give better mileage. You can start in 2, that prevents it from using 1st gear, but it's not gonna save gasoline. If you're going downhill in the mountains you can use D3 for engine braking, but that's not really for gasoline, it's to keep your brakes from burning up.
If you want to save gas, the best way is to be gentle with that one pedal over on the right...
I can't think of a good reason why the lower gears would ever give better mileage. You can start in 2, that prevents it from using 1st gear, but it's not gonna save gasoline. If you're going downhill in the mountains you can use D3 for engine braking, but that's not really for gasoline, it's to keep your brakes from burning up.
If you want to save gas, the best way is to be gentle with that one pedal over on the right...
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From: New England, USA
Re: put car in overdrive to save gas? (coolrace05)
In answer to your amended thread title, yes, driving in overdrive (D4) should definitly save both gas and engine wear on the highway.
If you drive the (choke) legal limit in the city, the TCM won't allow Overdrive 4th to engage, much like driving in D3.
D3 is actually a left over from early OD Trans designs, where there were a LOT of driver complaints involving excessive shifting or transmission "hunting". But now, with electronic transmission controls, it's used more for compression braking on grades and things like that.
As to the way your title was originally queried, I stand by my first post.
P
If you drive the (choke) legal limit in the city, the TCM won't allow Overdrive 4th to engage, much like driving in D3.
D3 is actually a left over from early OD Trans designs, where there were a LOT of driver complaints involving excessive shifting or transmission "hunting". But now, with electronic transmission controls, it's used more for compression braking on grades and things like that.
As to the way your title was originally queried, I stand by my first post.
P
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