difference between overdrive and drive?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2009
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difference between overdrive and drive?
What are the difference between the overdrive and regular drive? i thought over drive gives you more power than drive. i have a 1996 corvette automatic and i was wondering when you would use them? also i was thinking if i could switch between those gears while im driving? if so when would you switch between them?
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,022
Likes: 30
From: Los Angeles CA
just like a stick shift, in D3 you take 4th and lockup out of the loop and for the street all you need in 3 gears, so you have a better ration at 30 of 50 mph
on the freeway go to D4 or just leave everything alone...and leave it in fourth all the time
on the freeway go to D4 or just leave everything alone...and leave it in fourth all the time
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 82
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From: California
I'll add this - 4th gear (Sometimes called overdrive) is a higher overall gear which means that your engine turns less RPMs for a given speed thus giving you better fuel economy but less pulling power.
Hope this helps.
Norm.
Hope this helps.
Norm.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Rolla Missouri
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Keep in mind though, that your automatic transmission will "choose" the correct gear for most normal driving conditions.
You can leave the shifter in the overdrive position, and the transmission will choose 3rd (regular drive), or 4th (overdrive) as needed.
But if you leave the shifter in 3rd (regular drive), the transmission will never shift into overdrive.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
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From: Santa Maria CA
Overdrive is essentially a 4th gear. The term "overdrive" refers to the fact that in this gear, the output end of the transmission is rotating faster than the engine is. This is for improved fuel economy when cruising on the freeway.
These cars are also equipped with a lock up torque converter operated by the TCC "Torque Converter Clutch". When engaged, this clutch makes a solid coupling between the engine and transmission which improves fuel ecomony lost due to slippage. At steady speeds above 40 mph you can feel it engage almost like an extra gear. Tap the brake pedal to disengage and you should see a quick 100 rpm jump in engine speeds when cruising above 40 mph, then re-engages if it's operating properly. If not, your TCC switch adjusment on the brake pedal might be off.
These cars are also equipped with a lock up torque converter operated by the TCC "Torque Converter Clutch". When engaged, this clutch makes a solid coupling between the engine and transmission which improves fuel ecomony lost due to slippage. At steady speeds above 40 mph you can feel it engage almost like an extra gear. Tap the brake pedal to disengage and you should see a quick 100 rpm jump in engine speeds when cruising above 40 mph, then re-engages if it's operating properly. If not, your TCC switch adjusment on the brake pedal might be off.
Cruising
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 10
Likes: 1
From: Mattawan MI
Although this post is a year old, i'd like to ask one more question...
:-)
So if you have the car in "D" Drive/4th gear, should the overdrive light come on at that point? Or when the car shifts into that last gear?
My overdrive lights up, when I start the car, but I never see it go on while driving. Even when it shifts into that last gear.
At first I thought there might a problem with my transmission's shifting, because around 40-45 mph, it would always kick into that high gear. I thought maybe it was shifting into it prematurely. I figured you would need to be going 55 or so before that gear would kick in.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
-Chris
:-)
So if you have the car in "D" Drive/4th gear, should the overdrive light come on at that point? Or when the car shifts into that last gear?
My overdrive lights up, when I start the car, but I never see it go on while driving. Even when it shifts into that last gear.
At first I thought there might a problem with my transmission's shifting, because around 40-45 mph, it would always kick into that high gear. I thought maybe it was shifting into it prematurely. I figured you would need to be going 55 or so before that gear would kick in.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
-Chris
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