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Thread: Driving around in 3rd gear in town

  1. 9th July 2012, 10:04 PM #1
    Haddles
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    Driving around in 3rd gear in town

    I have been experimenting with the auto gearbox of my v8 d2. I have found that if I put it into drive around the city it seems to rev around the 2000rpm mark under load and at around 60kmh it locks up the torque converter in 4th and clings on to that untill I am either doing around 800rpm or boot it and then it kicks back and revs to around 2250rpm.
    I am not happy with this so I decided to run it in 3rd around town to see if that helps. To my surprise it will still lock up the torque converter in 3rd but is happy to change up and down gears and drives like a better car. Not only that but it seems to rarely stray over 2000rpm. If I know I am going to go for a kilometer or so without stopping I will pop it into drive but in general I have been leaving it in 3rd for suburban driving.
    I think the reason it may be better is that 3rd locks up a lot easier and the ratio is good for city driving being slightly higher geared than 4th not locked. In drive you either have 4th which is too short with a slipping torque converter or 4th locked which is too tall and hard to get out of with a light right foot.
    I haven't done a fuel economy test but it seems to be working less hard so will be interested to see.
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  2. 10th July 2012, 08:26 AM #2
    lewy
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    i have found with mine that if i have premium fuel it drives better in "d" around town.
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  3. 10th July 2012, 09:26 AM #3
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    alien
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    Mines a TD5 but under 60Km/h I also only use 3rd.
    I find it more driveable, doesn't hunt for gears and I tend to be on the brake pedal less.
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  4. 10th July 2012, 09:41 AM #4
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    iPom
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    I'm the same as alien d2. Around 'town' i just stick it in 3rd and enjoy the drive.
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  5. 10th July 2012, 04:49 PM #5
    Roverlord off road spares
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    Wouldn't pressing the mode button on the gear selector to "S "mode do similar, it seems to cut out 4th gear

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  6. 10th July 2012, 06:24 PM #6
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    Scouse
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roverlord off road spares View Post
    Wouldn't pressing the mode button on the gear selector to "S "mode do similar, it seems to cut out 4th gear
    That just makes it hang onto the gears longer.
    Scott
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  7. 11th July 2012, 02:00 PM #7
    Haddles
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    Is it true that the injectors cut off at 1500rpm on overrun? In D it is rarely doing this many rpm coasting but in 3rd it seems to coast at around 1600rpm at 50kmh downhill so in theory it would be using no fuel in 3rd and a small amount in D. If this is the case then it may be more reason to stick it in 3rd in the 'burbs.
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  8. 11th July 2012, 04:03 PM #8
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    mattyg
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    I'm sure the owners manual mentions to use 3rd for city driving.
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  9. 14th July 2012, 05:43 PM #9
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    Mr.Bear
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    After driving across a bit of Sydney on my daily commute, 11 klms in approx 30 mins on a good morning, and experimenting using 3rd instead of "D" I can add I prefer my TD5 in 3rd than using "D".

    Would be different on a more open drive, as I stand a chance of going over 50kph more often.
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