Thread: Do you tow in auto?

Is the car aware of the trailer? ie, does the little trailer light come on when signalling?

This seems to tell the gearbox ECU that it needs to adapt, even only a little, for the fact a trailer is behind.

Mind, I have this on a D4, but assume the D3 is exactly the same...

Originally Posted by veebs

Is the car aware of the trailer? ie, does the little trailer light come on when signalling?

This seems to tell the gearbox ECU that it needs to adapt, even only a little, for the fact a trailer is behind.

Mind, I have this on a D4, but assume the D3 is exactly the same...

If asking me specifically...Yes, both the 3 and the 4 had/have the resistor modification in place.

Always use sports and tow in 5th. Works for me. RRS with 25 foot van.211893D3-DF5E-42FA-B7AE-6812C42CAA0B.jpg

If you tow in Sport how do you stay in 5th - where circumstances are right it will go into 6th.

The reality is that in theory at least you can always tow in 6th - the gearbox responses to engines speed, speed and load to automatically select the correct gear for the circumstance - and it does this well. Where it gets caught out is where overall load hovers around a gear change point where it changes up and down constantly or at a point where the torque converter locks up - same constantly is locking in and out.

In most driving conditions this does not occur and the gearbox is quite capable of handling things in drive. The exceptions are normally long gentle hills or windy hilly country. Going to Sport often helps here where the box hangs onto gears a little longer but on flat runs will go into 6th. In extreme conditions selecting command shift may be more appropriate but I mainly use that when offroad going down steep hills.

So my take is just stay in drive but if you notice what seems to be unnecessary shifts go to Sport where is changes the change points away from what is annoying in the current circumstance.

Garry

I tow a 2.6 Tonne caravan and like others here, have not noticed any difference between D and S. I use D mostly and the paddles when steep and/or winding roads suggest that manual control is better.

Originally Posted by StewG

I tow a 2.6 Tonne caravan and like others here, have not noticed any difference between D and S. I use D mostly and the paddles when steep and/or winding roads suggest that manual control is better.

It also shows how well the transmission software is set up and how its matched to the engine output in response to changing road conditions.

I'd be interested to know what the general rev range is people see for the 2.7.

I've found much under 2k leads to lugging and high EGT, coolant and oil temps and above 2k doesn't see much benefit.

I *can* tow in 6th, but I get better fuel consumption and lower temperatures in 5th sitting on about 2k rpm.

Originally Posted by BradC

I'd be interested to know what the general rev range is people see for the 2.7.

I've found much under 2k leads to lugging and high EGT, coolant and oil temps and above 2k doesn't see much benefit.

I *can* tow in 6th, but I get better fuel consumption and lower temperatures in 5th sitting on about 2k rpm.

I normally tow in "S" with a D4 3.0 6 speed and 2000kg van, I prefer the shift points in "S", normally at a GPS106K Speedo 110
I use the manual selection for big grades, up and down hill, especially uphill I find the cruise control will not give a big enough input to maintain speed on a long hill, so right foot intervention required.
Like Brad i have wondered about staying in 5th, I think the box locks in every gear, but I was concerned about burning the clutches (as I'm not sure about the box behaviour) so I haven't done it often.
Any advice about holding 5th would be interesting.