overdrive on or off?

by **Guest** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 7:38 pm

should overdrive be on or off when u drive?

by **onefiend** » Wed Sep 17, 2003 7:50 pm

ON always on the freeway, you can have it off if you want on the street but be prepared to waste more gas.

by **JoeB** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:11 am

Depends on what you want. Even at lower speeds, the overdrive uses a lower gear ratio that improve gas mileage. I think it is around 35-40, it will shift into 4th. The only exception I can think of might be towing, you might want to leave the OD off.

For performance, what I do is take the overdrive off when needed. Even on the highway at 65mph I'll drop the OD to bring the RPMs up into or closer to the power band and stomp it. Then just monitor the RPMs to re-engage before red-line. It is similar to downshifting with a manual.

When I'm winding on back country roads with expected speed ranging from 25-50, I leave the overdrive off so it doesn't shift as much and it's more responsive. So it really depends on what type of driving you're doing. I love that the button is so convenient. I use it frequently... -JoeB

by **Guest** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 10:59 am

ok. thank a lot guys

by **midnightsolara** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 4:23 pm

Wow you guys know alot about driving and these cars...I guess this is the place to be for Solaras lol I'm not new to driving but I definitely want to learn more about the mechanics of it, all the technical things. So I'm definitely picking up some things. Hopefully this isnt TOO much of a dumb question but can someone explain overdrive to me? Thanks

MS

by **JoeB** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 7:55 pm

I can try to explain overdive and hopefully if I'm too far off the mark someone will correct me. Although I think I have a fair understanding of it. Basically it is the gear ratio. In first gear, there is a bigger ratio between the gears. As you shift up, the gear ratio gets smaller. With the bigger ratio in the gears, it is easier to get the car moving from a stop. Once a car is moving and has enough forward momentum, it can shift into a gear (overdrive) that has a much closer ratio but doesn't provide as much power.

Racing in Overdrive is a total loss. I know, I ran against Rizall and forgot to take my overdrive off one time, big difference... :-?

-JoeB

overdrive on or off?

overdrive on or off?

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