[ace]

can anyone tell me the proper way to drive the B13 or any model car that has an auto tranny ?

I've got many conflicting feedback about how it is to be driven, so that the tranny would be in top condition for a long time.
The way that an auto is driven can result in fuel economy or even high consumption.

Here's what it boils down to:

1) From stop to go, what would be the best method of pickup ?
2) Should the RPM be kept to 2000 to 3000 for the first 2 gears to engage ?
3) On overtaking, would it be wise to release the the pedal to drop the dears and floor it to overtake ?
4) On a downhill descent, would it be wise to shift the stick to N and allow the car to cruise via gravity, or is it better to be in gear and not step on the pedal.
5) At the stop light or anywhere else, should the gear be in N or D, assuming you had to wait for about 5-10 mins. Or is it better to leave it at P.

The questions pose no risk to manual trannies, but having the opportunity to own one , I'm faced with driving tips that conflict each other.
I don't want to end up with a hefty tranny overhaul becoz of bad driving habits.

Anyone care to share or enlighten ?

 

[Guest]

4) On a downhill descent, would it be wise to shift the stick to N and allow the car to cruise via gravity, or is it better to be in gear and not step on the pedal.
5) At the stop light or anywhere else, should the gear be in N or D, assuming you had to wait for about 5-10 mins. Or is it better to leave it at P.

OK,
4, no DONT DO THAAT in somestates that illegal.

5). Its fine to leave it in D unless your foot falls asleep

P is like N... all P does is engage a lock that closes the gears, to prevent movment (ex. If u have a 5 sp. U want to move it, u put it in N postition. If it goes into a gear You cant move it!.) so its like that, kinda, complicated. But best way to make a auto tranny last is drive normal, check fluid levels every 3,000 miles take it in every 9,000 i think it is, to have the tranny filter replaced, along with your fuel filter. Try not to switch from N to D while moving
it messes up the synchrno's

 

[Centurion]

Wow....so many confusing questions. The beauty of an automatic is that you just drive and leave your brains elswhere. It does the thinking (shifting) for you. Just stick it in"D" and FORGET about it. However, a couple of tips: If you have to stop for a while (such as a construction zone where the traffic is stopped) then put it in "P." At a normal traffic light, leave it alone. And change the ATF if you want it to last virtually forever. I use Mobil1 ATF and chage it about every 50K. If you drive stupid such as doing " J" stips or burn outs, slamming it into gear while floored, etc., then all bets are off.

 

[B132nr]

What about 1st gear and 2nd gear?

I never really understood if driving in 1st gear then changing to 2nd is bad. I do this, but i turn the o/d off when swithcing then when i hit drive i turn the O/D on. I have started doing this for some time now. I would like to know if i should stop. Becuase i read on here that doing manual shifting is hard on the tranny.

 

[UpChuck]

after putting this much thought in driving an automatic, your better off with a standard.

 

[ScarCrow28]

the 2 and 1 gears were designed for slowing the car down without using much brake power. the only time this should really be used is going down a mountain, where you don't want your brakes to burn up and create fade. though i don't know for fact, i'm sure using the 1 2 d shift methoid isn't good when you use it all the time. i do however use 1 or 2 when stuck in traffic which creeps along a car length a min. that way i'm not always stop and go-ing on my brakes. but keep in mind i'm not redlining the tranny in 1 or 2. just crawling along. put it in D for normal driving. if you in the city were your stopping for a light or stop sign frequently, you can take overdrive off. it keeps the engine in a lower gear, which helps the car slow down (but not as severe as 1 2 gears) it also keeps the engine in the powerband better, which can make the car a bit peppier. overdrive upshifts one more gear keeping the rpm's lower, which saves gas. make sure you keep od on during highway type driving, or long crusing.


P.S i never heard anyone shifting into neutral just for a stop light! doesn't anyone in your family drive an auto? unless they are strange, they put it into gear and drive. not even thinking about shifting.

 

[ace]

In where I live, there are no laws governing how you would drive an auto tranny car, it's the same as driving a manual.

but this being my first auto car, I thought I'd find from the experts the correct way to drive.

By virtue of the fact the N & D shift are within 1 notch, I assume this would be the better shift method. Since I don't step too hard from stop to go, I figured this won't consume too much petrol, even when in a traffic crawl.

The N gear is used at a stop for the sake of convenience, since it is close to D as a matter of habit. Unless someone says that this will cause excessive damage to the tranny in the near future.

Again as a habit, I would put to N and let the car roll down a gentle slope (only to save gas.. so I think). We don't have high mountains or steep hills to climb and descent.

I would think that by engaging gears and braking, you would in fact wear the brake pads faster. Unless someone tells me otherwise.

All of these are habits taken off driving a manual car. Maybe if someone can tell me if this would result in damage of huge costs, then I would change them.

Otherwise, my next car would be a manual..again.

 

[div3r5ity]

raced

believe it or not i used to race my automatic se, i used to rev at 5000 in neutral den throw it down to 1 and peel out and upshift from there.

i also staged it(foot on brake and gas it till it starts to move slightly) from 1 and up shift

i also tried staging it drive

we g teched all these and i got my best results from stagin it from 1 and peeling out in neutral

after all this i thought my tranny was gonna fall out but the only problem i had was a ripped gasket in the torque converter.

otherwse the car runs fine.

i dont race anymore tho