I hear people talking about manual shifting thier A4 from time to time am I missing something, as far as Im aware, you put it in drive and thats the end of it. What do you to to manual shift an A4?

 

Start in [1], then move to [2], etc...

 

A T350, T400 or even the auto out of an 92 Z can be auto shifted.. but in our newer electronic 4L60E, its not in your best interest.. Its electronically controlled meaning its set to shift at a certain point with certain pressure.. Its all part of the valve body. Now I have heard of people changing out to manu-matics where they have the option. Leave it in 4th and it does the work itself, go into 1 and you have to manually go into 2 and so on..

When I had my Z with an Auto, I had a shift kit installed, dynoed and then set my shift points so that I could get the best shifts cause I dont care how fast you think you are, you cant outshift a computer. Worked for me.

And my personal preference is to leave it in OD as that is what is considered the standard selection for driving.. its not like an option. Ever notice how the car sounds like its working harder than it needs to? That could be cause all too often people are driving around in 3 when they should be in OD (4).

The car will choose the gear based on criteria such as engine speed, throttle position and the like..

Good luck! hope this helped some..

 

This is true... I know a lot of people who drive in [D] instead of [OD] because they don't know what [OD] is...


I've noticed a lot, if not most, new cars use 1,2,3,D now instead of 1,2,D,OD to avoid the confusion and have people actually use the OverDrive.

 

Cool, thanks guys that info helped a lot, I usually drive in D around the city and OD on the highway. What do you suggest for the track? I know a few guys that use D at the track is that because there is a disadvantage to using OD?

 

You really should drive in [OD] all the time, city or not... you'll get better gas milage, and put less wear and tear on your powertrain.

If you want to think of it this way:

[1] Allows the tranny to use only 1st gear.
[2] Allows 1st and 2nd.
[D] Allows 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
[OD] Allows 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th...

Generally, the only time you'd be out of [OD] is if you are going down a long grade, and you'd get some engine braking, or you may use [1] if you are stuck in snow or something to keep the tranny from shifting while you are trying to get unstuck....

As for the track, I'd probably use [D], but I doubt the tranny would ever hit OverDrive anyway, since you are flooring it the whole way....

 

Put it in 4th gear and leave it there. Anybody who tells you that 3rd is faster doesn't know what they are talking about. Your car doesn't get some magical "extra power" by putting it in 3rd...

 

As for "manually shifting" the A4, I do sometimes for downshifting to use engine breaking (not all the time............but sometimes) and I tried once at the track holding 1st gear a little longer so that I could keep it in 2nd to cross the finish line --- it worked, but I didn't gain any time or speed, and I ended up hitting the rev limiter like crazy!

As far as driving in "drive" or "over-drive".................I use Drive quite often. Now the thing is, having 2.73 gears, they're really high, and while cruising through the city, or even on the highway if traffic is heavy, I leave it in 3rd (drive) so that if I want the power to be there if/when I hit the gas, it will be there and I don't have to wait for that extra shift out of 4th (OD) and out of lock-up (converter). Also, it's not good to "lug" the engine either, and sometimes if you're going up slight inclines in OD at certain speeds, there won't be quite enough load to make the tranny downshift, so the motor starts "chuggin" more --- if you leave it in drive however, it runs a lot smoother at times like those.

...................so that being said, I'm not a supporter of over-drive 100% of the time, although when I get 3.73's, I'm sure my attitude will change. With 2.73's though, over-drive is sometimes "over-kill" for keeping the revs low.

 

Its interesting hearing both points of views on the situation, I guess Ill leave it in OD from now on. I though there was some added benefit to driving city streets in D instead of OD. Thanks for the info.

 

Capn Pete, have ya ever experienced your engine "lugging" ?? My Z has 2.73 and I never heard it lug once..

What you are saying is true for non computer controlled cars (i.e. EFI) and non electric O/D trannys (i.e. TH700R4 aka 4L60, or the TH2004R).. When you couple them w/ say a Carbureted non computer controlled engine w/ 2.73, then yes you will be lugging the engine in O/D... Since the last Time I checked my 02 Z has Electronically controlled A4, so usually when the computer is working properly will not let the engine lug..

Another argument where people still think that with an A4 tranny is drive it in 3rd gear or Drive in town and then when you hit 60 + mph, they say shift into overdrive... They still think that with 2.73 and 3.08 gears, the cars will Lug because of not enough load.. But take this into consideration, a Small Block should be running @ 1800 - 2800 RPMs @ 60 mph... which since my car w/ 2.73 is @ around 1500 rpms @ 60 mph, then that would cause the engine to lug but it does not... The computer changes the timing to compensate for it.. Now if I were to run the same rim, a 700r4 tranny and gear ratio in my 68 C10, which has a Carter AFB 4bbl Carb, and tried to run it in O/D, then that would cause my engine to Lug... I have heard car and truck engine lug because they are running too low of rpms with O/D.. Hell even my dad's 2000 Silverado w/ V6 (4.3L) M5, if shifting according to the shift lite, it says to Shift into 5th gear @ 40 mph.. which will cause the engine too lug.. So when I drive that once in a while, I just ignore the shift light because it just causes the engine to lug because of going in next gear @ too low of an RPM...

 

well just reading this i thought i would put in my .02

if there is a slight load on the engine computer controlled or not the lug type of feeling can happen and is bad on engine bearings. And the trans shifting more than it needs to is just a waste. If you are going stop sign to stop sign d is what to use unless you hit 50mph+ all the time between th signs.


now on a subject i knot know how much is it and where can i go to get my electronic shift points changed.

btw i have a 94

 

Not on my 98 its not. It always starts in 1st, even if the gear shift is in '2'. I think in 2000 they went to the second gear start when its in '2'.

 

Ya, I think you are correct...

My 99 started in 1st as well when in [2]... I do think MY2000 was the change.

 

I would not, I repeat not, engine brake or mess around with the transmission period. You can blow an accumulator by doing that. Sooner or later you will do it too early and f^^k up the tranny.

 

Not "lugging" extremely bad like what I know older carb'd engines would, but I find while driving along certain roads, between 40-50 mph, if it's in OD and you start hitting little hills, or want to speed up quickly, it doesn't sense the increased load quick enough, so then the acceleration is too slow, and you've gotta push the gas "rougly" 1/2 way down to force it into 3rd. Otherwise, if the car was already in Drive, just a little touch on the throttle would speed the car up instantly without having to wait, or almost "lugging" the engine. Do ya know what I mean?

And as well, to drive through the city at no more than 40-45 mph, where the rpm's never go above ~1500 anyway in 3rd gear, why allow excessive shifting?