what is overdrive?

joe52985 · 05-04-2002, 12:08 PM

my accord is listed as a 4 speed automatic with overdrive, what is overdrive and what does it do?

palayah8ta · 05-04-2002, 12:23 PM

Im not a engineer so ill let the pros answer that:
How stuff Works
But i know when u should use it, it best used on the freeway or higher paced traffic. When your car is revving low, and you want to pass someone, click the overdrive button and accelerate, when ur done passing click it back off. Notice that ur car gets louder when u press the button, its engaging the engine without the torque converter, like a manual.
Have fun.

joe52985 · 05-04-2002, 12:28 PM

i dont have a button...

but when i floor it the sound goes from a lower sound to a high pitch whine and jerks the car super quick ive taken on v6 accords this way, is this overdrive?

shoeish · 05-04-2002, 12:29 PM

Typically, the third gear in an automatic car is at a 1:1 ratio, (no reduction) while 1 and 2 are both reduced. 4th gear is overdrive which is a gear that is higher than 1:1 (.70:1 or so) which means your engine doesn't have to rev as high and use as much fuel on the highway.

On five and six speed cars, 4th is the 1:1 gear and both 5th and 6th are overdrives.

irwin · 05-04-2002, 02:17 PM

My inline 4 accord has an overdrive button on the shifty knob thing, i think. There's a button you can press for "Sport" mode.

Nanotech9 · 05-04-2002, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by joe52985
i dont have a button... but when i floor it the sound goes from a lower sound to a high pitch whine and jerks the car super quick ive taken on v6 accords this way, is this overdrive?

your car is down shifting into a lower gear so that them motor is revving higher adn will pull harder.

Dave_7 · 05-04-2002, 04:03 PM

Overdrive is just an extra gear (like a fifth gear) designed for cruising. After you're already going fast... it doesn't take as much energy to keep it going... so Overdrive doesn't offer a lot of power, because it's geared so low (keeps the RPM's low).

Pressing that button (if you have one) disables that extra gear and only allows use of the first four gears. Sometime you shift the shifter into 4 rather than D.

Overdrive is like the smallest gear on your 10-speed bicycle. It's only for use when you're at-speed (cruising).

It's normally a good idea to turn the Overdrive off when you're going up a big hill so that you don't jump from OD to 4th to OD to 4th again and again and again.

Dig it?

Dave.

shoeish · 05-05-2002, 12:19 AM

Technically, drive is the 1:1 gear, and overdrive is the gear that is a higher ratio than drive, hence "overdrive."

bachviet · 05-05-2002, 12:56 AM

Honda never has button for overdrive except on the CR-V! The "Sport" button is not the overdrive button! Toyota and Nissan has overdrive button on the shift knobs! Basically if you are driving in D4 (Honda only), you are using overdrive! If you are driving in D3, the overdrive is off so you would never reach 4th gear! With Toyota, you have to turn off overdrive by pushing the button on the shift knobs!

shoeish · 05-05-2002, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bachviet
Honda never has button for overdrive except on the CR-V! The "Sport" button is not the overdrive button! Toyota and Nissan has overdrive button on the shift knobs! Basically if you are driving in D4 (Honda only), you are using overdrive! If you are driving in D3, the overdrive is off so you would never reach 4th gear! With Toyota, you have to turn off overdrive by pushing the button on the shift knobs!

My contour is the same way, a button on the shifter and a light on the dash. When the light is lit (O/D OFF), fourth gear is unavailable.

bachviet · 05-05-2002, 12:36 PM

ALways drive with 4th gear unless you are driving in traffic and below 45mph @ most of the time! You will waste more gas in 3rd gear!

joe52985 · 05-05-2002, 05:54 PM

wow i am confused! d4 is the gear i am always in so i am always using overdrive? i only use d3 when its dead stop traffic, what gear should i be in?
d4
d3
2
1

should i always be in d4?

(side note) cut off a viper today going 120 on the highway pissed him off sooo bad

palayah8ta · 05-05-2002, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by joe52985

(side note) cut off a viper today going 120 on the highway pissed him off sooo bad

Hahahah, i hope u said sorry.

Burzhui · 05-06-2002, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkFury
So would 3rd gear be the "drive gear" in this case with 4th being the "overdrive gear" (in a car with a 4 speed automatic)?

so hold on when you start the car, in the city, do you unclick the button, som you get a green light saying o/d off...or do you leave it as is?

DankNstickY · 05-06-2002, 05:20 PM

umm... confusion!!
thats y i drive a 2-speed manual...

ok ... ok. its a 5-speed manual.

Blu · 05-06-2002, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bachviet
ALways drive with 4th gear unless you are driving in traffic and below 45mph @ most of the time! You will waste more gas in 3rd gear!

Holy Crap!

styleee · 05-06-2002, 07:26 PM

omg, i am so glad i drive a manual transmission car

there are no buttons to push, you just shift to the appropriate gear when required.

bachviet · 05-07-2002, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkFury
Well yeah... however, "stop and go" traffic and "hilly areas" are a b@tch when you have a stick versus and automatic.

"Clutch goes in... clutch comes out..."

I'm second to that! Traffic is way too much to bear here in SoCal. It took me from 30 to 45 minutes to drive 14 miles from home to work! I rather drink coffee or capuccino than shifting myself to death!

joe52985 · 05-07-2002, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by palayah8ta

Hahahah, i hope u said sorry.

the only minor detail there was that he was doing the speed limit, big deal!!!

whitak24 · 05-07-2002, 09:32 AM

my buick has overdrive, drive, 2, and 1 on the shifter. no buttons or anything else. i just always put it in overdrive. if it doesn't NEED to go into overdrive when i'm going slower, it doesn't. it stays in 3rd. but that way i can run at consistently lower rpms and save gas. none of this shifting when i hit a certain speed for me.

but oh how i wish had a stick.....

DankNstickY · 05-07-2002, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkFury
Well yeah... however, "stop and go" traffic and "hilly areas" are a b@tch when you have a stick versus and automatic.

"Clutch goes in... clutch comes out..."

its not a bitch if ur good.

DankNstickY · 05-07-2002, 11:43 AM

yeaa... thats true.

i do wish that my car would turn into an automatic sometimes...

styleee · 05-07-2002, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkFury
Well yeah... however, "stop and go" traffic and "hilly areas" are a b@tch when you have a stick versus and automatic.

"Clutch goes in... clutch comes out..."

i live in a city, where there is always traffic, and its not a problem for me.

and i would much rather have a stick in hilly areas, you get to decide when to downshift... not waiting for your car to figure out that its not going anywhere.

brain · 05-07-2002, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by joe52985
(side note) cut off a viper today going 120 on the highway pissed him off sooo bad

I don't necessarily think that is something to be proud of. Cutting off people at 120mph is an extremely dangerous proposition.

05-04-2002, 12:08 PM	#1
joe52985 Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: North Providence, Rhode Island Posts: 855	what is overdrive? my accord is listed as a 4 speed automatic with overdrive, what is overdrive and what does it do? __________________ DISCLAIMER: At any given time my grammar and/or spelling may be incorrect -all of your mom are belong to me p4 1.7 ghz 19 in sony flat screen trinitron 40 gb ibm 75gpx altec lansing ada 885 dolby digtal THX surround speakers Elsa Gladiac 920 128 mb rd ram 16/40 Sony dvd 16/12/40 NEC cd-rw

05-04-2002, 12:23 PM	#2
palayah8ta Lieutenant Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: So Pasadena Posts: 423	Im not a engineer so ill let the pros answer that: How stuff Works But i know when u should use it, it best used on the freeway or higher paced traffic. When your car is revving low, and you want to pass someone, click the overdrive button and accelerate, when ur done passing click it back off. Notice that ur car gets louder when u press the button, its engaging the engine without the torque converter, like a manual. Have fun. __________________ George Dubya Quotes: "It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it." -Reuters, May 5, 2000 "They misunderestimated me." -Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

05-04-2002, 12:29 PM	#4
shoeish Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: WYOMING Posts: 532	Typically, the third gear in an automatic car is at a 1:1 ratio, (no reduction) while 1 and 2 are both reduced. 4th gear is overdrive which is a gear that is higher than 1:1 (.70:1 or so) which means your engine doesn't have to rev as high and use as much fuel on the highway. On five and six speed cars, 4th is the 1:1 gear and both 5th and 6th are overdrives. __________________ Shoe 2003 BMW M3 2008 BMW 335i hardtop convertible w/ Dinan Stage 2 2008 Toyota Tundra Extended Cab 4x4 5.7 Horsepower is fun.

05-04-2002, 02:17 PM	#5
irwin Vice Admiral Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: ohi Posts: 4,512	My inline 4 accord has an overdrive button on the shifty knob thing, i think. There's a button you can press for "Sport" mode. __________________

05-05-2002, 12:56 AM	#9
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,133	Honda never has button for overdrive except on the CR-V! The "Sport" button is not the overdrive button! Toyota and Nissan has overdrive button on the shift knobs! Basically if you are driving in D4 (Honda only), you are using overdrive! If you are driving in D3, the overdrive is off so you would never reach 4th gear! With Toyota, you have to turn off overdrive by pushing the button on the shift knobs! __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4Ghz) \| 3x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Inspiron 640m \| Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz) \| 2x1GB DDR2 PC2-4200 \| Intel GMA 950 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

05-04-2002, 12:28 PM	#3
joe52985 Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: North Providence, Rhode Island Posts: 855	i dont have a button... but when i floor it the sound goes from a lower sound to a high pitch whine and jerks the car super quick ive taken on v6 accords this way, is this overdrive?

05-04-2002, 04:03 PM	#7
Dave_7 Captain Join Date: May 2000 Location: L.A..... Costa Mesa... Whatever, Man! Posts: 1,824	Overdrive is just an extra gear (like a fifth gear) designed for cruising. After you're already going fast... it doesn't take as much energy to keep it going... so Overdrive doesn't offer a lot of power, because it's geared so low (keeps the RPM's low). Pressing that button (if you have one) disables that extra gear and only allows use of the first four gears. Sometime you shift the shifter into 4 rather than D. Overdrive is like the smallest gear on your 10-speed bicycle. It's only for use when you're at-speed (cruising). It's normally a good idea to turn the Overdrive off when you're going up a big hill so that you don't jump from OD to 4th to OD to 4th again and again and again. Dig it? Dave.

05-05-2002, 12:19 AM	#8
shoeish Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: WYOMING Posts: 532	Technically, drive is the 1:1 gear, and overdrive is the gear that is a higher ratio than drive, hence "overdrive."

05-05-2002, 12:36 PM	#11
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,133	ALways drive with 4th gear unless you are driving in traffic and below 45mph @ most of the time! You will waste more gas in 3rd gear!

05-05-2002, 05:54 PM	#12
joe52985 Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: North Providence, Rhode Island Posts: 855	wow i am confused! d4 is the gear i am always in so i am always using overdrive? i only use d3 when its dead stop traffic, what gear should i be in? d4 d3 2 1 should i always be in d4? (side note) cut off a viper today going 120 on the highway pissed him off sooo bad

05-06-2002, 07:26 PM	#17
styleee Commander Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: upstairs Posts: 1,362	omg, i am so glad i drive a manual transmission car there are no buttons to push, you just shift to the appropriate gear when required. __________________ i'd rather be down the shore

05-07-2002, 09:32 AM	#20
whitak24 easily amused Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: my office Posts: 9,781	my buick has overdrive, drive, 2, and 1 on the shifter. no buttons or anything else. i just always put it in overdrive. if it doesn't NEED to go into overdrive when i'm going slower, it doesn't. it stays in 3rd. but that way i can run at consistently lower rpms and save gas. none of this shifting when i hit a certain speed for me. but oh how i wish had a stick.....

05-07-2002, 11:43 AM	#22
DankNstickY Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: deep in the throat of ... cali? Posts: 3,019	yeaa... thats true. i do wish that my car would turn into an automatic sometimes...

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