daeron Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 hey all.. i drive pizzas in south florida, and its raining out tonight... my tires are el cheapo (at the moment) and i have poor wet traction. My primary problem is with takeoffs, because with this auto there is never much acceleration unless it floored.... and in the rain that means spinning tires. tires spin too easily as it is. however, in s fl rain traffic... driving as slow as this forces me to do makes my job take way too long... so my point is, i want to know if it hurts the tranny to start out from a redlight with the gear lever in first, limiting its shift until i want to pop it up into second, and then into drive... I want to be able to stay in lower gear until i tell it to shift, not when the throttle cable tells it to shift... you know what im saying? im leaving for work in two hours or less, so prompt response is appreciated.. but this is a question i have had for a long time anyhow, both generic and vehicle-specific... so any input, experiences etc is helpful. I have never liked shifting an auto trans manually.. but using the lever to limit the gear is a different story from mindlessly downshifting into first at 35MPH every time, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manarius Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I guess you could if you had to...but the less shifting the better. Maybe you should take off easier from stoplights so that you don't spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 if i give it any fuel at all off a light, especially if my tires are sitting on the stupid paint, or cross the big white line (as they ultimately will do) the tires break loose because they suck. the answer i need is new tires. im just trying to act around that for now, curious if it would hurt the tranny is all. and if i just idle off the line, then grandma goes flying past me..... and i drive pizzas. time is money. the more grandmas in front of me, the more cycles at more lights i wait at. its not like im some hotshot racing thru life.. but by driving 2-5mph faster and more importantly, ACCELERATING about 20% faster than the slowest common denominator down here, i typically save myself at LEAST two or three red lights along a typical drive. so thats minimum 3-5 minutes, plus the fuel and time wasted re accelerating... you know? im not trying to blow peoples doors off for its own sake, i just like to hit it while i still can, and win by reaction time what i cant win with HP. what im trying to say is i know it almost sounds like im driving irresponsibly, but im not. if my own awareness and statement to the contrary arent enough to convince you that im a good driver, then come down here and ride with me. sorry, i just felt a little guilt-trip over that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Manually shifting the tranny isn't going to bother it. All it is doing is pushing a little shuttle back and forth in its tranny valve bore. Just don't overrev your engine by forgetting to shift. If yours is a pushbutton 4WD, you can also engage 4WD leaving the light. BTW, you really shouldn't be having this kind of problem unless something is not quite right in the tranny. Guesses are fluid level/condition, governor valve sticky, kickdown system having issues (there is no direct connection between accelerator cable and tranny). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 northwet:thanks. my problem (because youre right, there is one) is tires, i need new ones, but... im trying to wait until i can buy new ones, and put them on a set of soobie mags my uncle has brannd new buried in his shop.. so i gotta dig them up, and im on Baldini Maypops until then..... OR i buy new tirees then pull them off my steel wheels in a few weeks, and pay to have them re mounted, and hope they dont get switch around in their direction, etc etc.... im pretty sure the trans is fine. gotta go tho, what makes you say that if the tires dont make sense for my "problem"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 ...im pretty sure the trans is fine. gotta go tho, what makes you say that if the tires dont make sense for my "problem"? Our family's DD is an SPFI sedan with 3AT, and I can't think of any scenario that manually shifting will better control wheel spin on takeoff. As soon as you step on the gas the tranny should shift into 1st before the power comes on, and the takeoff should be just as smooth as if selector was in 1st. Any noticeable hesitation in automatically selecting 1st, or shift shock from it selecting 1st would point at tranny issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 17, 2006 Author Share Posted August 17, 2006 ah. I see. I wasn't clear enough in explaining my problem, and driving around tonight i figured a better way to put it. (btw it didnt rain tonight after all... but O well) my problem is, i hit the gas and begin to accelerate. because my tires need replacing, they slip with application of throttle.. so i have to back off, and shift into second at about 10MPH.... and continue to accelerate at a snails pace, or punch the gas, downshift, (perfectly normally) and spin my tires.... all i wanted to do was drop it in first gear from drive when i hit the red light, and use minimal throttle, but pop the lever up into second when i reach a reasonable speed. (15~20mph) then, same thing for third. thats it. If i keep the gas pedal far enough down to keep it in the gear i want it in, im giving it too much throttle.. if i avoid spinning the tires from too much throttle, the tranny shifts so early that it naturally has no oomph, and takes the full five minutes to reach sixty :- ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Ok. Manually shifting doesn't cause any more wear than shifting from Park to Drive and such. Behave yourself and you should not have any problems. BTW, when was the last time you changed your ATF? Good cheap insurance, especially if delivering pizzas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 18, 2006 Author Share Posted August 18, 2006 thanks for the added inspiration. I had that idea yesterday right after i found my better way of wording my propsition. Will do, just a simple pull drain plug and replace? or should i go get one of those "power purge" aamco jobs? should i search here about purging more than what drains out w/ gravity? and also, what about the diff oil? i ask because when i got the new tire on, i expected some "tire noise" to go away and i think it MAY be "gearbox noise" instead. not a major issue, but since you touched on it first.. thanks for all the help. BTW, im in the rain. I am ALWAYS careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Power-flushes are pricey; drain and refill (partial change) isn't. If you don't have serious problems now, I don't see a problem with a couple partial changes over the next month or so. More of a preventative thing than a "fix", so any changing is a good thing. Changing the diff oil wouldn't hurt, but probably not necesary; gear oil takes less of a beating than ATF. Noise may just be worn bearings in the diff. (A little bit of wear makes for a lot of rumbling.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted August 18, 2006 Author Share Posted August 18, 2006 excellent. many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now