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How and when should I change gears in an automatic car?
Gears in an automatic car
What you need to know:
- This is useful when you need maximum torque from low gearing when towing, driving down or up over wet slippery terrain. Transmissions of some more recent vehicles provide for the manual shift or steptronic mode where the Drive comes with + OR - and can be slipped into manual to up shift with + OR downshift with -. It takes reading the user manual or practicing with a more experienced trainer.
Dear Paul, the coming of automatic cars has been a blessing to the lazy motorists but the main cause of many accidents. Most drivers, for instance, do not understand what D1 D2 D3, L2 1 and L-2, among others mean. Please shed some light. Joe Arinda
Hello Joe, there is a school of thought that the automatic transmission contributes to accidents because it is less engaging compared to manual transmission. This argument is hinged on the fact that the automatic transmission does almost all the gear selection for the motorist leaving them the freedom of mind to be distracted while driving.
There is also a school of thought that the automatic transmission reduces stress in driving and allows the motorist to make safe driving decisions. Let us not forget that accidents caused by distractions also happen to motorists who drive cars with manual transmissions. I think this is more of a user behaviour problem than the technology.
I have seen truck drivers and ordinary motorists with manual transmissions driving while using their mobile phones to text or call. A debate for another day. It is useful to know what the numbers and letters mean on an automatic transmission: 1,2,D or L besides the Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low.
Drive provides all the forward gears once selected shifting from lowest to highest gears or downwards according to the throttle and driving demands such as driving downhill or uphill.
Selecting Low (L) will hold the transmission in lower gears than Drive would for engine braking when driving down steep terrain or better torque when towing or driving up a slippery wet road. Some post 2000 cars have Drive with 3,2,1.
These numbers do not serve as a manual gearbox where the driver can shift up from 1-3. Rather each number represents the highest gear that the transmission will shift automatically with the stick shift in that position. For example on a 4 speed automatic gearbox if you selected position 2 the transmission would shift amongst gears 1 and 2 locking out 3 and 4. Selecting position 1 would hold the transmission in a single gear ratio.
This is useful when you need maximum torque from low gearing when towing, driving down or up over wet slippery terrain. Transmissions of some more recent vehicles provide for the manual shift or steptronic mode where the Drive comes with + OR - and can be slipped into manual to up shift with + OR downshift with -. It takes reading the user manual or practicing with a more experienced trainer.
