Smart overdrive tech?

[Gyaf]

good question - i've noticed when shifting to the tiptronic, it always puts you in 4th - and if you switch to 5th, the rpms drop significantly...

anyone know?

[mtodde]

On the 5 speed automatics I believe that 5th gear is the overdrive. It seems like the car is much more aggressive in the "sport shift" mode.

On the 4 speed automatics I'm guessing that 4th gear must be the overdrive gear.

Most American cars have an overdrive button that you can use to turn the overdrive off and on. My limited experience in this vehicle leads me to believe that shifing to sequential or sport shifting serves the same purpose. My 99 SE V6 was a 5 speed so that was always fun to drive!

[TW85]

Overdrive is nothing more than the highest gear of a transmission. On a 4-speed automatic, 4th gear is overdrive. On a 5-speed automatic, 5th gear is overdrive. The highest gear, obviously, is used to improve fuel economy and because it is higher gearing, the drive shaft is not turning as often per wheel revolution as in lower gears. *Gear ratios work the opposite of gear numbers. 1st gear could have a 4.5:1 drive shaft/wheel rotation ratio, 2nd 3.75:1, etc., with 5th being 2.x:1. The lower the gear number, the higher the gear ratio (meaning more drive shaft turns for one wheel rotation), and the higher the gear number the lower the gear ratio.

With the Solara, you can shift out of overdrive by simply sliding into sportshift mode.

[Jewls]

On the automatics, I know there is a button where you can switch it, which side is which? I think mine is on the left now. I hope that makes sense.

[rohand]

On the 5-speed automatics, if you move your shifter to the left (into tiptronic) you notice it goes straight to fourth, that's your overdrive off. somehow it coincides (sp?) with your tiptronic. I really don't know about the 4-speeds. Hope that helped though

[mattyboyl]

With highway driving you should use tioptronic to shift into 5th to lower rpms and improve gas milage. Reguklar city driving won't use 5th, so you can leave it is auto mode. Any extended driving of 60+ mph should use sport shift to put the car into overdrive (5th gear).

[TW85]

My car shifts into fifth gear at 30 mph +. It takes a while for it to at low speeds (30 mph) though which is why it normally wouldn't in true city driving.