D or 4 for around town driving?

lowlypawn · 12-06-2004, 12:21 PM

D or 4 for around town driving?

In my old truck (92 GMC) I always kept it in D (3rd) and not over drive except for the freeway. The truck felt more responsive and really cut down on the transmission shifting all the time. When I traded it in the transmission had 110K+ and still shifted like new (wish the rest of the truck held up as well).

Now the difference in my Titan are much less pronounced but I still feel 4th gear is perfect for around town driving. 5th just seems like overkill for anything under 50 MPH. I am also a firm believer that the less the tranny has to shift the better.

Am I the only one who feels this way or do others also keep their Titan in 4th around town?

travlskech · 12-06-2004, 12:43 PM

maybe its just me, but i don feel any difference between 4 and D on local streets

morpheoussc400 · 12-06-2004, 01:11 PM

If you look at the manual it say use "D" for normal driving... this would include around town..

rarjar · 12-06-2004, 01:21 PM

Same here- I just stick it in "D" and drive, whether on the road or in town.

StumpZ · 12-06-2004, 01:50 PM

I leave it in 4 while driving around. IMO there is no sense in going to overdrive except when on the expressway.

*calgary_redneck* · 12-06-2004, 02:22 PM

leave it in drive modern transmissions are designed for this

SeaRider · 12-06-2004, 04:07 PM

They're called Automatic Transmission for a reason. They'll shifts to their correct gear ranges via driver/sensors input, if it's meet a right condition for OD, then it'll shifts to OD.

drags1998 · 12-06-2004, 04:25 PM

D

Brian mc · 12-06-2004, 05:30 PM

the only time i dont leave mine in d is when i am pulling a heavy load i heard you can where out the overdrive

igotatitan · 12-06-2004, 05:34 PM

My transmission hunts for the right gear when I'm in D and driving around town. Whether or not it's in the manual, common sense tells me that constant shifting from OD to 4 to OD to 4 is putting undue wear and tear on the transmission. I just turn off OD, and everything is fine.

honeykeeper · 12-06-2004, 05:38 PM

In town with stop and go and anything under 40-45 mph.....definately in 4......5 lugs around too much.and clangs when you let off and touch the pedal even slightly..anyone else notice?????

aztitan4x4 · 12-06-2004, 06:07 PM

I leave mine in 4 around town.5th gear is not needed at 45mph. I posted this same question about 4 months ago and got no response, so I just kept driving in 4!!

giuseppe · 12-06-2004, 09:23 PM

Just leave it in D... I noticed that overdrive won't kick in below a certain speed anyhow. I've noticed that around 40mph is when it drops into OD. Generally in the city, legally speaking, we're driving below 40... RIGHT? Besides if it does go into OD, a lower RPM means better fuel economy.

lowlypawn · 12-06-2004, 10:33 PM

Thx for all the responses so far.

Generally in Vegas the majority of the streets are 45, so that means 50, which is more then fast enough for the truck to shift into 5th. Most of the other times the roads are 35 which means I’ll do 40 and the truck will shift into 5th even at those speeds and slower.

It’s true that lower RPM’s means better gas mileage but how much better is the question. 1 or 2 MPH or I would bet it’s more like .1 or .2 MPH. Not really even worth mentioning.

The real issue is what happens when I’m cruising along at 45 MPH when some old bag cuts me off so I need to give her a little gas to merge into the other lane. If I’m in D (5th) it seems that even the slightest amount of gas causes the truck to downshift into 4th. It’s nice and smooth and all but totally unnecessary IMHO. It’s just more responsive in 4th, 3rd keeps the motor revving a little to high for my tastes even at 45 MPH thou I doubt it would hurt anything other then your gas mileage.

I don’t think anyone can argue the point that the truck definitely shifts less in 4th then 5th around town. It also feels more responsive when slightly speeding up and slowing down.

I know some of you think because the owners manual says use D for driving that keeping it in 4th must be wrong and hurting the truck in some obscure way. The fact is the manual is written for the lowest common idiot and explaining when to use 4th and 3rd ETC would be way to difficult and some idiot would drive the truck in 3rd across the country redlining the engine the entire time. So they just leave it at use “D” all the time every time.

Other then the manual and a minuscule gas mileage difference what other reasons can you people think of for not keeping out titans in 4th for around town driving (below 50 MPH)?

cali-titan · 12-06-2004, 10:46 PM

It is called automatic but does not mean it has brains, we can still do a better job in selecting gears, and before this truck I had a 4 cylinder under power Hardbody and really quick learned to keep the revs and power in a happy medium.... next time you drive, try this.
Going around 60MPH in D which at this speed it will be in Over Drive.... OK?, no there is no hills no passing just holding 60MPH, now, without moving your right food and the gas pedal, shift out of OD into 4th, and watch the speed go up...

So what happened? we did not moved the gas pedal yet the truck is going faster, answer? the truck was in the wrong gear, OD is too tall of a gear for around town, use 4th and save your transmition
My .02