driving on D, versus 2 or 1

[jernwarfare]

i have a gen4 '97 auto 4cyl and would like to know more about the difference between driving on 'D' and '2' ?

...during normal chicago driving conditions, avg speed 0 to 40, stop and go, which gear is recommended here? is there anything wrong with driving non stop on the 2?

yes I notice more ball tickle on the second gear but was wondering if I am unnecessarily ripping the engine or perhaps burning gas faster?

i realize this is a nOOb question

[shajbot]

2 and L are purposely for engine braking effective if you're going down a hill or something, in city just stick it to D and the real brakes.

Also 2 shifts ur tran to 2nd gear and L to 1st if you wonder.

[Kingdom934]

D: Enables gears 1>2>3. Overdrives enables 4. So D with O/D allows you to go from 1>2>3>4.

2: Enables gears 1>2. With or without O/D, the car will not upshift to 3 or 4.

L or 1: Enables gear 1. With or without O/D, the car will not upshift to 2, 3 or 4.



I normally just keep my car in 'D'. Only time when I shift it to another gear seletion is if the traffic is a snail pace with a lot of 30mph to zero (I keep it in second so it doesn't keep going through each gears only to have to go back to first) or when I'm going up a parking structure. Reason why I use a lower gear (2 usually on freeway traffic) is that it provides engine braking.

Nothing is wrong with keeping the car in '2' ... providing you use it at the right time. No sense in keeping it in '2' with no traffic @ 60mph (you'll be reving it high at highway speeds = waste gas)

[jernwarfare]

thanks. what exactly do you mean by 'engine braking'?

[shajbot]

Car is slowed down by the engine not by wheel brakes.

[97vulcan]

even if you keep it in 2nd, you will still shift from 1st to 2nd. You just won't shift past 2nd.

Adam

[Dru]

theres nothing wrong with keeping it in 2nd for city driving but theres really no point to it..from 0-40mph ur car probably wont need to shift into 3rd tho

[gladis]

Speaking of this, anyone know whether our cars (I have a 96 5S) shuts off its injectors while rolling in gear?

[Zviator]

Above plus

The main purpose is to keep the tranny on 1st and 2nd gear (most torque) while going up or down hill.

Also, some car might achive 0-60 faster with just 1st-2nd gear instead of 1st-2nd-3rd gear... So in other words, if somebody say u can't control the shifting pattern on auto gear box, it's not entirely correct.