What gear do I drive in?

Question

Okay, I know what "D" (drive) is. But my 2004 Chev. Impala 3.4L has D, 3, 2, and 1. I know D is normal, 3 uses more fuel, and towing and hills are related to all this, which one is best to drive in on the highway? On city streets? Are there advantages and disadvantages to any of them as it relates to normal driving (no hills, no towing)?

Answer 1

Under 95% of driving conditions, you should put the car in D (in your Impala, that's 4th [and top] gear) and leave it alone. The car will shift as appropriate when speeding up or slowing down. Since the car shifts dozens of times a day anyway, you won't damage it by shifting on your own (as long as you don't over-rev the engine), but there's no need to do it. The only exceptions are:

1. When towing. Staying with lower gears can affect torque and revs, which keeps power in the optimal band. Consult your owner's manual.

2. When engine-braking. If you're on long hills, or the brakes are being used extensively, you can manually downshift into 3 (and then 2 and 1). This will affect wheel spin rates through increased gear resistance, so the car will begin to slow down immediately. Don't shift into 2 or 1 too quickly or the engine will over-rev (bad). This should NOT be done on ice: the increased pressure on the driven wheels to slow down can lock the car into a skid, and recovering from a skid is more difficult with engine braking. However, on sloping dry roads, staying in 3rd on a long decline can reduce the need for brakes, preventing them from over-heating.

3. If planning to pass. If you need to pass a vehicle quickly, you *can* downshift into 3rd gear before pulling into the passing lane. Engines typically develop their peak horsepower well above the revolution speeds found in top gear while cruising. Therefore, if you downshift without slowing down, the engine's revolution speed will immediately increase, giving you closer to the maximum power. Since this increases engine wear, don't leave it there for long, but by shifting yourself, you've saved a half-second or so. The car will downshift by itself to develop peak power and more effective gearing when you floor the accelerator in the passing lane, so downshifting first gives you a head start, and you'll be pulling full power when you hit the outer lane. One downshift is sufficient -- the car will decide for itself if a still-lower gear (1 or 2) is needed. Once you've reached your new desired speed, shift back into "D" (4th). Most of the time, though, this is not requred; the car will compute the situation automatically in plenty of time.

4. If you want to achieve maximum acceleration from a standing start, downshift to first gear, hit the pedal, and let the car get near (but not over) the redline before shifting upward to 2, then 3, then D. The difference in speed will be miniscule, but it feels more exciting. DON'T redline the engine, though.

5. Limp-home mode. If the transmission or engine is damaged in some way, the car may allow you to travel in 1st gear. You'll have to drive no faster than 25-ish (hence the limping).

That's it! The rest of the time, leave it in D, and the car will decide what it needs to do. It's got a computer for the transmission, so it can generally determine, more precisely than you can, what it needs to maximize power and efficiency. Staying in any gear other D, even at medium speeds, results in inefficient operation that wrecks fuel economy and increases revolution-related wear on the engine and drivetrain.

Answer 2

You should usualy always be in D each other gear increases torque or power and decreases MPG. For all normal driving whether it's in the city or on the highway you should use D the other would be for towing and such they also help slow you down on really steep down grades. Also some cars have two variations of Drive, having the normal D and then a D encircled. The circled D would be overdrive which is also a good thing to leave on the save gas. But most cars have separate O/D buttons. The only reason I would think of putting my car in 2nd or 3rd would be to redline and get going a little quicker it would be like on a standard car going 60mph and staying in 4th gear and not going into to 5th.

Answer 3

Drive, always, unless you're towing. When towing, I'd use 2nd or 1st to make sure you have the best torque transfer. For very long or steep hills, you can usually drop the car into third or second to save the brakes (or get power for the ascent).

Drive is like overdrive--it keeps you in the optimal gear for the speed you're going, and conserves fuel as a side effect. The PCM is constantly monitoring the car and decides via info it receives on RPM and engine load when to shift up or down. The lower gears were always intended for towing or low-speed driving...places where extra traction is needed.

Automatics aren't like manual transmissions--if you constantly "shift" gears like you're driving a stick, you'll ruin them.

Though when I'm slaloming I'll drop an automatic into first or second for better performance. ;)

Answer 4

hi first thats a good guestion. first every gear does a different thing (D), in most new cars stands for overdrive gear this gear is handy when driving on freeways or long highway areas it allows the car to drive on a lower amount of rpm which saves on gas but for stop and go driving say in the city-or driving up those big moutian pass to go skiing 3rd gear is the gear for that or when towing something. 2nd and 1st gear are great for getting up steep hills or for when you got stuck in the snow. or for when your going down a hill and you don't want to wear out your breaks hope this helped if you want to find out more get a manual for you model of car

Answer 5

you drive in "D" always ,when no hills or no towing ,todays technology does the shifting for you, weather it be for fuel mileage or towing, or going up a hill. Let your vehicles tech do the thinking for you.

If you were to race it then you could slam it down into 1st and shift up manually to get a higher rpm before the next shift. Most new vehicles have rev limiters on them so it will probably shut down before you could blow the engine.

Answer 6

ALWAYS drive in D. 3 / 2 / 1 only relates to towing and/or snow driving / steep downhills and such.

Answer 7

3rd the go unless you are pulling a load or slowing or taking of

Answer 8

drive.