3rd Gear

[MuddyMachine]

I read on an american site that when driving round town its better to put it in third than in drive, If you have an auto box. Is this true :?:  as ive never heard this before.

[Thrasher]

Hmmm....difficult to say - when driving offroad in high, I use 3 in Piglet. However ... the Range Rover only has P, N, R and D ;-) So er.....

[beast5680]

i always use '3' round town seems to be better on fuel that way as in 'D' it always changes up into 4th too quickly so you have to use the throttle more to get any speed out of it

[Thrasher]

Er...you drive around town over 52mph?

4th (i.e. lockup) only occurs at around 52mph in a D1 .....

[MuddyMachine]

Is there no 52mph limits in your town centre :?:  Does that mean im reading the signs wrong then :lol: . was just wondering what i can do to save some fuel. my mpg seems to be getting less each month.

[beast5680]

no my auto definatly has 5 speeds in it, there is 1,2,3 and D but in D you will feel it change thru 123 then at around 35-40 it changes up again ,dont know if this is a half gear or a whole gear, then at 51mph you get it change in to top, and before i,m shot down in flames, come and drive it and you,ll see dont know if it makes a difference that mine is a diesel auto?
if i leave it in 3 then click into D at about 40 it will change up a gear but not into lock up until 51 if you get me

[Thrasher]

um .. you have a ZF4 ... and guess what the 4 stands for ;-)

[Xtremeteam]

& also having done auto gearboxes at tech & understanding how they work it makes it really really complicated if you want any more than 4 speeds,
i can guarantee you that its only a 4 speed box that is in your tdi disco

[beast5680]

well it definatly has 5 speed changes between 0 and 55mph and there is a very definite change between 3 and D i,ve just been out in it i suppose it could be 4 if you dont count the initial gear it moves off in but if its in 3 it will only change up to 3 and no further it changes up if the shifter is moved to D but not into lock up until over 51

[Xtremeteam]

3 is lock up & D is over drive i think,not stripped a 4 speed box yet ,will need to go n find my coarse work now

[muddyweb]

AFAIK, the ZF4 has 4 gears and a Torque Converter mechanical lock up, which is why you feel 5 changes.  On the 3.5 V8 engined vehicles, the 4th gear change and torque converter lock up happen at virtually the same time, so you don't really notice it.  On the 3.9 engines, the lock up happens later, so you get a slightly better spread.

[beast5680]

that,ll be what mine does then, Mr Burts world of knowledge to the rescue again :D

[Range Rover Blues]

Tim beat me to it again :roll: he's just so fast with that typing :D

Anyway, as for the gear selector, well it's there for a reason.  I drive my auto Capri in 2 sometimes to stop it hunting up and down the gears, I presume it's the same on the ZF4.  Incidentally the gearbox holding onto 4th too long is one of the stated causes of the so called porous block, where the 'box holds the higher gear even under high throttle demands, so you get uneven heating of the liner and exesive heat at the top, causing the cracks to start.  Apparently this is why 4.2 engines fail less than 4.6 engines, the gearbox will change down sooner on a 4.2.

So to answer I'd say yes, drive in 3rd (or 2nd) in traffic, it will change 1st, 2nd, 3rd and no higher until you shift.

[beast5680]

Tim beat me to it again :roll: he's just so fast with that typing :D

Anyway, as for the gear selector, well it's there for a reason.  I drive my auto Capri in 2 sometimes to stop it hunting up and down the gears

brave man owning up to that :lol: owning a capri and an auto one :D

[Range Rover Blues]

Hey, don't start, that's a classic motor that is 8)

[beast5680]

aah right    is it lime green like del boys :lol: