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With gear ratios, the higher the number, the better the acceleration, right? Right, to a point. But with higher acceleration, you have less top speed. You have to balance the 2.
I heard that an AT's 2nd gear is the equivalent of a MT's 2nd *and* 3rd gears? True.
Hey! With my car up on the lift, if I spin one wheel in one direction, the other wheel spins in the other direction. What's up with that? You don't limited slip. (What??? That was news to me. No limited slip on my FWD explains why I had massive understeer on hard cornering before many of my suspension mods.) That is called an open differential--when there isn't weight on the front wheels, a large gear spins one way, but the open differential gears spin the other way. With weight and going forward, tho, you'd have "Positive lock" and both would go forward.
What is exactly is Overdrive? Overdrive is a setting for the transmission that helps the transmission and engine match revolutions for less than a 1-to-1 match. This places less wear and tear on the car over, say, 45 - 50 mph. Exceeding 1:1, the wheels spinning quicker than the engine.
Why, in some cars, can you turn the overdrive off? (Sourced from AutoMotion and Best Motoring) In some cases, you don't want the overdrive on. In sports driving situations, you want the overdrive off so the car doesn't upshift prematurely, spoiling the fun. If you're in stop and go city traffic, you might want to turn the overdrive off--constantly using then un-using the overdrive "gears" result in more wear and tear on the engine and tranny. When driving on curvy or mountainous roads, most ATs don't provide engine braking. AT actually accelerate downhill! (Down hills and mountains, ATs will hover at 1800 RPMs, accelerating you down the hill.) This results in the driver using the brakes more and cause brake fade in the mountains. Your brakes may not work when you need them.
What's the story with ATs and D, 3rd, 2nd and 1st gears? This is more a marketing ploy than anything else. Of course, you can manually shift gears. But Ford is one of the few car manufacturers whose car will actually start in 2nd gear for those times you're stuck in snow or mud. DSM ATs won't do that. DSMs AT set for 2nd gear start in first, then shift and hold at second.
Can you sport drive with an AT? (Best Motoring) Absolutely. Manually shift the car like a manual and use left-foot braking. Be sure to learn what type of transmission you have. Not all transmissions can be manually shifted.
Can you shift an AT and hit the right shift marks where you feel like shifting? Yes.
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