Thats the way I have always done it and been told to do so by many mechanics. They say the shifter should never be in the OD position untill you reach cruising speeds on the highway. I wait till I am turning about 2300 RPM's in third then bump my shifter into OD. I shift it back into D the first full stop I come to after getting off the highway. Doing that and having a big cooler has gotten me to 120K miles with no problem. (knock on wood)
Not to argue with you, but it is not really that different than putting steep gears in an auto-equipped car (we all know all the threads where people say that if the gear does not start with a "4" [i.e. 4.10's], dont bother). The gears keep the revs up just like keeping it in 3rd does. This works the motor a little harder, which is what I think you are commenting about above.
Not to argue with you, but it is not really that different than putting steep gears in an auto-equipped car (we all know all the threads where people say that if the gear does not start with a "4" [i.e. 4.10's], dont bother). The gears keep the revs up just like keeping it in 3rd does. This works the motor a little harder, which is what I think you are commenting about above.
It totally depends upon the conditions. If you are having to give it gas while you drive (up hills, etc) then I personally like to keep it around 1800-2000 RPM - the motor has more torque so it does not strain as bad when you hit the gas.
But if just cruising along with no real acceleration involved, by ALL means use the low gear (I am with you there bud). Some autos like to shift into OD by 30 mph or less, and that is really what we were talking about here (at least I was) - I dont want the stupid thing in OD (at like 1100 RPM and 25 mph) when I know I am in traffic or near hills and will have to get into the pedal a bit - it just makes the car shift a lot and lug before upshifting. That is where the lack of manual gear-selection sucks.
It totally depends upon the conditions. If you are having to give it gas while you drive (up hills, etc) then I personally like to keep it around 1800-2000 RPM - the motor has more torque so it does not strain as bad when you hit the gas.
But if just cruising along with no real acceleration involved, by ALL means use the low gear (I am with you there bud). Some autos like to shift into OD by 30 mph or less, and that is really what we were talking about here (at least I was) - I dont want the stupid thing in OD (at like 1100 RPM and 25 mph) when I know I am in traffic or near hills and will have to get into the pedal a bit - it just makes the car shift a lot and lug before upshifting. That is where the lack of manual gear-selection sucks.
I had a 91 GT I did the AOD shuffle all the time. The car was way faster like that. Instead of 2nd to 4rd shift shifting at 4800RPM it will shift anywhere you want. My cars sweet spot was 5900-6000. That car hauled serious you know what.
People say oh man that will kill your trans, but I never had problems with mine. Mine was a rebuilt unit with no shift kit and no valve body, just stock ATF and a good kickdown cable adjustment. I did this over a course of racing people for about 2000 miles, no problems at all. I wouldn't do it all the time, thats not what I am saying, but you will be safe doing it a few times at the track if your trans is in good shape. A valve body, and a looser converter will help an AOD out in a huge way.