A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions

   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #1  

SandburRanch

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Messages
1,543
Tractor
NHtd75
Until recently the automatic tranny was useful in conditions such as snow, ice, sand or mud and worked equally well in all of those conditions. To start from a dead stop under those conditions we were able to select 2 on the shift selector, ease down on the accelerator to begin forward motion by not spinning and losing traction and then shift to D etc. when ever we felt it to be correct.

Not so now, at least on my wife's car. I ask the dealer about this before purchase and his reply was to use the manual mode shift position. The dealer sales staff need to read the manual, and possibly better drive it, to learn how their product works. They have lost that feature.

Some may say, so what. I didn't even know that was possible. Those may not have ever had to walk a few miles in snow or mud or because of sand.
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #2  
On modern automatics, you are at the mercy of whatever the computer programmers wrote to control it.

Some of the older euro stuff (ex. volvos) had a Winter mode switch which enabled second gear starts. I think some of the Benzes by default allowed second gear starts - if you were easy on the gas most of the time, they would bypass 1st after your driving behaviour was learned by the Trans computer.

If I had the money for a new car, I'd be getting a manual, so I haven't played with the new automatics - there may be one out there that does what you want.

As a control loop, it would be easy to allow a second gear start on an electronically controlled auto, but perhaps these new 6+ speed automatics have been weight reduced to the point that manufacturers do not want to load second gear from a dead stop ?

Rgds, D.
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #3  
Lots of vehicles, my pickup included, have Traction Control Systems that reduce power to the wheels if a slip is detected. It can be disabled if necessary. I wonder if this system works as well or better than starting in second gear?
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #4  
On all automatics I've had or driven, back to the 1950's, the selector only selected the top gear.

On a 3 speed:

D allowed 1-2-3

2 allowed 1-2

L allowed 1

Never saw or heard of one that would let you start in a mid- gear.

Bruce
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Lots of vehicles, my pickup included, have Traction Control Systems that reduce power to the wheels if a slip is detected. It can be disabled if necessary. I wonder if this system works as well or better than starting in second gear?
It could possibly work much better if the vehicle was un-level side to side without a limited slip differential.
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #6  
Way back in the 50s, some vehicles, such as my 1956 Mercury with automatic transmission, always started in the second gear (in D) unless you floored the accelerator to make it downshift to first, but even then it would shift to second at about 20 mph. Of course, I learned to get the best performance drag racing to start in "L" which locked it in the lowest (first) gear, accelerate to 40 mph, shift to D and immediately back to L. When you shifted to D, it would shift to the second gear, then immediately back to L before it could shift again and that would lock it in the second gear, then shift back to D at 80 mph to shift to the third gear.

Another kid got his Dad's 1957 Chevrolet to race me and I outran him, as I did every 1957 Chevy I ran. But when he found out how I was shifting gears, he wanted to run again and try shifting like that in the Chevy. Of course the Mercury sequence was P R N D L, so no problem shifting as I did but I think the Chevy was P N D L R, so he wound it up in L, shifted to D, then pulled the gear shift all the way down to R which momentarily locked the rear wheels until he knocked the gear shift lever back up.:laughing: I think that ended his racing days. He was just hoping he hadn't damaged daddy's car.
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #7  
The common denominator there is your traction, get better tires. Most newer cars come with wide *** tires mounted on 18"+ rims, that's the problem.
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #8  
On all automatics I've had or driven, back to the 1950's, the selector only selected the top gear.

On a 3 speed:

D allowed 1-2-3

2 allowed 1-2

L allowed 1

Never saw or heard of one that would let you start in a mid- gear.

Bruce

When I put my 95 Honda Accord auto in 2nd it starts out in second gear. Was thinking older Ford's were the same.
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #9  
Lots of vehicles, my pickup included, have Traction Control Systems that reduce power to the wheels if a slip is detected. It can be disabled if necessary. I wonder if this system works as well or better than starting in second gear?

If your Traction control works like mine it applies the brake on the slipping wheel(s) and also cuts all power to drive train which means your stuck becase it won't allow wheel spin. Yes you can turn this off but you have to remember to do this before you stop moving or you are probably still stuck. I will take a good ole fashioned manual tranny any time for driving in slippery conditions.

Brother drive semis and the automatics are real problems on slippery roads. Down shift going up hills and cause spin-outs, can't start in higher gears, etc..
 
   / A lost Asset in Auto Transmissions #10  
Lots of vehicles, my pickup included, have Traction Control Systems that reduce power to the wheels if a slip is detected. It can be disabled if necessary. I wonder if this system works as well or better than starting in second gear?

I first experienced traction control while helping my perpetually stuck neighbor. I had to disable it in order to move the vehicle. The system does not seem well suited to getting unstuck.

On gear selection, my Fords, GM, and Toyotas from 72 on up worked like this;
D allowed 1-2-3
2 allowed 2
L allowed 1
Just last summer I showed my nieces how to pull a jetski and trailer out of the lake on a ugly steep sandy launch using an auto Sunfire in 2nd gear. Based on the mess at this ramp I'd say this technique isn't as well know as I thought it was.

We just bought a Subaru. It seems to have a "slap stick" I'll have to test that out and see exactly how it behaves when shifted manually.
 
 
Top