GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I always here people talking about racing automatics,..ex- "Yeah then I threw in down to 3rd and took off.." Does the lower gears make it go faster or something? It doesn't seem like it to me but I always wondered...

Meaning that will make it take off from a stop faster?

Works a lot better if you don't stomp the gas, either. You lose more time stomping the gas and spinning the tires than you would if you put your foot down gradually but quickly.

quote:I always here people talking about racing automatics,..ex- "Yeah then I threw in down to 3rd and took off.." Does the lower gears make it go faster or something? It doesn't seem like it to me but I always wondered...I start in 1st if I want to take off from a light. Now, think about it. When you leave it in drive, and come to a stop, the car does downshift to 1. But the difference in manually downshifting to 1 is that I get extra RPMs and power before I let it hit second. The auto shifts much earlier, and in a lower power range, than it would if I left it in automatic.As for passing, yes, you can drop down a gear to get extra passing power. In the case of the Vibe automatic, turning off O/D using the button on the side of the shift knob is essentially downshifting to third gear. If you still need more, you can go down to 2, but note, if the car is moving to fast, the tranny will not allow it to downshift to 3rd until it's moving slow enough. So if you downshift to 2 and nothing happens, it's probably because you're moving too fast, and the tranny is keeping it in 3rd.

The automatic transmissions were not designed to be manually shifted. They are set to shift as designed. You may not like the performance it is doing what it was intended for. Manually changing gears is hard on the trans. The O/D button as stated before is your best bet.

> shift kit shift kit shift kit!!!

quote:The automatic transmissions were not designed to be manually shifted. They are set to shift as designed. You may not like the performance it is doing what it was intended for. Manually changing gears is hard on the trans. The O/D button as stated before is your best bet. Yeah, I know. It's so hard to resist the temptation though!

quote:Works a lot better if you don't stomp the gas, either. You lose more time stomping the gas and spinning the tires than you would if you put your foot down gradually but quickly.Not always the case, especially if/when you have really weak low end power. Have you ever heard the term "launch" used before in racing?