Curious....

aleroguy · 04-02-2009, 05:37 PM

I've been wondering for a while why/whats the point to having low gears (3,2,1) on cars? Anybody know?

kwhauck · 04-02-2009, 05:42 PM

to help on icy roads, going up and down hills, towing (some people tow things with their alero)

me personally I have used 1 gear several times to go down a steep icy hill so I didn't have to use my brakes......used 3 and 2 a couple times coming down the continental divide so I didn't have to burn up my brakes as well....

misslindseysue · 04-02-2009, 06:15 PM

I can lauch in 2nd, but 3rd and up really roasts a clutch. And below 20mph I'll chug and stall in 4th.

colonel6632 · 04-03-2009, 04:29 AM

i think he means 3 2 1 on the automatic...

and it just prevents the car for shifting for whatever reason...
on my old car... it was rwd with a shift kit... drove home on a road that was so icy that when the car shifted, the back end would kick out... so just drove in 3 to avoid overdrive... but mostly what kwhauck said

misslindseysue · 04-03-2009, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonel6632

i think he means 3 2 1 on the automatic...

I know what he meant but like my mom always said "ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer." Or in that case, don't bother typing a complete question and get the question you actually ask answered.

Automatic transmissions allow you to control, or "lock" into lower gears so you have a little more control. Like others have said, going down steep hills you'll overheat your brakes and not be able to stop by the time you hit the bottom if you don't pull it down a couple gears. When towing a trailer you'll probably also want to take it out of overdrive to get a little more torque and just to avoid the trans constantly hunting and having to downshift against every puff of wind.

Nate's Alero · 04-03-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misslindseysue

I know what he meant but like my mom always said "ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer." Or in that case, don't bother typing a complete question and get the question you actually ask answered.

Automatic transmissions allow you to control, or "lock" into lower gears so you have a little more control. Like others have said, going down steep hills you'll overheat your brakes and not be able to stop by the time you hit the bottom if you don't pull it down a couple gears. When towing a trailer you'll probably also want to take it out of overdrive to get a little more torque and just to avoid the trans constantly hunting and having to downshift against every puff of wind.

why i love standards

AleroDrime · 04-03-2009, 10:40 AM

i dunno but if your brakes ever fail like on my friends grand am its good to have like that, he threw it down in to first, witch slowed the motor enough so he could swerve teh car that made a random stopp, was close adn scary as shit

aleroguy · 04-03-2009, 05:44 PM

Those make sense.... I suppose it could also be do to that's how all motors have been made since they started building engines way back when...

Quote:

Originally Posted by misslindseysue

I know what he meant but like my mom always said "ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

Hey!! my teacher told me there is no such thing as a stupid question....

guess he was wrong....

Vinalero · 04-03-2009, 05:56 PM

Actually, an engine doesnt care wihich gear you are in. He doesnt have nothing to do with it. An engine gives you an amount of revolution per minutes and a given power for each rpm value. When coupled to a gear, you can change the ratio at which the engine revs for a certain speed value.

the 1,2,3 and up gears are just different sized gears to use. Actually, nowadays you have CVT transmissions that makes the engine always work in its peak performance depending of the situation. Basically, a CVT is a transmission that gives an "unlimited" amount of gears so that speed can rise, but rpm stays the same, kinda.

clutch1 · 04-03-2009, 06:08 PM

CVT is cool... I've been wanting to drive a car with one for a while now, but haven't gotten the chance.

cherrington17 · 04-03-2009, 06:56 PM

i almost bought an ION with it. (i was looking at that, or the alero)

its.. different. i'd rather feel the shift. i know what speed i'm going at each shift point on my car.

i'd hate to have to actually LOOK at how fast i'm moving.

[ion] C2 · 04-03-2009, 07:01 PM

Selecting a gear in the Alero only prevents it from upshifting. It will still downshift. It will even still upshift if you bounce it off the limiter enough.

heineck · 04-03-2009, 09:47 PM

start from first and pretend ur driving stick

AlbinoMonkeyRat · 04-04-2009, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heineck

start from first and pretend ur driving stick

yes it is possible, but doing this all the time would put unnecessary wear and tear on the transmission. If you have auto, the only time you should really be using the 1,2,3 gears is for ice and hills.

Golden Alero · 04-04-2009, 04:46 PM

haha i do what heineck says maybe why my aleros dead and gone now =[

aleroguy · 04-05-2009, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heineck

start from first and pretend ur driving stick

funny, I'll have to try that sometime!

99-alero · 04-06-2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clutch1

CVT is cool... I've been wanting to drive a car with one for a while now, but haven't gotten the chance.

it sucks ass! my dads ford freestyle has it , drives me insane , and my staurn ion had it , boring as hell to drive, sounds like a leave blower at WOT

heineck · 04-06-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbinoMonkeyRat

yes it is possible, but doing this all the time would put unnecessary wear and tear on the transmission. If you have auto, the only time you should really be using the 1,2,3 gears is for ice and hills.

yea i was joking i did that for a little while but i think thats y my trannys having trouble shifting over nowadays

lord2heart · 04-17-2009, 01:02 PM

is CVT better in performance? or economy wise? might be a dumb question...

Lucalare · 06-24-2010, 11:47 PM

CVT is good in theory, but the problem (at least for us), is you lose the feel of the shifts, plus you usually can't add any power to them or...POOF... My friend has a '10 Lancer ES with the CVT and they basically said you can put an exhaust on the car or Mitsubishi's "turbo" that runs 3 or so psi (yawn), but anything else is likely to stress the transmission beyond tolerance.