I have a 98 XLT with the 4.6 v8 and auto rans. I have a question about driving around town with overdrive. I don't think I have ever turned it off while doing my daily commuting, but my brother was in town over the weekend and he mentioned that he always turns his off. He only keeps it on when he is going to be traveling on the expressway. I understand the thinking behind this, but before I change my driving habits (after 88k trouble-free miles) I wanted to get some feedback from others in this forum who may have some more "technical knowledge" than my brother. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

I dont turn overdrive on unless im going to be goin over 45mph for a long distance, or 40 sometimes. It just depends. I dont like to turn more than 2000-2200 rpms while just cruising unless im on the interstate then Ill go up to like 2800 but thats in OD.

 

I will turn od off when I'm running around in town. This is just what I do. No scientific proof or numbers to say it's better or not, but I do like the way the truck drives with od off most of the time.

My od will engage if I'm going as slow as 40 mph. Then, if I need to accelerate, it'll downshift and I go. If I'm already in 3rd (od off), I just press the go pedal and I go. No downshifting. I look at it this way....... A transmission has only so many "shifts" in it (kinda like a karma thing). What that number is, no one knows, but if I can keep the number of shifts to a minimum, then I just feel better.....

Once I'm on the highway and I know I'm going to be at speed for some time, I'll engage od.

When I tow my #4500 travel trailer, od is off the entire time, highway or not.

Again, just what I do.......

 

HI!... I always run with my O/D off when in the city. They only time I use it is when I get on the hyghway or expressway.

 

OD stays on 99.9% of the time. That includes towing my boat which is in the 7000-7500# range.

About the only time I turn it off is when on on the road and want to use it to slow down a little, without using the brakes.

58000 miles so far and she runs fantastic!

 

ok, so heres a question. can you just turn the od on/off while driving, or should you be at a complete stop, in park, or what?

 

yes you can turn it off while driving. I wouldnt recommend it when your in the middle of a shift though. OD off just let's you get a lower gear for a little more power. I leave it on most of the time, unless I'm in orlando and are passing stupidly slow people.

 

Not to pick on you, MitchF150, but one could say an engine has so many revolutions, or however you choose to quantify it. That being said, by running with OD off one can potentially shorten the life of the engine (running it at high RPMs).

So with this perspective... is it wise to run with OD off or on?

 

Yeah, but crusing around town, you're only going to be running 2k rpms at most anyway..... Bogging down a motor is harder on it in the long run (like when OD will kick in at only 40mph) IMO...... Just like riding a 10 speed bike at low speed in 10th gear..... Your legs tire out a whole bunch sooner then if you were in 5th.

On the highway, it's a no brainer to be in od when you can. When I tow my trailer, my truck has to work harder to get into od and stay there. I find I have to press the gas pedal down more to maintain speed. When it's in third and pulling around 2500 rpms, it's easy to maintain speed and it'll actually gain speed going up slight hills. Tranny temps stay cooler in third too. I've noticed that the temp rises when it's in od and I'm towing.......

 

Run in OD except when towing. (just like the book says). Primarily out of convenience. There is the occasional long freeway entrance ramp where I will turn it off just because I know that I will likely need the power to merge but that's about it.

Similarly had a brother with contrary advice, but he had a Chevy with both D and OD on the gear selector that really confused things.