[Rich J]

Well I have heard mixed things about it. Obviously it sucks down more gas. But I have heard its not bad to always drive with o/d off and I have heard to only use it when your going 60+. So I came to you MMers to tell me once and for all. Because I tried it today on my way home and my car drives so much better/faster. And you automatic guys will know what I am talking about when I say this, always driving with o/d off takes away that annoying downshift the computer does. For instance...

Say your cruising at about 40-45mph and you have to slow down to 20ish, so you try to go back to that 40-45 and it takes FOREVER compared to getting there from 0mph. Now I have had to do that multiple times and its very annoying and the only way to get there very quickly is to go WOT.

Now I did this same situation as a test with o/d off and my car didn't do that annoying downshift and easily got back up to speed without any lag, hesitation, and it did it pretty fast.

So is it bad to always drive with o/d off? Or is it only going to suck down more gas?

[01stangV6]

i only use o/d when im going about 60 plus ususally highway or interstate but very rarily.

[Rich J]

Thats when I normally use it, but I noticed my car performs so much better with it always off. So I was wondering if its bad to do that.

[01stangV6]

wait you keep your on all the time? i keep my overdrive off all the time except when im on the highway or interstate which is rarely... o/d was meant for those long drives and interstate or highway speeds so i dont keep it on until i half to like i said above...

[Rich J]

Haha, I think we are thinking of 2 different things, I am talking like having the o/d off all the time (so the o/d light is on, on the dash) so your saying you always turn it off (so the light is on) and only turn it on (so the light is off) for long drives?

[01stangV6]

my o/d light if i remember correctly only comes on the dash when its turned on. click it off and it turns off and the light goes away...

[Rich J]

Mine comes on when I turn o/d off. Hence why the light says o/d off lol.

[01stangV6]

thats weird mine is opposite of that.. the only light on, (on my dash) is a service engine light and thats because my two main cats are off. my o/d light turns on when i click the white button on my auto shifter and it turns off/ o/d is off when i click it again. it might show it to say if its on or off when i start my car i think though but other than that mine is opposite

[Till]

If I remember correctly when OD IS OFF the light is ON.

When OD is on the light is OFF

Also keeping your cars OD off is just keeping it in 4th gear and not letting it go to 5th. So yes it will suck down more gas.

If you get on the interstate I would turn OD back on so it will kick into 5th.

Will keeping OD off hurt your car?
No.

Just put od back on (light off) when going on the interstate.


If Im wrong someone will jump in to correct me.

[01stangV6]

i drive with od off like 95% of the time. i have only used it like a few times on the interstate. do you guys drive with it on?

[Till]

Originally Posted by 01stangV6 i drive with od off like 95% of the time. i have only used it like a few times on the interstate. do you guys drive with it on?

Doesnt really matter what they do, it depends on your driving.

If you drive under 50 a lot some people say its better to turn OD off because it causes the tranny to shift less which = less wear and tear on the tranny.

If you drive on the highway a lot and go over 50 - 60 then keep the OD on.

[01stangV6]

yeah i stay under that range since i drive in town most and a tad of highway.

[plak424]

01stangv6 i'm pretty sure you drive with it on most of the time when you click the button you actually turn it off. But overdrive is just your 4th gear. Putting the shifter in 1st is first, 2nd is second, D with O/D off is 1, 2, 3. When you turn overdrive off you prevent your tranny from shifting to 4th so you cut back on your efficiency, but I doubt it will hurt your tranny to drive with it off all the time. Just added wear and tear because your car has to run at higher rpms for the same speed. If you want to see more about our tranny check out the video at transgo.com

[Rich J]

Hmmm I thought o/d was our 5th gear, I just went for a quick drive again to check it out and I counted the gears on one red light launch. Went all the way up to 4th gear, I let off the gas to stay there because I was going like 80 lol. Looked at my RPM's and I was at about 3500.

[plak424]

Install Assistance Videos

[Rich J]

4R70W right?

[nukeman13]

4R70W stands for 4 gears, Rearwheeldrive, 70 arbitrary number assigned by Ford and Wide gear ratio.

and yeah as the others said. you can keep overdrive off but turn it on when you hit the interstate. it wont hurt ur tranny

[Spurred Snake]

Originally Posted by 01stangV6 i drive with od off like 95% of the time. i have only used it like a few times on the interstate. do you guys drive with it on?

IMO, you would be wrong because if that was the case, all these cars should automatically turn it on when you start your car... It was even that way on my '96. When you start it, your not going 60+ so therefore if it would hurt it, Ford would've made a change and it would've been a recall...

[01stangV6]

im not sure i understand where your coming from? when i start my stang my o/d is off. i turn it on by pressing the white button on my shifter and to turn it off just press it again.

[kenpachifknpwns]

mines always on