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Old 12-20-2009, 02:57 PM   #4 (permalink)
gone-ot
...beats walking...
 
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...optimally, you'd want the tranny in the highest gear (4th) possible, but most don't "shift" until you pass 40 mph, so the trick is to get up to where it shifts from 3rd into 4th and then back down to 35 mph.

...of course, as soon as you encounter a slight rise or grade increase which places more load on the engine, the transmission will automatically downshift to 3rd.

...an automatic is not as easy for the driver to control as a manual, that's why many of the "new" multi-speed transmissions are bascially "manually shifted automatics" although using real "gears" rather than "bands" and sungears.
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