overdrive

[AlexDisaster]

when you are not towing anything is there any benefits to having the od on or off? like gas mileage or something like that?

 

[J-Thompson]

when you are not towing anything is there any benefits to having the od on or off? like gas mileage or something like that?

The OD is the top gear in the trans
not sure but IIRC it is .74 to 1
better highway MPG ,if you have the proper gearing in your diff.'s for the tires you have
OD has no effect on the first 3 gears in the trans
unless you are towing or in steep hills at low speeds just leave it on

 

[JeepJeepster]

Unless youre towing a pretty light load on 100% flat terrain then keep O/D off.

In the 42rle its .69 for 4th and 1:1 for 3rd.

 

[tjkj2002]

Unless youre towing a pretty light load on 100% flat terrain then keep O/D off.

You got that backwards,you keep the O/D ON unless you are towing.

 

[KeswickDave]

Unless youre towing a pretty light load on 100% flat terrain then keep O/D off.

In the 42rle its .69 for 4th and 1:1 for 3rd.

JeepJeepster, that sounds like good advice for when you ARE towing... the OP asked "when you are not towing"... in which case you would want to keep O/D on if I'm not mistaken

That is assuming that:

"on" = light off, 4th gear available
"off" = light on, 4th gear locked out

When NOT towing, you would normally keep O/D ON (4th gear available).

With the exception that I occasionally use the O/D button to downshift to third "manually" while not towing.

I am now repeatedly re-reading this hoping I'm not hopelessly confused now!

EDIT - You beat me to it tjkj!

 

[JeepJeepster]

huh, must of missed the part about NOT towing anything and keeping O/D off. Youre not confused, just didnt notice he was wanting to keep it in 3rd when not towing.

In that case, I turn O/D off all the time. Only time I let it go into 4th is when I get up to highway speeds. I drive in the city a lot and dont see a use in letting it get into 4th just to downshift at the next redlight. Ill drop it down into 2nd also if I see the next redlight is red.

 

[Boiler]

Even in town, wouldn't the ideal for good gas milage to get it into overdrive relatively quickly and keep it there? I can drive 45-55 in my town, but there are lots of stops.

 

[jnaut]

when you are not towing anything is there any benefits to having the od on or off? like gas mileage or something like that?

Yeah, at freeway speeds you're going to rev your engine pretty high without OD. I'll turn off overdrive when trying to force a downshift and get some extra power when passing or going up a steep hill at the infamous 'dead-spot' speed of about 38-43 mph. And OD is usually off the entire time I'm offroading.

 

[Uncle Krusty]

OD = off has two more great uses when not towing. I turn it off when driving in the mountains.

Going up-hill it lets me keep the engine revs up for more power climbing.
nana.gif

Going down hill it helps engine brake the car so I'm not riding the brakes like everyone in front of me (I've even been known to "grab second" on a particularly steep section).
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I don't know how many people I've followed down a good long grade, with both the glow of tailights, and the smell of burning brake-pads in my face...
nono.gif

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I leave OD on for everyday use, and when off roading I turn it off....

 

[wheeee32]

"I don't know how many people I've followed down a good long grade, with both the glow of tailights, and the smell of burning brake-pads in my face..."

I smell that familiar aroma anytime I go up to Estes Park or go into RMNP. It's especially funny when I see someone pulled over on the shoulder stranded b/c the brakes on their car are cooked.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

The overdrive stays on 90% of the time in our truck.
Gives better fuel economy as well!
The only time I turn it off is for merging onto the highway
or when towing.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Ive found that turning O/D off in certain conditions will actually make it accelerate worse. It likes to lock the torque in 3rd much earlier than it normally would if youre trying to merge into traffic. I find that in that circumstance leaving O/D on and just giving it more gas will keep it unlocked in 3rd letting the rpms stay alittle higher. Then when the rpms get to a little over 3,000 I turn O/D off and it locks in 3rd lowering them down a few hundred. Once Im up to speed Ill let it go on into 4th. Haha, sometimes I wish I had a manual.

 

[hyde]

I use it similar to jeepjeepster, when I am behind an ass that's going 45mph on the left lane and people start passing me and the ass on the right, I turn the o/d off go near the ass's ass then pass him on the right because I know if I jump in front the of the other ***** who are passing me and the ass in front of me, I will just be another ass and will have someone up my ass until jeep realizes I want to pass someone and lower the gear. (A lot of *****, i know, but I live in NYC and well we got nothing a lot of them on the road)...

Same thing with short ramps to expressways, we got bunch of crazy short ramps, the ones that you either get in on the first try or be stuck until you get wide clearance. Once you stop, you get stuck. So I prepare the jeep by putting turning O/D off and allowing it to move me without suddenly appearing in front of someone who is not expecting me to jump in.

I also noticed O/D helps take curves better on highway. The ones that you would normally slow down to. We have several curves with speed limit of 40, when I approach those, instead of slowing down to a crawl, I turn the O/D off and lightly tap on the gas, it pulls me through so much better than as if I was just cruising through it or with O/D on (4th gear is as good as Neutral on these situations!)...

I love the O/D OFF button on my jeep, and I hated seeing it moved down to the console on KK..

 

[sleeve]

Honestly I rarely turn off my OD. In fact I don't ever turn it off unless I'm hauling the boat and the transmission starts hunting for a gear.

 

[jnaut]

I don't know how many people I've followed down a good long grade, with both the glow of tailights, and the smell of burning brake-pads in my face...
nono.gif

(word)