auto 944?

XxKHxX · 06-10-2005, 10:18 PM

Hey,
i have an automatic 944

with 3 gears. I think im losing power compared to a manual, 3 v 5 gears. This brought about the question, would it hurt my car to drive it in the number "2" setting for city streets? 40-50 mph. Also, im pretty sure its bad for the tranny, but just a clarification, is it bad to shift from 1 to 2 to drive while driving? as if it were a stick. Thanks ahead of time

AaronM · 06-11-2005, 07:47 AM

Keeping it in 2nd will do nothing but hurt your fuel economy. The car will feel very slightly snappier, but not by any real degree since the automatic will downshift whenever it needs to if you just leave it in 3rd.

Manually up-shifting an automatic is not harmful. Manually _downshifting_ an automatic that doesn't have a built-in sport-shift feature (i.e. Tiptronic or something like it) will cause extra wear on the clutch packs, but that would take something like 100,000 miles to accumulate to a meaningful degree of wear.

Basically, shifting the automatic manually only helps your ego, it won't help the car be any faster.

Aaron

XxKHxX · 06-11-2005, 08:49 AM

Thanks for your reply.

i read about that downshifting part in the manual, but when im going around 30-40, and i push the pedal all the way down, it doesnt downshift to 2nd. is something in my car off? computer or something? Or do i have to be at lower speeds, 20-30 to feel the downshift? Thanks

pokey · 06-11-2005, 10:04 AM

The kickdown linkage probably needs to be adjusted.

todwic · todwic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by XxKHxX
Thanks for your reply.

i read about that downshifting part in the manual, but when im going around 30-40, and i push the pedal all the way down, it doesnt downshift to 2nd. is something in my car off? computer or something? Or do i have to be at lower speeds, 20-30 to feel the downshift? Thanks

It's not a linkage, but a cable that goes from the throttle pedal all the way back to the tranny. The auto also has a diff. throttle cam. Cable prolly needs adjusting but it's a b!tch to do.

XxKHxX · 06-11-2005, 05:59 PM

at what RPMs should i shift? i get the most power between 3.5-4k rpms...but i dont wanna burn out my tranny over it. Also, whats the max speed i should be going if im in 1st gear?

pokey · 06-11-2005, 07:32 PM

If you have the owner's manual for your car, it will have max shift points for each gear.

AaronM · 06-11-2005, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XxKHxX
at what RPMs should i shift? i get the most power between 3.5-4k rpms...but i dont wanna burn out my tranny over it. Also, whats the max speed i should be going if im in 1st gear?

Max speed in 1st is whatever speed in first is redline for the engine. Same for second. And so on.

Keeping the transmission in a lower gear will not hurt the transaxle. The extra RPM will accelerate wear on the engine, but it will take a long time to add up.

I'm going to give you a little tip that you probably won't listen to, but that you need to hear anyway. Put the transmission in "Drive" (3) and leave it there unless you are running up and down mountains. I know you want more acceleration, well, sorry, you ain't gonna get it. You have a 944. It's a great car, handles amazingly, accelerates like an Accord. If you are that worried about acceleration, go buy an S2000 or WRX or something. You only look silly if you're trying to manually shift an automatic, I see enough people in Civics with fart cans trying to be "cool" or thinking that they're faster, by shifting their automatics manually. Please, don't be those guys.

Aaron

Eldorado · 06-11-2005, 08:18 PM

"Put the transmission in "Drive" (3) and leave it there unless you are running up and down mountains"

I completely agree... Aaron gives good advice - heed it..
but if you wish to shift it yourself, drive it around quite a bit.. get a feel for it and learn when the auto transmission shifts itself.... and just mimic that...

...but then again... if you did that, you might as well just keep it in 3rd :S

XxKHxX · 06-11-2005, 10:10 PM

i agree with you guys totally i just wanted to kno if it was bad to shift with an auto when doing fat hills...not shifting to pretend its manual haha

livewirevoodoo · livewirevoodoo's Garage

while we're on the subject of automatic shifting, does anyone have an idea of the automatic shift points? ie, when does it switch gears? I know the car well enough to know it shifts around 21 mph, but what about 3rd? At highway speeds (around 70mph) I'm at around 3500rpm..

AaronM · 06-12-2005, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by livewirevoodoo
while we're on the subject of automatic shifting, does anyone have an idea of the automatic shift points? ie, when does it switch gears? I know the car well enough to know it shifts around 21 mph, but what about 3rd? At highway speeds (around 70mph) I'm at around 3500rpm..

All automatics vary shift points depending upon either simple accelerator position and speed, or upon things like driving style, engine load, vehicle load, etc if the transmission is newer and has electronic controls with "fuzzy logic".

I'm assuming that the 3-speed automatic in the 944 is a pure hydraulic design as electronically controlled automatics weren't widely used until the mid 1990's.

http://www.howstuffworks.com has an excellent article on automatic transmissions.

XxKHxX · 06-12-2005, 08:32 PM

when im on the freeway at 70 mine are near 4k rpms..

scotman944 · scotman944's Garage

shifting that way has no real benefit but will cause extra wear on the
gear selector cable and it is a ***** to replace