Heavy towing and auto transmissions | Auto Expert John Cadogan
Вставка
- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Save thousands on any new car (Australia-only): autoexpert.com...
Did you like this report? You can help support the channel, securely via PayPal:
www.paypal.com...
John, 2 scenarios 2013 Pajero 5 speed auto towing 2.5T caravan 100km/h, flat road
4th gear, 2600rpm trans temp 80c torque converter stays locked up
5th gear 2000rpm trans temp 130c torque converter unlocks as throttle opening too much
oh yeah, 4th gear, 1-1.5 l/100 better. I will stick to 4th.
new tow vehicle y62 5.6v8. keeps torque converter locked in 7th so I leave in D
Intelligent driving has to include awareness of the vehicle and adjusting to suit.
Hope you changed your oil asap after that 130c episode...
Yep so you should have upgraded your transmission to suit the purpose and got the lock up controller...
Oh dear. John you really need to confine yourself to topics that you understand and have experience of before spouting off ill informed opinions. You seem to forget that the almighty engineers you speak so highly of, work for car company bean counters. Consequently they are always under pressure to compromise their designs to meet cost targets. While a power train control system might function perfectly fine at or around it's typical load, once you double or more that load by adding a dirty big caravan, you move it so far out of it's optimal design parameters that bad things happen. For example, the Nissan GU ZD30 auto that I used to tow my 2.5 ton caravan absolutely was not suited to be being left in Drive. If allowed to run in overdrive it would simply unlock the torque converter on even the slightest grade and without intervention simply cook the transmission oil. Whereas being held in 3rd gear 1:1 it would run happily along with torque converter locked, transmission cool and return much better fuel economy.
As for your opinions on caravanning generally, well it's a lifestyle compromise. Personally, for the same money, I'd rather spend two months on holiday in a caravan than a week in a resort. I get to see a lot more the country that way. Clearly though you prefer to spend your time lying on a beach watching the ming moles, reflecting on missed opportunities and poor life choices. Good luck to you.
Maybe just follow the instructions in the car manual and be guideded by that in regards to towing?
Earlier model auto trans specifically mention the use of manual low gear selection to aid in some climbing or descending situations. Granted the electronic brain controlling these systems wasn't very powerful, and certainly not as powerful as today, so they sort of get a pass. If however you need to rely on having to manually select today, in all but the most extreme conditions, then I'd suggest you're not using the right tool for the job.
He changes the question to suit his rant. His scenario is the person is holding it in a higher gear which no one is saying to do.
Anyone can shoot down a straw man John.
@M Bacon My understanding is the torque-converter lockup issue is not unique to Nissan's, I have read of similar issues on Landcruiser's, but admittedly no personal experience. My ZD30 served me faithfully for 15 years and 220,000km without issue. No, it wasn't fast, but it pulled the caravan along happily at 100kmh and overtook slow trucks when necessary, which is all that I really needed. Of course, I knew it's limitations and issues and I didn't rely on the engineers to get it right. Many that did were not so lucky!
You're dead right. In a perfect world, all decisions about durability and features would be made by competent engineers (I qualify the term with 'competent' because I've known a few engineers that are anything but that). But the reality is they don't have the final say.
Downshifting is for longer downhill drives so you don’t have to stay in the brakes and have them overhear and fade.
Or when you know you’re gonna want the power in a second or two for safe overtaking.
On some vehicles the auto never shifts right and takes forever to make up its mind though.
You have to remember Australia doesn't have hills let alone mountains, so he is probably no expert. My other problem with what he was saying is that you are not using the transmission to keep the rig from gaining speed on a downhill you are using the engine. Also the trick is to shift into a lower gear before the truck starts picking up speed on the downhill. I drove a truck for around 6 years so I know a little about what I'm talking about. You are correct you use engine braking so you don't end up in one of those run away truck ramps at the bottom of the hill, if your brakes overheat they become very ineffective.
His point is that you should already be at the target speed prior to selecting a lower gear. You shouldn't be using it to slow down from say 60 to 40. If you aren't careful about this you could over-rev the engine (unlikely) or the transmission may inhibit the shift.
@@DavidPruitt you make a valid point... Regarding the speed prior to descending a hill... I was instrumental in the development of the first Gen Eaton Auto for the Diesel engines in their Truck range. America couldn't provide enough data due to the Rockies been only their only form of proving ground. We in NZ at the time had the best selection of Slow and High speed variables. Many drivers have "no eyed deer" about gear selection prior to speeding down a hill. I suspect John has covered his A$re by saying not to believe online commentators... Basically he is a Narcissist that won't tolerate anothers opinion... Note the Silence of his comments on this Vlog?.
@@jeffk464 Comparing downshifting in an automatic to a truck is where your argument falls over.
This whole discussion is aimed as the title suggest at "AUTOMATIC Transmissions" there is no comparison to a manual truck transmission. Automatics are only rarely in direct connection between engine and drivetrain so using them to transmit loads in the opposite direction to their intended purpose is going to cause damage in the long run unless you spend the not insignificant $ to upgrade your auto to "lock up" on command.
awful advice, brakes are cheap. trans is not cheap. see the difference?
This time I do not entirly agree. The transmission program is usually by default designed for the the best fuel consumption not the best for mechanical loading on the the vehicle. Lets face it modern vehicles have a design life that is far shorter than most of us would hope for. Slogging any engine at a low RPM is hard on the bearings and that still applies today. There are some situations where the tramission is on the cusp of changing down and one is better to be in the lower gear. Also the transmisison cannot see the road ahead so being in the correct gear a little early is always a good thing.
Under braking many modern transmisisons will change down themselves on a decent. However the rule of brakes always applies if you need to hold you foot on the pedal for more than about 60 seconds you should be in a lower gear and probably should be going slower. I have followed vehicles down mountain roads with the brake lights on continously smelling the smoke until they eventually crash.
Wind the clock back 25 years or more and I would say that proper manual shifting at sensible times while towing was a must.
Agreed, many automatic transmissions are not programmed to compensate for towing. They will constantly shift in and out of overdrive, causing them to overheat. This is why I still don't tow with automatic transmissions unless it is a vehicle that I don't own that is designed to tow.
@@TheYardLimit I'll challenge your life expectancy with the Alison 1000, 6 speed transmission in my tow rig. Many modern vehicles are designed with grade braking using Autos, my other vehicle, my Colorado work ute does a brilliant job of changing down gears while braking and helping to save the brakes. And holds the 2t work trailer back significantly while descending hills like Jones Road off Buderim, a notoriously steep hill that has claimed many a truck or tradie combination.
@rossatkinson3160 🤙🏾 yeah im not talking about Allisons, im sure you are fine
My 4Runner downshifts when going downhill automatically, it’s pretty smart.
My car's owner's manual recommends to use engine braking to sustain speed for prolonged downhill driving, and use the brakes when engine revs get too high or when you would otherwise go over the speed limit or safe speed for the circumstances. Choose the right gear so at the desired speed the engine doesn't over rev.
Transmissions don't break or have higher than normal wear from engine braking. The forces involved are limited and within the continuous load design limits of the transmission.
Clutches and transmissions break or wear out too quickly from too fast or too slow declutching with totally mismatched revs.
Don't trust me, go with what the manual says or talk to a gearbox design engineer or tester.
Hmmm,,,So you drive a manual,,???
Pretty sure the book doesn't say any thing about towing and using auto trans for braking,,
Torque converters are designed to run in one direction,,that why all the veins are set up,,give as much torque as fluid slippage will allow,,
Where as a clutch does have some mechanical grip to the fly wheel,,
@@ianwilliams487 What car I drive is irrelevant. Automatics have lock-up clutches.
My car's manual is for all engine and transmission types that were available.
It has a separate chapter for automatic transmissions. In the introduction it of course recommends keeping it in (D) as much as possible.
At the end there is a section called "Special circumstances", it states: "If because of the slope of the road or in corners the automatic operation can not be maintained (e.g. in the mountains), it is advised to switch to manual operation.
By doing this you prevent continuous shifting of gears by the transmission while ascending and it allows engine braking on long descents."
In the chapter "Technical data" the maximum allowed trailer mass and the maximum train mass are actually 50kg higher for automatics compared to manuals. It has a subsection "Towing a trailer (caravan, boat, etc.)", it does not mention anything you should do differently than what is advised in the previous chapters.
Somewhat relevant is the remark that "Engine power is reduced when driving higher in the mountains. We advise you to reduce the maximum total train mass by 10% for every 1000m of rise."
@@ianwilliams487 so my Alison 1000 isn't suitable? Yeah, what ever!!! Had to turn exhaust brake off going down Cunninghams Gap with 3.5t behind, as It slowed me down way too much, in fact I was going to stop if I did not accelerate. But Autos are not suitable, bahahaha.
Pads and discs are a throw away item. Gearboxes are not, how is this difficult to understand?
Brakes might be cheap, but You can still cook them them on a long, steep downhill, especially with a heavy trailer. If that happens, You find Yourself somewhere in the middle of the descent, the car is picking up speed and the brakes pretty much don't work anymore... good luck slowing down at this point using just the engine and the gearbox. Isn't it why trucks have "J-brakes" on them? The other thing is, can You please explain how exactly does engine breaking damage the gearbox? It seems to be putting it under no more load then moderate acceleration, only the forces acting on it come from the output shaft instead of the input shaft. It's the engine that (mostly) does the breaking, not the gearbox. Honest question, could even have different answers for different gearbox types... call me a nut if You want to.
Love the Ming moles. Especially the one with the sandy bum. Keep up the good work.
Spoken like a true flat lander, heavy towing down steep mountain roads will overheat brakes without assistance from a transmission held in a lower gear. Lived in a mountain resort for years and never hurt a properly serviced transmission but have seen tourist who overheated and lost their brakes. Bad advice John
This sign at the entrance to my town, it sez something about population , under that, elevation 5320 feet.
Not too far up the road is another, pop such and such elevation 8,825, after the 10,222 elevation mountain pass there is a town in a deep valley with that same sign elevation 8,750.
I love my manual transmission both descending and climbing.
My experience is that auto's are cancer climbing hills, lesser grads then those on that mountain pass and its A) 12-15 over to keep it in drive with OD locked out, or B) 15-20 under to use 2nd with reasonable rpm.
The motor that auto was attached to could pull that pass in drive if the TCU didn't go full retard.
The only good auto IMO is one that has a FULL manual mode with control of both gears and the converter(AKA one that functions exactly like a manual valve body with a switch for the converter).
Hybrid and electric cars don't have that problem because of the regen braking. I've never changed the brakepads on my hybrid.
well said Tom, the other point overlooked is the transmission is not absorbing the load the engine is, the tranny is nothing more than a tourqe transfer and tourque multiplier device. in a decent in low gear the engine is disipating energy in the form of heat from compressing air which literally goes out the exhaust exactly the loads it was built for
I'd rather go caravaning than go for a cruise on a corona virus infested ship.
The only time you see a caravan being towed at a 110kph is in an overtaking lane before reverting back to 70....
David Gayford son yeah, brother, my wife and I would murder those halfwits. We live on the north coast NSW so commuting for us is via highway and we meet these morons every 100kms and not all of them are a million years old but we have come across several cases of under 50s towing a loaded trailer pulling the same caper. My only speeding ticket was when I was 'forced' to do 120 to get past a caravan before the overtaking lane ended.
So you reckon the manufacturers recommend leaving it in D when towing ? Wrong. They recommend staying out of D and driving in 4th for example in a 5 speed auto Pajero. Leaving it in D will spin the torque converter and rapidly increase transmission fluid temperature to an unacceptable level. That will do long term harm and is to be avoided. When the car is not in it's 'overdrive' gear, the TC will remain locked which is why that is the recommended way to drive with a van attached.
People don't know how to drive. I was taught, "If you use 2nd gear to go up the hill, you use 2nd gear to go down the hill!" Thanks Dad!
@@krystal5887 In a 1950s or 60s car with a typical 3 speed manual gearbox and weak-as drum brakes, that was certainly the way to go.
Motor braking. My dad also likes it and he uses an automatic that he overwrites to achieve the desired effect.
So its generally bad? I dont like it bcs it just feels incredibly unhealthy on the car when you do
What a topic.
Ill stick with my owners manual.
It mentions engine braking, which on a long downhill stops the brakes from fading.
From sheep shagistan!
@@iamasmurf1122 What leads you to believe Royce isn't also talking about automatic transmissions?
One of these days I am going to hit you up on your website..... for that. Even though I'm not 'strailyan.
Same here. Hello from Ritardistan
@@matthewblack5656 Also #Mike Cochrane its "Strayan" Hard and harsh. No long consonants
Nah, I think I'll select the appropriate gear for the grade and load I'm pulling without revving the shit out of engine or bogging it down and forcing the transmission down the ratios with my foot mashed to the firewall.
Mostly, I agree with John. Brakes are wear items that are easy to replace. Transmissions are not. Use them first.
There are some cases where the transmission programing isn't optimal and some hunt for the right gear. It can be annoying on a grade when it is near a threshold and may keep down and up shifting. In that situation, it may be preferred by the driver to force the transmission to stop hunting and hold it to the lower gear.
Here in the North America market, we have mid-size and full-sized pickup trucks with exhaust brakes. There is no harm in using those on long grades to prevent overheating your brakes with a heavy tow. You don't need them on flat terrain usually.
Crossing the Rockies with a heavy trailer will make one appreciate exhaust braking feature in some trucks.
Towing in the states is a different game. We generally allow higher speeds and have heavier tow vehicles available to the average Joe than the EU and AUS.
well i've replaced plenty of pads and a few disks, but never worn out a gearbox. imho you don't need to try and save the gearbox by using the brakes.
@@tweake7175
Good for you. I've replaced brakes, clutches, and an automatic transmission before. My anecdotal experience is mine and it's anecdotal. So is yours. Your experience represent a data point of one person. Engineering and good practices are not formed on a single data point. You do as you choose, yet it doesn't necssarily represent best practices.
tweake PLUS new cars now have warranty lasts five years. Replacing transmission, generally, is at car maker’s cost, replacing breaks is at your cost.
The other thing here is how much load does the engine braking actually deliver? If your going downhill as fast as you went up it and engine braking is doing all the work then the load is the same. Surely the gearbox can handle that. Plus with a good trailer the trailer brakes handle the trailer load so the engine braking only has to handle the tow vehicle load.
Maybe john has got this one wrong.
@@tweake7175 good point, in the old naturally aspirated world going down a hill in the same gear as you would need to go up it was a good rule of thumb. Nowadays a 2 litre engine produces more torque than an old 4 litre engine but only an old 2 litre worth of engine braking.
Agree the gearbox will handle the engine braking. It's shock loadings that kill gear boxes.
The bottom line is whatever you are driving you shouldn't ever hold the brake pedal continuously for more than about a minute.
The user manual in my 2008 VE Commodore V6 4 speed auto recommends using Sport Mode when towing.
I do that when towing my camper trailer.
It just changes down gears sooner and holds it until the pressure is unloaded.
it feels less laboured and on a long drive it averages slightly better fuel economy.
Overtaking a B-Double is a blast and over sharpish.
Manually playing with the different gears is kinda fun with a nice sounding, efficient exhaust system.
It has better than standard brake rotors and pads so I use them going downhill when needed.
Regards, Jas.
Yes, similarly with my 2010 Ford XR6 6 speed auto. The manual recommends performance mode when towing. This uses gears 1-5 only. I am towing an Avan camper which weighs in at about 1 tonne. That said, I have ordered a Pajero Sport 4WD, which should be more suitable for towing.
For all those who have recently had a sentence in a cruise ship or confined in a flying aluminium petrie dish, Caravans Rock!
winner!
OMG just LMAO. An ad just popped up for Mercedes X-Class. Maybe Mercedes have paid UA-cam to insert their ads in your content. Now there's a conspiracy theory for you :-)
I thought they were discontinued
I cannot think of a greater waste of money than placing a merc' add in the middle of one of John's videos .
I’m not sure if Straya has extended long steep descents but downshifting to engine brake down a hill to prevent overheating the brakes is a common practice here in CA, auto or manual.
we do, lil Johnny never driven outside the city
Yep, descending down the mountain transporting telecom equipment and batteries weighing 900kg, doesn't matter how slow you go, Transporter having DSG gearbox will want to keep accelerating.
After using brakes for a while, they nearly failed and turned soft as sponge.
Only downshifting to third or second gear in manual, got me down the mountain, otherwise brakes would completely fail.
But until you experience this, you won't know what the real situation is like.
My BMW on the other hand once cruise control is set, it brakes by itself to maintain speed and down shifts if necessary as well.
Of course we do. The Adelaide Hills decent into Adelaide comes to mind. They don't put emergency run off ramps full of stones there if it is not a risk. Not running a lower gear to limit speed here is the dumbest idea ever....Brakes fade,,, what is the fall back position for over speeding if they fail here?
Give them a break John , most of the grey nomads grew up with Trimatics and powerglides .
So John, when I change my auto transmission in my ute back to 2nd to go down the Toowoomba range, which is 60km, which allows me to occasionally apply the brakes to control the speed, is wrong (the whole time giggling at the person in front of me with smoke coming from their brakes, because they haven't let off once in 3km)
I go up and down that range all the time in a truck. One time I was fully loaded and my j brakes were not working properly. Almost cooked my brakes trying to pull up. Now I just take the bypass its a little safer
@@adrianberg7676 Here is when it get's tricky, you are on a long steep downhill where you have to use the engine brakes, but the road is covered in ice and snow. Engine brakes only slow the tow vehicle's drive wheels so the weight of the trailer is pushing on the tow vehicle and can cause a jack knife. This situation always made me shit my pants.
@@jeffk464 basically a compression lock???, When you lose traction due to the ice and the Wheels lock up due to the engine compression. If you are talking "engine brakes" you are talking Exhaust braking IE Jack Brakes and not an European Retarder on the Driveshaft or such? Select first stage and drive slower expecting black Ice... But of course you know this already?
@@zeitgeist785 Sean didn't listen to that part.
Just viewed this vid and mate that's what I do down the range. Even on the new one and Cunningham's
Hmmm, interesting and I can't talk as any kind of expert, since I have only ever owned one auto (the Tojo 90 series with special spectacular front wheel failure option) but I have found that (when towing) on some hills the auto box seems to hunt around a bit for the right gear and manages to slow the vehicle to a point where it starts to struggle. Generally a bit more accelerator solves the problem but just occasionally it doesn't. In those times dropping back to 2nd is about the only option. As for 'a proper hotel', oh John your poor misguided fellow, haven't you seen the UV light tests of what lies waiting for you in 'proper hotels', yuk. Give me a caravan, motorhome or even a tent any day of the week. At least whatever unpleasant substances may lurk there belong to me and not half the population of the planet.
Nailed it; hotels are not as clean as people believe.
John, looking at some of the comments made here, maybe you should revisit travelling down long inclines using engine braking with manual and automatic transmissions. You did state very quickly that this is a different scenario to normal driving but maybe should have expanded on it a little for clarity. I sometimes have to go down a long, steep 60mph hill in my car, a little 1.2 Citroen manual, and I choose 3rd for this as it only gets to around 55 but doesn’t red line. It does sound like it’s going to break as it’s around 5500rpm but, as I said, well within the red line. I also then have brakes left at the bottom of the hill if needed - and they have been! Another great video mate, thank you.
There are a few Boeing pilots and a lot of VW owners that would say putting your trust in firmware/software is not a good idea.
But wait, we go camping to get away fr... MING MOLES! Personally we do tent camping. Our 14' cargo trailer holds all the gear for 26+ people, excluding sleeping bags. This gear includes cassette toilet, on demand hot water, inflatable raft and sometimes a go-kart. Interested in some campsite pics?
I mean sometimes... *sometimes* you just need to. There are circumstances you just cannot predict at the design/development stage. That said, don't most autos come with a 'low range' setting specifically for that sort of thing?
All automatics I've driven do and on approach to steep hills it's much smoother. My old Camry has L-2-3-4-D so just before a steep hill i would drop it back to 4th so it doesn't die in the arse half way up and smash it back to 3rd and take off like a rocket.
@@OTPulse I think the old slushies also respond well to a good stomp on the throttle as well - just briefly, enough to drop a gear or two without stressing anything.
But you're right, this sort of prior planning can be helpful in keeping it smooth. Also results in less wear when the clutches engage because the engine isn't revving its tits off when the downshift happens. Once you're at the steep bit you can but it back into normal mode and it should decide the most efficient way to deal with the hill on its own.
I was also thinking about hill descents - get into low gear early (i.e. before the downhilly bit starts) and you don't have to touch the brakes. I regularly do that in the manuals I drive, keeps the brake fade away 😉
@@elonmask50 I drive manuals.
@@233kosta I traded in the old Camry for a 2019 Corolla 6sp. Never been a fan of automatic transmissions asbo mostly drive long distance and on hilly & bendy roads. The drive is far smoother in the manual with a transmission that doesn't constantly change gears around bends.
@@OTPulse In many manuals it's possible to be silky smooth if you're willing to learn the skill. My old toyota's dodgy clutch makes it particularly easy. With an auto you're stuck with what you get and in some cases they get worse over time (apparently some BMWs' adaption systems aren't great...)
Interesting that with logging trucks they do have some trucks where you can use the gearbox, it's designed to be used in this manner. However, a friend of mine who owns several log trucks says that they still use the brakes for the reason you have laid out, expense, and evidently experience by some users has borne this out.
A fix on those gearboxes are very expensive!
@Mazowe Logging trucks have brakes? They never seem to slow when barrelling towards me on the remoter trails of southern Tassie.
Most modern autos do not hold the transmission permanently in the selected gear if manually over ridden. When driven manually my MU-X with the Aisin 6 speed auto will drop back a gear if the ascent gets steeper and more throttle is used. The main reason I will override the auto is that if left to think for itself the transmission doesn't always drop back a gear but unlocks the torque converter, staying in the higher gear, increasing the auto temperature which will accelerate wear in the auto. Manually dropping back a gear will reduce engine revs and temperature. Also, in manual mode the auto doesn't unlock the TC as often and drops back a gear instead.
My 2014 Hyundai i30 Wagon is similar, it won't permit you to select a gear higher than what it would use in 'D' under the current conditions, and will automatically change down if you decelerate.
The trans certainly isn't perfect, I find that at highway speeds on hills it tends to hold in 6th for too long before finally giving up and slamming down into 5th 3/4 of the way up the hill. The ensuing noisy RPM flare is quickly followed by an upshift back into 6th as you crest the hill :/
@@nerd1000ify yes, in manual mode the auto will change down if decelerating or sensing load but will not change up. John Cadogan is wrong in saying they hold a higher gear when in manual mode. Pull up at a set of lights and the auto will have gone back to 1st but will not go up to 2nd unless manually changed.
Well, I hope the engineers who do this full time have been getting better over the years. I used to regularly tow 1500kg of car & trailer behind a number of full sized SUVs (mostly Santa Fe), sometimes interstate. On the flat, with cruise control on in D, doing the highway speed limit and hit an incline. Watch the tacho drop as the load increases and wait for the PCM to do it's thing and drop a gear. Waiting, waiting, waiting, nothing happening, speed dropping, even resort to pushing the accelerator myself,... And then, whammo, the PCM suddenly wakes up, realises it's dropped the ball, it's 10km/h under the cruise speed set and 6th gear is no good any more, so bypasses 5th and drops the diesel into sceram-its-head-off mode at 3500-4000+ rpm in 4th gear to attempt to gain back the lost speed. Tried numerous methods to get around this like pre-accelerating myself earlier to try to prevent the vehicle losing speed, but the trans still wouldn't shift down until too late and jumped gears. Finally gave up letting it have its head and manually knock the trans into 5th at the bottom of the hill, and wouldn't ya know it, the vehicle suddenly pulls like a train at the speed limit with cruise control on at around 2500rpm, right in the meat of diesel torque territory...
That was a very intense story. Please tell me more 😛
"I used to regularly tow 1500kg of car & trailer behind a number of full sized SUVs (mostly Santa Fe)"..........
I'd hardly call a Santa Fe a tow vehicle.
Mate.... You were regularly towing 1.5 Tonne.. Why didn't you just buy a more appropriate vehicle for your application?
@@thomasskilton2696 intense but described the circumstances perfectly.
@@Maddog00427 Because he just explained that in the right gear it towed the load without issue. Which is the more intelligent decision do you think, buy a new vehicle or move a lever every now and then. Hmm that's a tough one.
I think it's because fuel economy is the priority for manufacturers not correct gear selection.
Engineers are awesome and know everything.
Example, Ford Powershift.
Yesss...
This makes me want to watch "The Long, long Trailer" with Lucy & Desi. You look lke you might have some Mertz blood in you.😃
Climbing in auto... Drop a gear keep the revs higher ... water pump keeps circulating at higher volume... if ya notice the temp gauge rising, put the heater on full... pointing to ya feet preferably if the misses is in the car with ya... Saved a few headgaskets in friends poorly maintained Vehicles.
If it has a 'sport' mode it should do something similar without need for manual input. My mum's X3 will keep the engine at or above 2000rpm rather than lowering to 1300-1500. Saves it having to downshift when the foot eventually comes down, keeps the turbski spinamathingin', more oil flow, more coolant flow... maybe (pump might be electric... is on my E90), smoother when going up hills (no downshift) and somehow gives better fuel economy. That last one I think is down to just keeping the boost pressure higher, that's what drives diesel efficiency more than anything else (that the driver controls).
That said, it's more than well maintained, so reliability isn't an issue. This is done mostly for longevity.
@@233kosta Unfortunately, SPORT modes often also increase the rpm at which the torque converter lockup engages. This is fine for actual 'sport' driving where you're on and off the throttle, but not for sustained high load as with towing, because it increases the transmission fluid temperature, which is always a bad thing.
@@TonyRule *torque converter fluid. Transmission fluid is circulated by the primary side of the torque converter which spins with the crankshaft regardless of lock up.
Under heavy towing the engine is under more load so you don't need sport mode. Any well programmed transmission should drop a gear under that condition if what you're towing is heavy enough
@@233kosta and Tony... 9 out of 10 issues with transmission breakdowns is with overheating the trans fluid... I didn't hear either of you guys discuss the Clutch packs inside over the trans... They do slip while still providing solid drive...Torque converter doesn't really have anything to do with fluid circulation when towing, whilst still in drive still in motion. Sport mode (in general) keeps the selected gear in that gear for a higher rev continuation until the PCM decides it can upshift to ensure the torque range will maintain and build on that speed... of course depending on accelerator position. SPORT MODE is different to Manual Mode... When Eaton Fuller built their Auto trans for their Diesels, They reviewed our Imput into Driving habits. Issue with Computers linked to Mechanical components is they don't have the "AI" to know what the human wants... Whatever you guys decide differently is... Don't stress First the engine when on Accents as this will then flow through o the transmission, due to lower revs requires the Clutch packs to heat up and burn out due to torque and stress put thru them...
A lot of praise for “Ming moles” in the comments. Bestiality must be common amongst your viewers, John, but I’m surprised at the size of animal they fancy. I’ll just watch the molls... 🤔
Yair - I hear you...
As a northerner & somebody with an IQ of -35. I also go camping on my motorcycle as well as with my caravan, I agree with you. Originating from the world of tractors, trucks and drum brakes, overheated drum brakes now there is some fun. I'm very aware of how exciting brake failures can be. I always use both systems & probably lean a little bit too heavily on the transmission. Modern vehicles are a lot safer than the ones I grew up with so I'll take your advice. I normally tow at 80kph on dual carriageways increasing the speed when other vehicles can't easily pass to the normal traffic speed, as you say more fuel-efficient & less strain on the engine/transmission.
When ascending the great dividing range and towing in general. I see the accelerator pedal as a heater the more a press on it the hotter things get. Driving quietly without too many revs gives the cooling system time to dissipate the heat. We'd pull 3-4 tons of fertilizer with a 30bhp tractor with no issues but at walking speed. I'll be glad when I can go back to going somewhere rather than talking about it.
After that pause, "Fucking Stupid" . . . . Me . . . .. Hit's Like video! Agree with everything you've said John. Well said.
Great rundown - I definitely agree with the braking - if you are heavy towing you should probably be at the right speed before you need to slow down for long downhills ... but ... I have always driven autos when towing very heavy loads manually - mainly to keep trans pump flowing more fluid through cooler - and have also gone easy on the uphill shifts. I reckon if you hold the gear and back off the throttle ON the shift it reduces stress on the trans, then give it the jandal again after the shift - changing under heavy throttle with a very heavy load (especially repeatedly up & down gears with modern 6 - 10 speed transmissions) would surely put the auto clutches / bands under unnecessary excessive wear & tear under load ? Read the road ahead and you don't need to be constantly stressing the trans. Or am I being too pedantic ? What are your thoughts ? ... Im in NZ so lots of loooong hills.
You have obviously never dropped into a nine percent grade. With an A train, gvw of 130,000 lbs. If you rely on brakes over gears you are a dead man. The only way to control your speed at the bottom is to control it from the top down.
Finally - offering caravaners some economic pause for thought. Don't hold your breath for an outbreak of common sense. I sold boats on Sydney Harbour for a year or five. A frequent question was - what would I buy for occasional harbour trips, new years eve etc. I always answered honestly. My workboat does the job 9 times out of 10. The money you are likely to spend - year after year - in maintenance for a yacht/cruiser would likely fund a fully catered harbour cruise complete with dancing girls (ming molls in your vocabulary) at least 4 times a year. That does not include the price of purchase. People still bought boats. They were buying a dream, same as the caravaners. There are exceptions like the true adventurer of course, but how many fit into that category.
A lot of this depends on the vehicle. My Civic's PCM has crap programming when it comes to controlling the transmission. It is slow to downshift when mashing it and it seems to avoid downshifting under load, it unlocks the torque converter instead and stays in high gear even under pretty heavy loads. I verified that this is the PCM's fault by putting lights on the shift solenoid wires, the trans shifts as soon as the PCM tells it to. Climbing a long, steep incline in high gear with an unlocked torque converter isn't good because the slipping torque converter creates a ton of heat in the transmission and wastes fuel for no reason. I am able to improve my gas mileage by several MPG by manually controlling torque converter lockup with a switch.
When I moved out of state I pulled a trailer full of my stuff through some hilly areas and when the transmission was in D it often couldn't make its mind up whether it wanted to climb in 3rd or 4th gear. It usually wanted to climb the hills in 4th gear with the torque converter unlocked but it would sometimes hunt between 3rd and 4th gear. Not only was this annoying, but it creates a lot of extra heat in the transmission, wastes fuel, and causes unnecessary wear. The solution? I left it in D3 through the hilly areas and shifted back to D when on flat ground for a while. It climbed no problem in 3rd gear and the torque converter stayed locked up pretty much the whole time. In D3 the PCM is still free to downshift to a lower gear if it sees fit, so lugging the engine isn't possible.
Newer and more sophisticated vehicles with more gears likely are better at controlling the transmission sensibly, for example I know that a lot of new vehicles lock the torque converter up as early as 2nd gear and shift through the gears with the torque converter locked and will remain locked and downshift under load. If towing with one of those vehicles the transmission temp isn't nearly as much of a concern since the torque converter won't be slipping and making heat while climbing, but if the transmission was frequently shifting back and fourth between 2 gears while driving through a hilly area I would still keep it in the lower of the 2 gears to save wear on the transmission by preventing excessive and unnecessary shifting.
One thing not mentioned is the actual age of the equipment. Back in the 70's and 80's, automatics had 3 speeds and no computer controls. Towing up a long grade in D usually resulted in a shitstorm of up and downshifts at any reasonable speed. Manually selecting 2 was actually recommended in the handbook. Computers and multispeed automatics have changed a lot of that.
and lucky to last 60,000 miles or 100,000kms. The trimatic, sorry traumatic, GM transmission is a case in point
Buy a proper tow tug and no issue, tow haul mode with engine retardation, optional use of proper engine brake, fully automatic, full integrated trailer brake control system, oh, that's right, not available in pissy LCs or lesser vehicles. In saying that, many vehicles now have engine braking built in, my current work ute has got 120k without new front pads, old ute needed them every 60k.
Always enjoy your videos John and generally agree with your conclusions, but on this one I think you are off a bit. I'm with you on not using the transmission as a substitute for the brakes, but past that it gets dicey.
My wife and I own two Jeep products with ZF9 transmissions and both our owner's manuals clearly state that we are supposed to shift these cars manually when towing heavy loads or navigating hilly terrain. Neither of our cars have a tow mode and in my experience (thousands of miles of at-rated-limit towing) you absolutely cannot let the TCM manage the shifts on its own. Not only does Jeep suck at shift programming, but the car cannot anticipate the hills and changing conditions ahead either, and when it comes to keeping transmission temp down and the shifting drama low the only way to do it in these cars is in the manual shifting mode.
As far as towing in overdrive goes, I think the engine power of your vehicle has to be a part of that decision. Physically busting an overdrive gear is relatively unheard of, its more the excess heat of letting the car shift itself in and out of overdrive repeatedly that causes towing-related failures. Plenty of large vehicles have enough power to use one of their overdrives even when towing, and that leads into my last point that many (if not most) modern automatic transmissions now have two or more overdrive gears to pick from (in the case of our ZF9s we have four (4) overdrives) and in a lot of cases the first overdrive or two is pretty manageable if you have a stout engine behind it.
One of our ZF9 Jeeps has the V6, it can manage towing at its rated limit in 6th or 7th just fine on flat ground. Our other one is the smaller four cylinder and with that one you need to stick to 5th (1:1 drive) with occasional limited use of 6th when the conditions are just right (which might include having the moon lined up in front of you to get some assist from its gravitational pull...)
I tow junk cars to the scrap yard with a 1995 Cadillac deville, it’s rated for 1000 lbs without tow package 3000 with, I use chains and have towed up to 8000 lb tucks up steep hills with that caddy, lol I always use first gear and never exceed maybe 30 and watch my temps, the engine really screams with some of the heavier cars
In regards to towing on ass-scents, you fail to mention that by the time the powertrain has figured out you need a lower gear, you've already slowed down 15-20kph... I think that's what the commenter was referring to about preserving momentum or whatever...
Notice the lack of communication from John on this one???. I'm thinking he may have realised he was over zealous on the comments... Pretty difficult to tell everyone they are wrong when towing, when there are 1000s of combinations, from loads to tow Vehicles and loads not to mention descents and the like... I'm of the opinion John may be regretting this one... After all the PCM can't Anticipate a hill can it?.
@@peterlattimore6013 They are talking about using the computer's access to GPS data to "anticipate" gear selection.
@@jeffk464 yes !
As much as l like driving automatic transmissions, l much prefer a manual gearbox for towing purposes, everytime. As for a tow vehicle, l always have a V8 under the bonnet. Presently using an ol' school 1990 Ford F150 4WD. I'm not into modern and complex vehicles.
Sounds like the transmissions you are talking about are pretty poorly engineered John. Mine, when in the "manual mode" you speak of, will still down shift if needed. And I'll never, ever tow in 5th (Top / overdrive) in my current vehicle no matter what you say. Why? BECAUSE THE FUCKING OWNERS MANUAL SAYS NOT TO. IT CLEARLY STATES TO TOW IN 4TH. NOT "D". You learn all sorts of things when you read the operators manual. More people should do it.
G'Day,John..I agree to all,,why people don't under stand transmissions are design so the engine runs the same way,,Using an auto to engine brake wants to run engine back wards,,and torque converters are not designed to run back wards,,,
Where as a manual isn't either but has a clutch ( Not Torque converter,) and you can get away with engine braking and not loading an already hot oiled converter,and now hot oil has lost it's protective ability,,
""WELL BANG,,,,""
REMEMBER A TORQUE CONVERTER IS JUST THAT,,
There is no direct drive to gear box,,or back to engine,,
not sure how you would go with a locking converter,,
but i'm sure at some stage it will go BANG,,,,
Best be paying for Road Side assistance,,with towing as part of service,
P,S,
Get a Satellite phone as well,,,
Wow, generalization much....... You have never driven an 6 speed auto Ranger where the 6R80 has no friggin idea what to do. So much for the geniuses at Ford where the car holds gears for so long under increasing load, it ends up 500revs above idle before it changes down. Ford made NO effort to optimize the gear changes for increasing load. Its almost like FORD used the same program for the tranny computer from the Mustang instead of reprogramming it for a UTE. So while you are actually correct about using Drive for towing in most cases, That assumes FORD actually have a clue....
I watch your videos regularly and enjoy your comments however I must take you to task about your comments on using the manual mode on autos when towing .Firstly when in manual mode two internal changes occur to the trans 1) the line pressure is raised and 2) extra elements are engaged ( clutches ) to work in parallel with the sprag clutches to help absorb the load .These changes are made to beef up the trans as the brainiacs as you call the designers know that if manual mode is selected the trans is working harder .An intelligent driver when approaching a hill with a heavy load could select a lower gear manually .This takes the load of the clutches as the shift takes place before the load starts to slow the vehicle thus taking the load off the clutches as the shift takes place savind wear and heat .I do agree however about your comments on towing in overdrive . TOM C.
Could not agree more. Many new and modern Autos have grade braking built in, and are more than capable of being driven in manual or select gear mode (manual mode on my Alison 1000 simply selects top gear) and this mode causes no issue at all even if the system goes into engine retardation or grade braking.
Couple of things I would just like to say OK.
John you are out of touch with caravan pricing, those aluminium shitters can cost as much as $250,000 now for a state of the art model, $100,000 gets a middle of the road unit albeit with most bells and whistles.
Secondly, caravan brake systems are not "robust" as you claim, in many cases they are archaic.
It is not uncommon to find a caravan weighing in at 3 tonnes, riding along on 10 inch drum brakes.
Why, because strangely most caravans do not have to comply with the more stringent conditions specified in ADR Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 38/02 - Trailer Brake Systems) 2005 for trailers in excess of 4.5 tonnes.
ADR38/02 only specifies that trailers/vans over 2 tonnes (the type of caravan I refer to above) must have brakes that can be operable from the driver's seat of the towing vehicle, and must have brakes operating on all wheels, that is all.
Thus manufacturers put the bare minimum braking system money can buy.
ADR38/02 specifies in great detail how heavier trailers (4.5 tonnes +) must be able to pass “Brake Effectiveness Tests”, and “Brake Fade Effectiveness tests”, but excludes trailers/vans weighing less than 4.5 tonnes, from complying with these tests.
I think most people would agree for the sake of safety, that these are common sense tests and it is highly desirable, that the caravans on Aust. roads should also be able to pass these tests.
Unfortunately most caravans would not pass these tests and experienced drivers understand this, so resort to other practices such as gearing down and using engine braking to enhance safety.
Perhaps John you would like to give a talk to the ill informed caravan towing public of the inadvisability of towing a 3 ton caravan with 10 inch drum brakes.
We used a Ford ute for towing wheelie bins full of horse manure, 12 bins on a modified car trailer. Let's say the workers couldn't give a shit for the vehicle!? Being the Sunshine Coast Turf Club speed is at a minimum but the gearbox would jump between gears so I drove in L2 with NO problems! Towing a caravan with a vehicle that suits purpose doesn't change any facts when it comes to industrial purposes. This is why it's safer for some tradies to buy a light truck rather than fucking up a new 4wd because the salesman said it tows 3.5 ton!? I like my utes to get up around the 500 000km, not 120 000km before a gearbox and clutch rebuild!?
My 09 Colorado had a special system for towing 3.5ton but I have not met anybody that's looked up their manual to find out how to activate it!? If you have to weld the towball sleeve to the towbar, then your probably not using it right!? Buy yourself a tractor instead, you might learn which gears do what!
I've just discovered I'm a Muppet and my behaviour has been "fucking stupid".
I love learning new stuff and I'm not against changing my behaviour if I'm being a Muppet.
I can actually appreciated constructive criticism without crying.
I have to remember to keep my hand off that expensive knob when I'm driving.
I like to put that transmission in lower gear quite often. And that is because fuel economy is everything for car manufacturers. Bad thing about best fuel economy it's happening at lowest possible RPM at which you can do whatever you want to do. So best fuel economy is full throttle at 1300 RPM in 6th gear climbing uphill. What a lovely situation for pistons and dual mass flywheel, they just wanna melt and snap all springs. If you put transmission in 4th or 3rd engine will stop shaking and killing pistons and clutch and use 3% more fuel at 2000-2700 RPM. Auto selection is smart most of the time but transmission doesn't see hill in front and don't know how bad it's gonna be.
I'm truck driver and these new trucks are crazy. 16 gears and approaching hill truck is in 16th. I'm like let's lower by 2 and later another 2. Truck is like I'm gonna put it back in 16th and 10 seconds later we are losing speed because transmission has choked engine to almost stall, he lower it by 2 but(transmission is built so it can only shift by 2 at once) it's too late hill has victory and now we are in neutral losing speed while transmission is thinking should we put it in 12th or 10th... Instead of climbing up at 70 km/h I'm getting 45-50km/h thanks to fuel economy to the max
Thanks for the advice on the use of the auto gearbox. Even with my low IQ, I am getting the feeling you just don't like caravans, just a feeling I would have to lift my IQ a couple of deg to really confirm it.
I'd rather use a manual for towing I got a 69 pacer been using it for towing in FNQ for 36 years 3 speed gearbox still has factory lead seal on it I tow tow cars on trailers to drags stuff the modern autos they crap my ba xr8 two trips up gillies range new and dropped it's undies doing same trip damn Ford's lol new cars and modern transmissions yuk why does old stuff do its job and new stuff can't I wonder
I have a friend who insists on driving his diesel discovery at 4000rpm to "burn off the carbon and not clogging up the DPF". Money doesn't buy you smarts. I'll put my hand up and say I didnt treat my $1000 Honda when I was 18 well, but at least I won't blow a $30k motor bouncing off the limiter.
Couldn't disagree more. Most\all ECU,tcu, what have you, are programmed for emissions,, they brainlessly go for the higher gear. How much heat is moronically created when my truck is in 4th gear coming out of a 20mph turn and just relies on the torque converter to do all the work? Manually shifting can actually prevent many unnecessary shifts and extend the life of your transmission.
Example: lifting off in traffic, not only do you get engine braking to help shed speed, you get better fuel mileage since injectors shut off on decel above 1100ish rpms.... and you'll be in the correct gear for when traffic picks up again, no brainless shifting required.
If a transmission is designed to handle the load of a fully loaded full throttle shift, do you really think downshifting a transmission (respectfully) is going to hurt it? The answer is no.
Using the transmission for retardation when towing downhill can give the brakes a break, allowing them to cool and avoid fade.
The caravan brakes should be set to operate harder than the vehicle's brakes, so the caravan does not push the tow vehicle.
BTW it is illegal to tow a caravan at more than 100km/h in Australia. The same speed limit as trucks applies when towing caravans.
Smart towing aims to sit at about 95km/h, giving time to view the scenery.
Hotels are same same boring.
what do you do when climbing a hill and the trans shifts up ; then down ; then up ; then down again? do you drive semi much? downshift with jake brakes to hold speed on down hill. if that is no good then why do they put it in the equipment and the driving schools teach how to use? and why do car/truck companies even give the option to do it? why not just drive and reverse? " Good Day" (Paul Harvey)
Unfortunately, there is a lot of "personal opinion" in this report and a lack of research and facts. Directly from the Trailer Towing section in my vehicle's Owner's Manual: "To prevent the engine from labouring when climbing hills or driving in strong headwinds etc. and to assist braking when driving down hill, manually select a suitable lower gear. Refer to the transmission section for advice on gear selection." And this: "Note: When towing heavy loads or in hilly terrain, it is recommended that Performance Automatic Mode (which essentially changes the transmission mapping to hold gears for longer and locks out 6th gear completely) is selected. This will result in cooler transmission temperatures and additional engine braking." It's probably fair to assume that the engineers who designed the engine, transmission and electronic wizardry also contributed to the content in the owner's manual ... "I think you'd agree." I would argue it pays to drive the vehicle in a proactive manner (dropping gears, increasing throttle input preemptively, maintaining speed, getting to the required gear sooner ...) rather than relying on the vehicle's electronics to respond, which will always be reactive (after losing / gaining speed) and potentially finishing slower (climbing) or faster (descending) and in a lower gear than necessary. The designers and engineers seem to agree.
well i will disagree.
you typically do not wear gearboxes out and brakes are getting increasingly expensive to replace. we have 30 year old utes that still have original gearboxes and they get pads replaced typically around every 200,000 km's and disks at 400,000km. modern utes can require pad and disk replacement at under 100,000 km's and they can be rather expensive items to replace.
plus i do notice some new auto gearboxes actually downshift when going down hill so you can cruise down the hill without using brakes. so obviously the manufacture does not think it will wear out the gearbox.
the other issue common with towing is simply lack of decent trailer brakes. crappy old drum brakes which over heat or brake system that is detuned so they don't overheat and require the tow vehicle to do a lot more braking effort.
Not manually shifting an automatic of course assumes all cars ECU's are programmed correctly, which they are not. Some, if not most cars these days are programmed to shift for optimum fuel economy not optimum gear selection for a particular load/acceleration/speed. My car is one such example and after driving nothing but manuals for 30 years it gets on my tits. It reluctantly downshifts only when it has finally accepted that 2000 RPM is too low for the hill I'm on and when it does I'm now accelerating like an idiot trying to pass someone who isn't there and have to back off on the throttle which then triggers an up shift back to 2000 RPM. I manually keep it in the right gear at the right time at expense of slightly worse fuel economy but a much more enjoyable driving experience. It's the same driving on level ground in town with it driving in the highest gear possible without lugging the engine for economy resulting in no throttle response because it has to downshift every time you need to accelerate faster than a snail.
Not convinced, my 2 L turbo Golf diesel will down shift after a tap on the brakes in sports mode to a stop, just like I could if driving a manual transmission in it. I thought it is designed to replicate a manual transmissions use especially on hilly winding inclines declines which means you are in the right gear relative to your speed at all times via the CPU ? Expensive if I am wrong just love its torque but. 08 Pacific. I avoid using the triptronic manual gear shifting on it as I figure the CPU can do it better.
Was talking to a very distressed BT 50 four wheel drive owner with a rooted transmission. He was quoted around 8 to 9 thousand buck mark to replace/repair his transmission by a couple transmission repair shops.
Never root your transmission. It won't be able to cum anywhere.
well he or she bought a Ford Ranger in drag. That's where they went wrong. Notorious for failing autos.
Autos are fairly smart, but they have limited information on which to base their gear selection decisions. They know about throttle position, engine load, and vehicle speed and that's about it. They don't have a clue about road conditions etc. Until we all have fully autonomous vehicles (which will be electric anyway, so won't have gears) autos will make mistakes, and will on occasions pick the wrong gear.
Even my ancient Mitst Pajero 3.5 s auto box had a descent button which I discovered the proper use of by “Reading the manual” The author even said, when towing or whenever that the box will decide when to turn off the over drive, select gears, all by itself. So leave the gear changing to the electronic brain ya muppet.
Do not agree on a long descent continually needing to ride the brakes, if 4th gear rather than 6th holds the speed without needing the brake I can not see that this is bad for the transmission/engine it is definitely better for comfort or do you like being (a) jerk(ed)
It really depends on the transmission. I can see an old school slushbox seeing a bit more wear on the clutches (and friction belts? Not sure what they're called) if you go down to 4th while already speeding down the hill. Not so much on a DCT or other type of automated manual, those things don't much care as long as you don't abuse them - just like your traditional manual gearbox. Only other issue I can think of is how close you have to get to redline on your engine in order to keep off the brakes. I suggest redlining a diesel is not a great idea. In that case you really would be better off just burning the brakes. They're VERY cheap compared to an engine or gearbox rebuild.
Not all gearboxes are calibrated correctly as some will downshift to a gear that makes the engine rev beyond both the max power and torque range. (Toyota, Nissan)
its a good idea to read the owners manual or the manufacture of the gearbox to understand its operation.
The ZF 8 speed can be driven as a manual all day long as long towing in the hill as the low RPM limit has been correctly set to the engines to avoid driveline backlash.
it's the best Automatic iv ever used. no overheating because it keeps the torque converter locked and will jump down 2 or 3 gears when you hit the kick down when going around bends.
much better than Toyotas scream-omatic 4 and 5 speed that would cook the oil out and onto the road
If you are driving an automatic...A - Get your L plates back out and go and get lessons on how to drive a proper fucking car. B - Go to your nearest dealer and 'upgrade' at a discount. C - Enjoy life a bit more! D - Look for other areas in your life where you get other dickheads to make decisions for you and sort that shit out!
buys an auto -> wants to switch gears manually. u wat m8? :)
The points you raise seem to be more about poor gear choice than the pros/coms of manual shifting an auto transmission specifically. Staying in a high gear and refusing to change down on a hill with a manual transmission is also stupid. As is towing 3.5t in 6th at 100km/h in a manual transmission. In a manual you would shift to maintain the engine within a power-band (you'd be an idiot to slog up a hill barely above idle or bouncing it off the rev limiter). Why is doing the same thing in an auto specifically bad? Assuming you use the manual shifting intelligently to proactively compensate for the situation as a whole (as opposed to reacting to the immediate need which is all an auto transmission can do) would you still argue it is inherently bad to manually shift an auto?
Let's assume for arguments sake we are not talking about a constant or near constant speed situation such as a motorway/highway where any change in load is going to be fairly gradual. Let's focus on windy or undulating terrain where an auto would be "hunting" as it reacts to (rather than anticipates) rapidly changing load needs. Situations where if you had a manual you would pick one gear and vary speed/revs within an acceptable band rather than repeatedly shift. I am genuinely curious if you would stand by the declaration that manually shifting is a poor substitute for the auto programming.
Have you ever covered the case when an automatic transmission car needs to be towed? Having the drive wheels spin may damage the auto transmission (clutches), because the ATF pump is driven by the engine shaft side, which is still.
You are right about not downshifting instead of braking, but you are 100 percent wrong on not locking out your overdrive when climbing hills. Your overdrive gears is clear on the other end of the gears and causes a lot of issues. If you are climbing a lot of hills while heavy towing, you should lock out your overdrive.
The manual for my 89 Laser says to select a lower gear in the auto for brake assist down long slopes.
It has very good engine braking for an automatic. The key word is assist, not use on it's own to slow down.
sure stay in a hotel with the bed bugs and sleep in everyone's body fluid , pass. much rather a tent on Straddie.
Language needs improvement, may Allah (S.W) help and guide everyone.
#OneMessageFoundation
Appreciate your towing and Ute advice.. any chance of showing the audience some male 5 star hotel hotties in your mix for those who like that kind of thing 😅
I thought this video was very interesting. It makes a big difference John when you remember to take your anti-senility pills before a video all jokes aside very interesting comments.
Is it a good idea to tow with an auto Mitsubishi pajero MK2? I have been in an auto car from the 90 towing heavy trailers but it kinda blew up but that car wasnt really designed for serious towing so I don't know.
I take it John that upon your retirement you will not be buying a caravan and conducting a "Farewell tour" of Strayla?
Modern autos will preselect a lower gear to maintain speed. No need to change gears manually.
Buy a roadranger if you want to shift gears
'All of the way to the airport', Double Thumbs Up. Caravans are for hippies and those who are asking for aggravation.
My manual states to down shift at the top of the hill to maintain a speed downhill, definitely not using tranny to slow the vehicle. I live in Colorado, I could easily burn out my brakes on a single down hill and kill us all, that costs more than a tranny. Also I monitor my transmission temps and have auxiliary cooling.
Funniest article I have read in a long time, though I dont think anyone overseas would understand a word...lol
All this assuming your vehicle is workjng perfectly. Plenty of cars have borderline senile transmissions and shift at totally idiotic times.
When you mention allowing the transmission to do its own thinking. I would agree but I would think to mention the transmission mode. Maybe having the mode in ECO mode would not be the best idea when towing ect.
transmission expensive, brake pads cheap. Burn brake pads not transmission, simple.
Truck drivers suffer the same affliction. Couple of yrs ago my Company bought some Automated Manual Transmission AMT Prime Movers. A couple of the drivers commented that you had to drive them manually as they didn't shift down readily enough. I drove one that was very close in spec to my Road Ranger equipped truck and found its shift points were exactly the same as I used in the manual. Shifting down early just puts you higher in the revs beyond the torque so you slow down faster.
Love ya work John but not all of us with caravans stay in shitty caravan parks, many of us free camp in our self contained vans by rivers and lakes and in the bush were there aren't any resorts or caravan parks and even people to be seen, but to the people who only stay in parks I can't understand why like you say
For anyone who has had brakes overheat and become useless and the risk of speeding down a long descent becomes a real fear especially if it is winding, I'd suggest not listening to the cadogan genius, and do what the signs tell you, slow and choose low gear , and use the brakes only to keep the vehicle at the speed needed to stop over revving.
I use a combination of the trans and brakes just using the trans is a dumb idea as you can blow em up
Ask any driving instructor and they'll tell you, "brakes are for slowing and gears are for going".
I tow heavy boat auto transmission are terrible overheating problems even with a trans cooler after installing a manual gearbox no more problems
He's going to say "Fucking Stupid" isn't he? Do It! Do it! YEESSS!
Because auto transmissions have manual selections just for looks and have no real life applications.
I drive a Mitsoobishit... what are those engineerz youzza been talking aboot ?
If you are towing then u should install transmission cooler.....
Hi John. Can you give an example of when it would be advisable to select gears in an automatic?
When you want to overtake, downshift.
Safer bcs it will be quicker.