Switching To Neutral While Driveing An Autogear!

[riddle]

this may sound normal in a manual but what if its an auto?i mean is it okeey if once you gain a speed (say 50-60Kmph) switching it from D to N and then again to D and then again to N sequentially ?

does this harm any components of the car or gear box?iv tried googling it and i dint find what i get!

You may ask me why on EARTH IN AN AUTO,well i prefer manuals to auto's and since i own an auto i find it quite fun switching gears instead of keeping my arms on the arm rest!and iv herd that helps me in fuel too.

please educate me regarding this topic!

thanks alot in advance.

[maliths]

this may sound normal in a manual but what if its an auto?i mean is it okeey if once you gain a speed (say 50-60Kmph) switching it from D to N and then again to D and then again to N sequentially ?

does this harm any components of the car or gear box?iv tried googling it and i dint find what i get!

You may ask me why on EARTH IN AN AUTO,well i prefer manuals to auto's and since i own an auto i find it quite fun switching gears instead of keeping my arms on the arm rest!and iv herd that helps me in fuel too.

please educate me regarding this topic!

thanks alot in advance.

I very much doubt that you will do any damage changing the gear to Neutral but you will put a lot of wear on the gear linkages if you keep changing the gears all the time. I dont think this will increase the fuel economy. When you take your foot off the accelerator pedal (Auto gearbox) when driving the engine falls to idle speed so shifting to neutral doesnt really do anything.

Why not try to buy a manual gearbox vehicle rather than trying to drive an Auto like a manual.

[Bugatti]

What's your vehicle make/model... you might wanna convert it to a trip-tronic if u like chaging gears, with no clutch.. provided there is a trip-tronic variant of your car.

[heavyD]

this may sound normal in a manual but what if its an auto?i mean is it okeey if once you gain a speed (say 50-60Kmph) switching it from D to N and then again to D and then again to N sequentially ?

does this harm any components of the car or gear box?iv tried googling it and i dint find what i get!

You may ask me why on EARTH IN AN AUTO,well i prefer manuals to auto's and since i own an auto i find it quite fun switching gears instead of keeping my arms on the arm rest!and iv herd that helps me in fuel too.

please educate me regarding this topic!

thanks alot in advance.

As far as I know, it's not a problem. My car allows it to be done without pressing the knob on the gear lever. If the manufacturer designed it to be used in that way, then it shouldn't be a problem. You may wanna check your owner's manual though.

However, I don't think switching between D and N just for fun is a great idea. If this switching process does create stress on gearbox components, then you're just encouraging damage by doing it all the time.

And imo the best way get good fuel economy out of an auto is to drive it like you would drive a manual; steadily and not going crazy with the throttle all the time...

[riddle]

thanks alot everyone,its an AE110 1995 and even my car allows it to change it to N without the effort of pressing the lever while its in D.

and i did take into account your points..thanks for the valuable information.

thanks again...

[Sifaan]

this may sound normal in a manual but what if its an auto?i mean is it okeey if once you gain a speed (say 50-60Kmph) switching it from D to N and then again to D and then again to N sequentially ?

does this harm any components of the car or gear box?iv tried googling it and i dint find what i get!

You may ask me why on EARTH IN AN AUTO,well i prefer manuals to auto's and since i own an auto i find it quite fun switching gears instead of keeping my arms on the arm rest!and iv herd that helps me in fuel too.

I do this when stopped (e.g. red light) - I switch to N rather than stay in D with the brake pressed; you notice lesser vibrations in the car. You would do the same with a manual...

Both current and previous cars allowed to change from D to N and back while the car was in motion, but the manual for the new car says to NOT do it while in motion, and if by mistake we do shift to N while the car is moving, that it is essential to wait till the engine is indling before engaging D again - in a big yellow "Warning" box.

don't know what the old car manaul said - never saw it and it would've been in Jap anyway!

But this restriction may be because the new car is tiptronic...

If you must play with the gear while driving, I suggest you limit yourself to turning off overdrive and/or shift to 2 when overtaking

[jaga]

thanks alot everyone,its an AE110 1995 and even my car allows it to change it to N without the effort of pressing the lever while its in D.

and i did take into account your points..thanks for the valuable information.

thanks again...

When you change to N position at high speed, You may loose the braking efficiency.

[harshansenadhir]

As far as I know, it's not a problem. My car allows it to be done without pressing the knob on the gear lever. If the manufacturer designed it to be used in that way, then it shouldn't be a problem. You may wanna check your owner's manual though.

However, I don't think switching between D and N just for fun is a great idea. If this switching process does create stress on gearbox components, then you're just encouraging damage by doing it all the time.

And imo the best way get good fuel economy out of an auto is to drive it like you would drive a manual; steadily and not going crazy with the throttle all the time...

+1 here, every change in the gear selector operates the valve body inside the gearbox, if you say wear and tare will be high by doing it frequently, yes it does.

[harshansenadhir]

When you change to N position at high speed, You may loose the braking efficiency.

Not really, autoboxes doesn't hold lock onto final drive and engine. Torque converter transfers power from engine to gearbox and not wise versa. That's why even in 2 or 1/L there's no 'gear braking' available on autoboxes.

I do this when stopped (e.g. red light) - I switch to N rather than stay in D with the brake pressed; you notice lesser vibrations in the car. You would do the same with a manual...

this will save some juice and will extend life of torque converter, engine/gearbox mounts at the expense of two operations in valve body from D to N and wise versa. Therefore that operation and slight wear/tear can be compensated, same cannot be applied if someone does it while driving.

[SeanD]

I think I've missed something here...why would you want to do this in an automatic when the car is still moving? Anybody?

[Ripper]

I think I've missed something here...why would you want to do this in an automatic when the car is still moving? Anybody?

to save on fuel???

[harshansenadhir]

to save on fuel???

lol, that purpose will not be met for sure. Coz when you're cruising at moderate or high speeds, taking the foot away from throttle will reduce the engine RPM to idle, it's as good as going in N.

[dilku]

find it quite fun switching gears instead of keeping my arms on the arm rest!and iv herd that helps me in fuel too.

please educate me regarding this topic!

thanks alot in advance.

Should tie his left arm to the benefit of the next unfortunate buyer of this metel.

[Ripper]

lol, that purpose will not be met for sure. Coz when you're cruising at moderate or high speeds, taking the foot away from throttle will reduce the engine RPM to idle, it's as good as going in N.

maybe it worked in the GTR

[Elvis_Pil]

IMO It's dangerous to change to neutral with a manual box at 50-60, even more so in an auto box. If there is a sudden need to slow down you can end up in trouble, as the whole load of the stop will be on the breaks.

If anyone thinks its fun to muck around by 'changing' the positions in their auto-boxes, they are sadly mistaken as that it not the way they were built to be used. From experience, even in triptronic setups the wear on the box will be higher if you constantly use if for manual changes.

Of course I'm thinking standard cars with traditional setups.. case maybe different in newer sports cars..

If you like changing gears- go manual!!!

Edited August 10, 2010 by Elvis_Pil

[Pericles]

Not really, autoboxes doesn't hold lock onto final drive and engine. Torque converter transfers power from engine to gearbox and not wise versa. That's why even in 2 or 1/L there's no 'gear braking' available on autoboxes.

Some of them do. The Gen2 for example, going downhill activates engine braking. Bloody annoying coming down Kadugannawa with the gears shifting to low in automatic and the revs climbing real high to try and slow the car down.

[SeanD]

Is manual a dying breed in Sri Lanka? Walking past parked cars these days, I'm seeing mostly autos among cars imported in the last few years, and certainly no manuals in the Eurocars of the last 5 years at least.

[dilku]

Is manual a dying breed in Sri Lanka? Walking past parked cars these days, I'm seeing mostly autos among cars imported in the last few years, and certainly no manuals in the Eurocars of the last 5 years at least.

More manuals will arrive from India.

[Elvis_Pil]

OT- lots of brandnew cars still come in manual in the lower option models, quite a few Toyota smart cabs as well in manual.

Is manual a dying breed in Sri Lanka? Walking past parked cars these days, I'm seeing mostly autos among cars imported in the last few years, and certainly no manuals in the Eurocars of the last 5 years at least.

[heavyD]

If anyone thinks its fun to muck around by 'changing' the positions in their auto-boxes, they are sadly mistaken as that it not the way they were built to be used. From experience, even in triptronic setups the wear on the box will be higher if you constantly use if for manual changes.

Really? Using the manual setup on a tiptronic will wear out the components faster? But if it were designed that way... how could it be a problem?

[harshansenadhir]

Some of them do. The Gen2 for example, going downhill activates engine braking. Bloody annoying coming down Kadugannawa with the gears shifting to low in automatic and the revs climbing real high to try and slow the car down.

made me wow, that'll be one hell of a feature, provided that you can activate/de activate at your convenience.

[Elvis_Pil]

Well quite a few tiptronics are in actual fact automatic transmissions with a sorta 'driver override' which overrides the ECU program that deals with the shifts. The ECU program will usually have a method of calculating the most effecient shift charactoristics, which the Driver over-ride option may not do. Also since autobox's are belt driven- they will anyway have a shorter life and be more prone to damage from additional stresses through say higher shifting points. Its like the clutch life being made lower by certain driving habits in manual cars...

Really? Using the manual setup on a tiptronic will wear out the components faster? But if it were designed that way... how could it be a problem?

Edited August 10, 2010 by Elvis_Pil

[harshansenadhir]

Well quite a few tiptronics are in actual fact automatic transmissions with a sorta 'driver override' which overrides the ECU program that deals with the shifts. The ECU program will usually have a method of calculating the most effecient shift charactoristics, which the Driver over-ride option may not do. Also since autobox's are belt driven- they will anyway have a shorter life and be more prone to damage from additional stresses through say higher shifting points. Its like the clutch life being made lower by certain driving habits in manual cars...

To my knowledge only CVT boxes are belt driven, generic autoboxes are friction plate driven.

[VVTi]

To my knowledge only CVT boxes are belt driven, generic autoboxes are friction plate driven.

Correct... also not sure where I read it, but changing to N while car is moving, increase the pressure in the valve body suddenly as gear speeds and engine speeds are mismatched. Not sure how it works exactly, but its big NO NO on a regular basis.

[Elvis_Pil]

Different Car makers have different methods of doing things.. yes you get the plate driven, then you also get the belt driven as in gearshifts activated by the pressurizing or de-pressurizing of a belt... but I guess you cant generalize.

Anyway I'm not sure about this- but are not most tiptronics we have on the roads CVT? I know the Nissan and Honda examples are.