ok quick question and hopefully i wont get to much crap from any of you but here it goess.

have a automatic. 87

i have the overdrive button right, so when drive it i usually dont have the button puched in. i only push the button in when im on the highway and going distance . am i using it correctly? the light doesnt work i never bothered to fix it. but i figured to save gas you wanna lower the rpms so im using it correctly. please let me know .

again the overdrive button is not pushed in only when im crusing on highway.


also can there be any advantage to using the overdrive button when having a little race?

 

Overdrive basically gives you another gear. So yeah, you can only have it engaged while on the highway. Anywhere from, say 60 under, it's probably not going to go into the overdrive gear anyways.

As for racing, depends on how fast you want to go. If your're not trying to get to top speed, don't use it. The overdrive causes it to kick into a higher gear with less acceleration. Almost like shifting into 5th in a manual while racing.

 

I dont know, it doesn't work that way for the s5s. Or you (or me) was misformed on it. The button is an overRIDE for the auto shifter ( to a certain degree, push that degree and the tranny says f-you im shiftign anyway).

If on the highway you press the button, your highest gear is 3rd, NOT 4th/OD. On the highway, leave the button OFF. If you're racing (stupid idea in a auto mind you) you can use the override to roll the rpms a tad bit higher. Of course, the technical reason for it being there is so you can start off in 2nd gear in inclement weather for better traction.

Cheers

EDIT: And its technicaly a "HOLD" button. Yes, I ran out to the shop to see what my old shifter said on it :P

 

looks like there is a debate then huh? anyone else have any input.

 

The HOLD button holds the tranny in a gear until the Tranny says "I'm shifiting whether you like it or not". When in hold, and in 3rd gear, the tranny won't shift into overdrive.

S4/S5 trannies are the same except for some trivial stuff. S5s were Electronicaly controlled, S4s I beleive were pnuematicly controlled.