Why on the window sticker does it say 5 speed manual w/overdrive? What does the overdrive do?

 

overdrive that allows you to travel at high speeds at lower rpms...thus saving gas etc. if you were going 130 mph in 5th ud maybe go like 6k rpm...but in overdrive u could do it in 4k rpms. well i jus made those numbers up but a z06 vette can do 171 mph at 4250 rpms in overdrive. but in a normal gear itd be redlining

 

ok, so how do I put my 5 speed into overdrive?

 

Isn't 5th gear overdrive?

 

i know in a hyundai elantra, u just click this button on the stick..and poof, its in overdrive

 

Okay, I'll try and point this in the right direction -

In the history of the modern manual transmission (we're talking the 50's all the way up to now) multiple gears have been the thing to have. Prior to the 50s, it was not uncommon to find a car with a two-speed transmission.

During the muscle car era, three and four speed transmission setups were popular. Nearly every car built with a manual transmission came with a "four on the floor." Some trucks and family cars sported a "three on the tree," where some modern automatics are located now, on the steering column. We used to have an old Ford truck with a 3-speed on the column, I think it was a '64.

Anyway, back to the point. In the early to mid 80s, a four speed manual transmission with overdrive became popular. This began to become known as the 5-speed manual transmission. Many shift knobs sported a 1-2-3-4-OD-R pattern, arranged just like your little 5-speed. Over time, vehicle producers began calling this a 5-speed, as opposed to a 4-speed with overdrive.

My 1989 Toyota Tercel (I still have the sticker for it) was listed as having a four speed with overdrive. Your modern car, like my new Lancer, has a 5-speed with overdrive, meaning that 5th gear and overdrive are the same thing.

Although a six-speed transmission seems to be the hot new thing, Ford and Chevy still produce parts for replacing the 3-speed column mount models. Also of note is the fact that NASCAR uses 4-speed manuals in competition, although they are usually mated to new Jericho trasmissions, meaning they can avoid using a clutch.

If you have any questions about trasmission types, just drop me a line and I'll send you back a message.

Hope this clears things up.

-Goon-Kun

 

Thanks, that clears it up.

 

dang..i thought we had a button! my mommy's mountaineer has a button!

 

Some 6 spd has 2 O/D gears . . .

 

I think the SVT Focus has tinw OD gears. Hehehe...won't they be surprised when they can't pull like they thought they would. Albeit...the tranny IS from Getrag.

 

Yup, Getrag is know for their 2 O/D . . . Vette and 3K VR4 drivers have a nickname for the Getrag = "Get Trashed" tranny. They tear apart as bad as heavily modified GSX's.

 

No matter what number of speeds or gears in a transmission, one must examine the ratio of turns made between the transmission input shaft (the engine crank) and the output shaft of transmission which supplies power to the differential to tell whether a gear is "overdrive"

As an example, a transmission gear with a ratio of 1:1 means one turn of the crank gives one turn of the transmission output shaft

Any tranny gear which has a ratio of less than 1:1 is overdrive, such as .75:1 This means 3/4's of a turn on the crank gives you a full turn of the output shaft on the transmission.

In simple terms for a .75:1 gear, you get more "out" than what you put "in," hence the term overdrive.

DF

 

So on the Lancer it's not really a 5 spd WITH overdrive, is it? They're counting 5th as the OD. I drove a car with real OD a few months ago (my ex's '84 Volvo). Until then, I'd only heard legends anout this thing called overdrive.

 

Right, 5th is overdrive. I'm not sure about the gear ratio in 4th, but technically if it's less than 1:1, then 4th is overdrive as well.

The whole OD thing is just mfg labelling and marketing so that the average consumer on the lot goes "Gee, that car must be better since the window sticker says 5 speed with OVERDRIVE."

Heck, if you walked up to 9 out of 10 people in the front side of a dealership they probably have no clue what overdrive means or does inside a transmission.

DF