D4 vs. D3

[sporkHSP]

has anyone noticed an acceleration difference between D4 and D3... because i was in D3 today and it seemed to accelerate pretty nicely...i normally dont drive in D3, so it was wierd to be in it and accelerating well... but maybe its just one of those good days for my car.

[PsychoPaul]

what about gas consumtion? is there a difference?

[lightbulblxi]

i dont kno shit bout autos, but i believe d3 is a lower gear than d4, so it would explain the

[sporkHSP]

i usually shift into D4 on the fly when i catch myself in D3, but D3 keeps reving in 3rd after you max. D4 keeps shifting around... D4 eats gas if you keep droppin gears and making it rev higher

[lightbulblxi]

shit, i hit enter, ne way, that would explain the quiker acceleration, and if i am rite then u would get worse gass milage cuz its revving high to get to the same speed as d4.

[sporkHSP]

i dont care about gas most of the time, i drive alot but i have money usually... and there is always "gas money friday" for the carpool to school

[blazin3gen]

really huh interesting guys

[k-roy]

what the hell is D3 and D4?

[lightbulblxi]

they are 2 of the thingies for autos

[dXsquared]

D3 is third gear.. your car will rev faster cuz the gear ratio is lower... it will eat more gas, but if you keep it under 3000 when cruising and just go above 3000 everyone and a while for a little burst, it wont be tooo bad...

anytime your goin over 50, shift to D4

Travis

[MattsAccord]

what the hell is D3 and D4?
That was what I was thinking. D3, D4? :flip:

[blazin3gen]

damn i took the car for a spin and god damn the acceleration in D3 is awesome :D

[MattsAccord]

I don't know how some of you guys do it. Driving a car that you don't shift, I would get bored driving around.

[blazin3gen]

I don't know how some of you guys do it. Driving a car that you don't shift, I would get bored driving around.

haha its awesome see i got a 5spd accord and a Auto accord 2 3rd gens but i would much rather drive the auto for somereason even though i have one hella of a time driving the stick, dunno i feel safer i guess :cool2:

[MattsAccord]

haha its awesome see i got a 5spd accord and a Auto accord 2 3rd gens but i would much rather drive the auto for somereason even though i have one hella of a time driving the stick, dunno i feel safer i guess :cool2:
That wierd I guess it is just what you are use to driving. I feel safer driving a stick but probley because that is what I drive everyday. :cheers:

P.S.- Are you going to the meet?

[sporkHSP]

...so is the consensus that it is possible? because is scared the crap out of me to be able to accelerate at a decent rate... i drive an auto because thats what the car happens to be, and since my parents bought it, im not really complaining... but the next car will be a manual for sure, even if i have to make it one.
One more question, is it bad for the tranny at all to shift between D3 and D4 while driving...?

[blazin3gen]

That wierd I guess it is just what you are use to driving. I feel safer driving a stick but probley because that is what I drive everyday. :cheers:

P.S.- Are you going to the meet?

i want to but i cant promise anythin :)

[MIK3]

Yeah. Anytime I need quicker acceleration or need to pass someone because they are being stupid, I shift it down to D3 so that it gets in high revs, and I am able to pick up better. It get's off the line quicker as well in D3 because you only have 3 gears to work with, so the ratio differ, using up more gas, and producing more of a jolt off the line and through 3rd. You should shift into D4 only if you're at about 4500rpm in D3. For normal driving, I keep in D4 for less gas consumption.

It's like our own little overdrive persay...

[lightbulblxi]

yea, autos are boring, its like ur not in control of the car, its in control of u, shifting whenever it wants to, pshh, fuck that

[MIK3]

Not really. We have control of when we shift, on every gear accept 1st man. Haha. But you are right, no where near as fun as a manual transmission

[dXsquared]

hmm.. its not overdrive.. its like under drive... actually, D3 is just DRIVE.. D4 is overdrive.. over drive has less exceleration cuz the final gear ratiop is super high... this makes the car spin LOW rpms on the highway, have almost NO acceleration and consume very littel gas...

if you stomp on the gas, it will automatically detent or downshift into 3rd or even 2nd depending on how fast you are going

Travis

[Cyric_accord]

i usually shift into D4 on the fly when i catch myself in D3, but D3 keeps reving in 3rd after you max. D4 keeps shifting around... D4 eats gas if you keep droppin gears and making it rev higher

Well, you also have the torque Lock converter in d4.... it'll lower your rpms but you can't really accelerate with it engaged, thus it feels like it downshifts alot when you need to speed up

['A20A3']

Maybe it's just me, but when I'm in D4, at about 50, the car seems to "sit back", not really solidly shift into a overdrive. It's like a 5th gear or whatever, or maybe I'm just crazy. I'm not sure...you guys tell me...

[dXsquared]

if the auto cars had a lockup converter, you would feel it.. you would be goin 50 at 2400 rpm or whatever, athen it would drop to like 2100

Travis

[k-roy]

Maybe it's just me, but when I'm in D4, at about 50, the car seems to "sit back", not really solidly shift into a overdrive. It's like a 5th gear or whatever, or maybe I'm just crazy. I'm not sure...you guys tell me...

D4 is overdrive, automatics have 3 foreward gears plus a overdrive (economy) gear.
The reason it "sits back" at 50 is because your car is in overdrive at about the lowest rpm possible. The higher the rpm the more power in our cars.

Keeping it in D3 prevents overdrive from being used, so your rpms stay higher and you have more power at your disposal.

['A20A3']

It's wierd though, because if I shift it from D3, into D4, it shifts into 4th, and then it "sits back", making it seem like it's a 5-speed automatic.

[Dustin Imports]

Ive never used d4. it wont work. D3 is nice tho...redlines everytime, chirpin into second.

[Cyric_accord]

It's wierd though, because if I shift it from D3, into D4, it shifts into 4th, and then it "sits back", making it seem like it's a 5-speed automatic.

That's the Torque Lock Converter. It engages and feels like you shifted into a 5th gear. If you read the owner manual, it has a section on it... stupid converter always engages when I don't want it to, gimme a manual tranny!

['A20A3']

Ahhh yes...the Torque Lock Converter...do all the 3G Automatics have them, or is mine 'special'?

[Mike89Accordcom]

If I'm going to race, I always start in D3, in either of my cars....

['A20A3']

I do too Mike, but it's kind of pointless to do that because when you think about it, your car doesn't start out in 4th gear, so if you mash it from the get go the car isn't gonna shift to 4th until you're going real fast, so it's pretty much a waste of time, other than the fact that you get to shift your Auto like it's a Manual, but hey, it's always fun to pretend.:D

[dXsquared]

when i race the cavi, i start in 1, shift to 2 by myself and then to 3 by myself...

i do 85 km/h in 1st, 130 in 2nd and i havent got to top it out yet...

anyway... auto's suck and i will never buy one (the cavi is my dads)

Travis

[HondaBoy]

i know when i drove in the steepish mountains in West Virginia in my 02 accord, i used the D3 posistion for going down hill instead of useing brakes all the time. and infact it says to use D3 for going down steep grades.

['A20A3']

It keeps your brakes from overheating, not to mention over wearing them as well.

[Not like a rock]

every day when I drive to school, I have to go up a mega steep hill, because UNBC is on a mega steep hill. This is where all the university kids race... up the hill to get a good parking spot at the top.

So, I always keep it in D3 unitl I hit 4k to 4200 rpm. I noticed that it seems to really pull between 3600 rpm and 4000 rpm. Is this normal for the auto? And is it harmful to be doin' this all the time? (I'm doing the 5spd swap in April, so I don't really car about the auto tranny anyway).

[TINBOAT]

....acceleration off the line will not differ at all if you have the shifter in D3 or D4, Honda reccomends using D3 for city driving because it prohibits the transmission from shifting back and forth from 3rd gear (direct drive), to 4th (overdrive)..which is hard on the transmission, and fuel economy....we all know how sluggish the cars are when cruising at 45mph in D4..that is why, when you pull the shifter from 'park' to reverse, you dont need to hold the lockout button to pull it into drive gear...which ends up in D3, as it was intended.

I hope now that all are enlightened.

[dXsquared]

that guy is right ^

when ever i get into a 4 speed auto honda at work, slam the shifter back it goes into D3! i was like WTF? then the next car comes in, same shit... so i researched... yup.. its done on purpose...

anyway, D3 is best for cruising around town if you like to blast from 40 mph to like 50 and back down

Travis

[87AccordsterLx]

Leaving the car in D3 does not change the gear ratios... it just doesn’t allow the car to shift into 4th. I take full use out of D4, D3, and 2. It is safe to put the car into 2nd gear as long as you aren’t forcing it in at too high a speed... you can safely put the car into 2nd gear if you are under 45mph or if the car is currently in 2nd... 2nd gear is safe up to 60mph which is about 5800-6000 rpms.

There won't be any more power in 3rd gear if it is D3 then it would be shifting through 3rd in D4. Does that make sense? The only difference is that you can prevent it from shifting to a higher gear thus you take advantage of a higher rpm. Just try putting your car in 2nd and accelerating to about 45mph... then sit there for a second at 45... then hit it and check out how much power you have getting it up to 6000rpms... Just remember to shift into D3 or D4 so the car can rev down. :)

[sporkHSP]

can you shift back to D3 from D4 while driving... does the shifting around wear on the transmission faster?

[dXsquared]

no wear at all.. infact its meant to do that... lots of people downshift there autos when they race.. its funner that way

Travis

[sporkHSP]

...so its cool if i shift back to D3 while im going? i assume that its cool as long as im not in my overdrive gear...

[dXsquared]

you can be going as fast as you want.. it wont downshift till your under the speed it can handle... you can drive down the road at 40, shift to 2nd and it wont go there unless its safe to...

Travis

[BITESIZE]

Say bye bye to your tranny if you keep driving in D3 like a bat out of hell.

[dXsquared]

thats not true man... the tranny can handle that.. its smooth.. the only way to break the tranny is to shock it... or spin one tire on ice at like 100MPH... the tranny will be fine...

Travis

[BITESIZE]

Nah, those automatic tranny's are fragile.

[dXsquared]

and your not stressin it in D3.. its just another gear!

Travis

[BITESIZE]

that 3rd gear is spinning pretty damn fast at 95 mph at 6500 rpms.

[crwa]

Really wouldn't the only way to mess up an auto. tranny be to do neutral drops??? It seems like as long as your not over reving and the shifting occurs automatically holding gears and down shifting wouldn't cause any problems, just as long as you don't down shift from d4 to 2 doing like 110, but then more then the tranny will go... But I will max each gear and sometimes drop from d4 to d3 goin between 70 and 80 and its been fine...

[dXsquared]

thats true man... too much load, a shock, or too much HP causing a mad shock when launching...

Travis