[threshold]

Hi.

Is there any way to lock into gears in the aw4?

Like a 2nd gear lock? I am aware of the O/D off button, I was trying some hills on the weekend and it kept changing on me when it was in 2nd. If it stayed in 2nd I probably would've made it.

Also what is the difference in power and N mode? I had it in power as it changes later and holds gears. Realistically I wish I bought a manual zook I dont feel like autos have any control.

[watermouse]

P R N D 2 L, I assume (Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, 2nd, Low/1st)

plant the selector in 2 to hold no higher than 2nd.

[threshold]

Yeah mate. It still seemed to jump back to 1st when it was climbing fine in 2nd.

[jdk81]

While manuals appear to allow you more control, the autos are better and allow much finesse.

What size tyres are you running?

[threshold]

235/75/r15 I am pretty sure

[Chop]

The auto was awesome in my 03 gv , I miss having one now. Crawling, climbing, reversing were so much better than the manual I have now. Beach/dunes are prime with the auto.

[Gwagensteve]

Quote:

Is there any way to lock into gears in the aw4?

No, not to lock out a lower gear.

Quote:

it kept changing on me when it was in 2nd. If it stayed in 2nd I probably would've made it.

I'm a little confused by this. if the car is kicking down to 1st it's doing it because revs have fallen below the predetermined point kick down will occur. On lockdown, no loss of forward momentum will occur, and wheel speed should increase. Try and explain what it was that was causing the car to fail the climb - explain the context and surface - I guess I'm suggesting it might be a driving style thing and I'm trying to work out what the engine/gearbox was doing.

Quote:

Also what is the difference in power and N mode? I had it in power as it changes later and holds gears. Realistically I wish I bought a manual zook I dont feel like autos have any control

Power mode holds gears longer and kicks down quicker. (basically it keeps the engine at higher RPM where it's making more power, so the car accelerates more quickly.

There's one reason you might feel the auto is giving you less control, and that's because you're running larger than stock tyres with (I presume) standard gearing. This will make the car feel a little sketchy when descending when locked into L/1st. other than that, an auto offers far more delicate control of the torque at the wheels.

Firstly, if you leave it in D, you're going to be disappointed, so don't be afraid to drive it on the gears. Don't be afraid (and I actively encourage) left foot braking and using the accelerator to control torque production and the brakes to control speed. This isn't an easy technique to learn (it's akin to learning to modulate the clutch for hill starts etc in a manual) but once you learn to do it you're doing the one thing a manual can't do - separate speed from torque.

Don't be afraid to use the throttle and drive it hard. The engine has a rev limiter. this will prevent engine damage from overevving. Don't sweat if you bounce the limiter now and again, you won't hurt the motor. Don't be afraid to left foot brake. Don't be afraid of stalling the auto up to make it accelerate hard (hold the brakes on while bringing revs up against a gear. it will rev to around 2250rpm so it will accelerate strongly. Remember it will try to start in 1st, so give it a little more space if you're backing back to get into second before you start the climb.

There's some ideas.

I have passionately believed in the superiority of autos off-road for 20 years. I have owned manuals during that time (both as road and off-road cars) and I can drive a manual off-road just fine, but autos allow much better control and are safer.

[Gwagensteve]

Oh, to expand on the kicking down thing - if the car was kicking down and you feel that if it held 2nd it would have made the climb, just back off the throttle. The reduced load will inhibit the kick down. You can really "play" autos by being very deliberate with your throttle work, but in low range they are much "twitchier" than in high range.

Bear in mind too your car won't engage OD in low range. I dislike this, and In your position I'd unplug the low range switch from the transfer case. this will mean the 4WD-L light won't light ( the 4WD light will, just not the L) but it means you can use all forward gears in low range.

My own car is extremely (excessively) low geared and many automatic driving techniques (like left foot braking) don't work because I can't load up the auto. I've effectively turned it into a manual without a clutch, because the converter basically doesn't slip. That converter slip is your friend offroad.

[threshold]

Thanks Gwagensteve. Awesome reply. WIll try those tips.

It was climbing on a sandy chewed up hill, Was climbing well but kicked back to 1st and lost momentum.

[Chop]

Also the auto is so much kinder on the cv's which are a weak point in the gv's.

[Gwagensteve]

threshold wrote:

It was climbing on a sandy chewed up hill, Was climbing well but kicked back to 1st and lost momentum.

Ahh, ok, that makes sense.

Here's my take on what was happening.

With the car at the edge of kicking down in 2nd low, you were putting the least possible torque to the wheels to do the job. This was perfect because you were obviously at the limit of traction. When the car kicked down, torque at the wheels increased dramatically. This broke traction, reducing engine load, pushing the revs higher at which point you were denied.

Is the car a V6? these are notoriously peaky and revvy motors in my opinion. You would probably have had the same problem with a manual.

Here's the cause of your problem - once a tyre spins it looses nearly all its traction. it's only in a tiny fraction of situations where you can accelerate a spinning tyre and increase traction.
A decelerating tyre gradually gains more traction the closer to the cars ground speed it gets
high engine revs and low gears result in a lot of inertia in the driveline which makes the tyre insensitive to the terrain.

If the car is close to kicking down back waaaay out of the throttle. it might not kick down, and if it does, you'll have greatly reduced the torque and inertia at the wheels. You're trying to match wheel speed with vehicle speed, so if it kicked down at 3000rpm in second, it's probably only 4250rpm in first that's required to hold the same speed, but to match the torque at the wheels, you'll only need to be brushing the throttle.

Alternatively, pull the car back to first, get the revs right up but on a very light throttle. if you need to build momentum, give the car second and mat it. it might not use second but if load drops, it will upshift and you'll get all the wheel speed if you need it.

Autos aren't easier to drive off-road than manuals, but they're much, much more effective, you just have to learn how to use the slip in the converter to your advantage.

[vet 180]

threshold wrote:

Thanks Gwagensteve. Awesome reply. WIll try those tips.

It was climbing on a sandy chewed up hill, Was climbing well but kicked back to 1st and lost momentum.

You were in the wrong gear. You needed to be in first and bouncing of limiter and would have made it just fine.

[watermouse]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Is the car a V6? these are notoriously peaky and revvy motors in my opinion. You would probably have had the same problem with a manual.

The car is a very tidy SE416 Vitara
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50771

[vet 180]

This vid should demonstrate what I mean about wrong gear. I was bashing limiter and fighting gravity a fair bit (you can only tell by the sliding of the car as it doesn't look steep) at around the 21 second mark I thought I had enough momentum to change into second (foot still on it), but the car just bogged and I had to go back to first and nearly got stuck in the process because of the loss of momentum and sudden speed different changing back. If I made the change earlier I would have fell into the big bowel on the left (cant see in vid).




So if your trans is wanting to change you back to first you are in the wrong gear, you need to start in first build up momentum and keep rpm's up, but stay in first. Or you need more momentum to keep the rpms up in second. Even if it locked in second sounds like it would bog down and get stuck anyway like in the vid.