Is what I'm doing OK?

[19trax95]

I have a 95 with the 4.3 and 4l60e. I have recently started to drive around with the selector on "3". Reason being, is what that the way I take to school is all back roads and mostly 35-45mph speed limits. When I had it in OD it would shift in and out of 4th a lot and I didn't like that. I also know that its not good for the trans because it heats it up. So I put it in 3. Now my rpms are higher when not on the gas or when I go faster. Which makes sense, but is this higher rpms hurting my gas milage? Thanks for any input.

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[SkyHighColorado]

Yes what you are doing is fine. I do the same, pretty much only use OD on the highway or long flat roads. You are hurting mpg's very slightly but its better for the transmission. The sticker on the drivers door of my truck says to not use OD when towing or driving on steep hills or damage may occur.

 

[94Sierra4x4]

Yes, higher rpm will equal worse fuel mileage.
Up to you really.. if you don't like it dropping out of OD into 3rd all the time, keep it in 3rd. although, you should be just fine leaving it in overdrive
Mine drops into 3rd every once in a while, but I can do 30mph (50km/h) in overdrive at 1100 rpm.. doesn't drop out too often, not enough to cause me to put it in 3rd.

Edit: What SkyHigh said is about towing and on steep hills.. Steep hills, meh.. chances are your going to maybe shift into overdrive at the top and coast over the crest

 

[19trax95]

OK thats good to hear. As long as the mpg loss isnt like 3mpg+ I don't care. Thanks for the help.

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[FastOrange]

OK thats good to hear. As long as the mpg loss isnt like 3mpg+ I don't care. Thanks for the help.

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what your doing is fine, better for the trans actually.


if you are that worried about MPG, why drive a fullsize truck in the first place?

 

[19trax95]

I don't care about mpg. But I still try to get the best I can. In reality if I enjoy what I drive (I do) I could get 8mpg and still drive it. Haha.

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[SilveradoGuy85]

I don't care about mpg. But I still try to get the best I can. In reality if I enjoy what I drive (I do) I could get 8mpg and still drive it. Haha.

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Yup, I'd rather drive what I want than settle for less, well as long as I can afford it. Luckily my job is only 5 minutes from my house lol. I'm the type that would get a V8 Camaro as a "gas saver" and I'm not even joking lol.

 

[sewlow]

"Is what I'm doing OK?" Sure, but you'll get hairy palms & then your eyesight starts to go bad!

Sorry man! Lol! That's the first thing the thread title brought to mind!

Some real input. I've never used one, but I have a couple of buddies that have added electronics to manually lock up the torque converter. They say they get better mileage, & it stops the trans from hunting up & down between drive & O.D. at certain speeds & when climbing hills. Seems like a good theory, but like I said, I've not used one. Might be some members here that have some actual experience with this.

 

[southern_z71_92]

Yup, I'd rather drive what I want than settle for less, well as long as I can afford it. Luckily my job is only 5 minutes from my house lol. I'm the type that would get a V8 Camaro as a "gas saver" and I'm not even joking lol.

my z28 was a gas saver compared to my s10 blazer (10 mpg) and my z71 (under 10 mpg).

 

[Ruger_556]

I do the same thing... When you think about it though I'm not so sure it actually hurts mpg's because the engine is wayyyyyyyy out of it's power band in overdrive. You'll notice that you actually back off the throttle when you shift down to hold the same speed because it's not lugging the engine anymore.