On Wed, Nov 06, 2024 at 05:51:21AM -0600, o1bigtenor via talk wrote:
In an automatic transmission - - - who chooses when its time to shift?
In conditions like I listed on a 5 speed I would likely start in 3rd - - - its tricky but you don't want the tires to spin - - - - at all. Any spinning and you make ice and you're done - - - time for shoveling and if you've got a heavy snowfall - - - -well you may also be pushing snow across the undercarriage (a LOT more shoveling!!). If you've never driven conditions like this you likely won't find the idea possible.
(Your automatic transmission even in 3rd will start you off in 1st - - - that is the programmed function - - - maybe it won't but then that's an unusual automatic transmission!)
With the power of car engines these days, many can easily spin their tires in 3rd gear. Starting in a higher gear just means you now have the car wanting to go much faster at idle than you are going and hence you likely will spin the tires. Stuff that made sense 30 or 40 years ago in cars does not always apply today. And we usually have traction control to help out these days too. In my first car which was a manual, engine idling in 1st gear was about 10km/h. Going less than that meant slipping the clutch. In my current (and previous) car doing 1km/h is trivial, because it's a hybrid and electric motors work just fine at low speeds. Much easier to start slowly or go up steep parking garage ramps with that. Winter driving is a heck of a lot easier too. -- Len Sorensen