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Towing with an auto

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Old Nov 22nd, 2006, 17:52   #1
Madleee
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Default Towing with an auto

What mode do you use your 'box in?

I had a 2 litre Renault Savanna that would hunt in ecomony mode.

Does the snow mode help in pulling off from damp pitches?
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Old Nov 22nd, 2006, 18:01   #2
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Hi,

Once you get to about 55 or so then you may start hunting between gears so on an auto box with "Sports" and "Economy" you may be better in sports .
But it will also depend on the sort of road you are driving.

The alternative is to lock down to 3rd and you get no more hunting.

As for setting "Winter" mode to start off in dire conditions, again, it may help, but then on a level pitch, and setting to drive or 3 and touching the accelerator lightly and then removing your foot will also work as the car will pull itself along and hopefully tug your load along with it.

Matter of trial and error, but do have wadding with you to place under wheels that slip JIC.

And don't park on an overly muddy patch..

Des. . .
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Old Dec 20th, 2006, 21:28   #3
vanbeck1
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A lot depends on the fuel type as diesels tend to have more torque at lower revs. This means they usually can achieve top gear with a van on the back and maintain it at normal road speeds of 50-60 mph. A petrol vehicle tends to produce torque at higher revs and so can struggle to get going in top gear at these speeds. Dropping a gear does resolve the probelm, however, it can drastically reduce your mpg figures. I usually find that on A roads I have to drop a gear but on motorways once I get to about 58 mph I can sustain top gear without too much problem hills excepted. The other thing I do notice is that although changes between 5 and 4 are noticeable, on A roads the closeness of the gears means that changes between 4 and 3 can often occur quite a lot as well. Is this causing trouble to the auto transmission? I don't know. So far I have seen no adverse effects but I suppose only time will tell. I have done a lot of towing in the Med where temps did reach the high 30's and even more, so the auto box was definitely getting warm. No discolouration of the fluid so far tho'.
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Old Dec 20th, 2006, 21:41   #4
Alec Dawe
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I towed for a couple of years with a Citroen (lemon) C5 2.2diesel auto, with no problems at all.
It would run happily up to 60 on dual carriageways and motorways, and sit in 'top' on the auto box for mile after mile (it had cruise control as well) without hunting. Going up Shap and Beattock I set the cruise to about 55mph and the box was quite happy, occasionally dropping one gear on the twistier bits of beattock.
I tried the 'sport' mode on a couple of times, but was less happier in that because its wanted higher revs to change 'up' so was much more difficult to get into 'top' and much more likely to drop down from it at the slightest provocation.
Snow/winter mode I found very good for getting off grotty muddy pitches, especially after the torrential rain on the holiday wer had in Scotland.
The auto box was fine in normal mode towing all over Scotland, the only 'moments' I had were towing along the road that goes along the shores of Loch Lomond (is that the A9?) but that was a factor of the horrid narrowness of the road, and complete disregard of everyone else on the road of the never ending stream of Sheerings and Wallace Arnold tour busses, and nothing to do with the gearbox, in fact I suspect that it was the autobox thay kept me going, threading between the coaches and the rocks, able to concentrate totally on the road, and not worry about gearchanging as well!!
I do have to say that diesel is much my preferred option for towing, the lower rev range of torque, and higher 'actual' torque make towing much more relaxing with both auto or manual boxes
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Old Jan 15th, 2007, 14:37   #5
shaheed malik
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locking the gears uses more fuel but better for stops auto box overheating due to hunting gears
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