Told to drive in 'Power' mode?

[jixel 78]

All LE BTR autos run in overdrive in power and economy. The reason the suggestions are made to use power mode after a trans service is to try and protect the lock up clutch in the converter,because time and again the converter is the first clutch to fail. They still go into lock up, but at a higher speed.When the converter goes in to lockup(usually 85-90 kms)it is in effect closing the converter which is direct drive through the box to the diff with no slip.At this point,the BTR shows up one of its flaws,which is the weak point in the converter clutch.It gets more load in economy because it comes in at a lower road speed than it would in power mode, causing heat.He probably said these things to you because experience told him the oil that came out of it was very contaminated and after servicing and driving it he would have thought `this box is pretty loose,its probbly going to fall over soon, and I`ve just serviced it,so hes probably goin to blame me. Better tell him to be gentle on it`Sorry for the drawn out post. Been with Ford for 20 years. Seen heaps of it.

[39ClevoUte]

I have never had one change into overdrive if in power mode???

[xtremerus]

Originally Posted by 54Ghia

I have never had one change into overdrive if in power mode???

Go a lot faster and see.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by 54Ghia

Most BTRs work as a 3 speed auto in power mode, just like the good old days of C4s and FMXs. In Econ they are capable of selecting (4th) odrive and then susbiquently lock up (which under certain circumstances in some models will maintain on a downshift to third). Using a range of inputs the box will drop out of lockup and or 4th as load increases. They are usually pretty smart and don't hunt. If you find the box hunting select power mode or a prefered gear. Thats my experience. Some one asked what lock up is... it is a clutch that operates to dirrectly join the gearbox input to the crankshaft, thereby eliminating all slip by the torque convertor and saving fuel (usually).

BA onwards, once the shifter is moved over to performance mode, lock out 4th gear. All models prior to that didn't lock out 4th when in power/normal mode. They still functioned the same in that regard in either economy or power/normal by using 4th and the lock up.

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by 54Ghia

I have never had one change into overdrive if in power mode???

In a BA and upwards, Performance Mode gives you 1, 2 and 3. You do not get Overdrive.

In an EAII to AUIII, Normal Mode (Called Power Mode in EAII to ED), you get all gears. My EF in Power Mode won't lock 4th until about 85, but you do get 4th.

[39ClevoUte]

Sorry if I miss informed. My experience was a BA m1 and M2 XR6, a Mk1 V8 Ghia and a Territory. However I have a hot rod with a Clevo running a V8 au BTR and a NA TCM unit and the V8 TCM control unit does not seem to select 4th with the power mode on. However it does not drop out of fourth when power mode is selected while cruising. Oncve the vehicle is pulled up and started again 4th does not seem to be selected. Maybe the V8 early TCMs where like the BAs???? Interested if anyone has similar experience.

[Bossxr8]

I've owned EB, ED, EL, NL, 2 BA's and an SX Territory and the only ones that locked out 4th were BA and SX.

All of them V8's except the Territory.

[Paxton]

Deleted.

[39ClevoUte]

Ok I'll take it for another spin and see what happens.

[jixel 78]

BA locks out the Lock up(in effect a 5th gear if you like) in performance. You will still get 4th gear,but the converter is open.You can select 4th in tiptron it will display it on the cluster in manual mode for Falcon/Terri. Sorry I thought we were talking E series.E series and AU will get lock up in power,at a higher road speed. Amazing the garden path we walk up.LE BTRs are a little diferent in B series on, they have a different strategy with the tip shift.Anyhoo, be gentle on it if you`ve had a fluid change after neglect,the converter is the weak link.Once the oil is black, most of the time its pritty much over.

[RAPID_BA]

i think the mechanic is right.. not for fuel economy but for wear..

In power mode, my box doesnt change up into 4th until your off the throttle so lockup and load is not there when changing.

In economy mode it changes up under load putting more stress on the box as your cruising through.. might change at a lower rpm but under load.

[Professor Farnsworth]

ok well you can take a mechanic's word over logic if you like, but it's certainly not a theory i subscribe to.

I very rarely ever put any of my transmissions, BA/BF/EL/AU/NC/ED/EB into power mode as it's not necessary. In my opinion you'd do more overall wear to the engine and driveline if you did.

My EL has 280,000KM with the original transmission, 200,000KM of that being Nepean HWY stop start yuppy-area daily driving with the previous owner. My AU has 253,000KM on the original transmission also.

Ask how many taxi drivers use power mode? lol It may increase the fun factor of driving, but i see absolutely no reason why it would improve the longevity of the components, quite the opposite in fact.

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by Professor Farnsworth

Ask how many taxi drivers use power mode? lol

Yeah thats right. none.

back in the EL days we used to do some trials with different cars. Power or Econ made little difference when it came to box longevity, the main issue with power mode is greater fuel use.

What we did find though, is keeping the box in 3rd around town was beneficial. When maintaining roughly 60kmh, often your trans will be doing 3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4 all in the space of a kilometre or three. So we used to tell the drivers to keep the box in 3rd unless you're in a 70 or greater zone, which for a cab, is only about 5% of the time. Box longevity increased by about 15%.

[bigsta]

Are you guys talking about the 4 speed mainly?

in manual select in the ZF you can select 4th, i was under the impression that if you just leave it in performance mode it only locks out overdrive (6th) as well as increasing the shift points and being funner to drive

Im thinking this uses more fuel and are not sure really which way is better but to me reving more seems like it would put more strain on all components but than again it is worse if its too high a gear for the sitch.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Yeah thats right. none.

back in the EL days we used to do some trials with different cars. Power or Econ made little difference when it came to box longevity, the main issue with power mode is greater fuel use.

What we did find though, is keeping the box in 3rd around town was beneficial. When maintaining roughly 60kmh, often your trans will be doing 3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4 all in the space of a kilometre or three. So we used to tell the drivers to keep the box in 3rd unless you're in a 70 or greater zone, which for a cab, is only about 5% of the time. Box longevity increased by about 15%.

I'm confused. Wouldn't keeping it in '3' cause it to go from 2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3 instead of between three and four? That's my experience anyway. If I drop it back to '3', it just constantly switches between 2nd and 3rd gear which I find really annoying, at 60 km/hr. Press the accelerator a bit and it will change up to third, then let go and it will go straight back in to second. In economy mode my EL won't go into overdrive until around 80 km/hr, it will putter around in third between 60 and 80 normally, which is perfectly fine, and then as soon as you pass that 80 mark it slurs into overdrive. In power mode it won't do that till around 90 km/hr.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by jixel 78

All LE BTR autos run in overdrive in power and economy. The reason the suggestions are made to use power mode after a trans service is to try and protect the lock up clutch in the converter,because time and again the converter is the first clutch to fail. They still go into lock up, but at a higher speed.When the converter goes in to lockup(usually 85-90 kms)it is in effect closing the converter which is direct drive through the box to the diff with no slip.At this point,the BTR shows up one of its flaws,which is the weak point in the converter clutch.It gets more load in economy because it comes in at a lower road speed than it would in power mode, causing heat.He probably said these things to you because experience told him the oil that came out of it was very contaminated and after servicing and driving it he would have thought `this box is pretty loose,its probbly going to fall over soon, and I`ve just serviced it,so hes probably goin to blame me. Better tell him to be gentle on it`Sorry for the drawn out post. Been with Ford for 20 years. Seen heaps of it.

I second your thoughts.

[Brazen]

Yes, its been commonly said for years that the Falcon 4 speed should be driven in power mode, it keeps the torque converter out of lockup mode during normal driving which saves wear and tear on the torque converter clutch.

Funny hearing people question the wisdom of a transmission mechanic who probably spends 8 to 10 hours a day around transmissions.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

What we did find though, is keeping the box in 3rd around town was beneficial. When maintaining roughly 60kmh, often your trans will be doing 3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4 all in the space of a kilometre or three. So we used to tell the drivers to keep the box in 3rd unless you're in a 70 or greater zone, which for a cab, is only about 5% of the time. Box longevity increased by about 15%.

I remember getting a brand new company car EB Falcon 4 speed auto and the dealer told me to drive in 3rd to prolong transmission life, funny being told that on a brand new car! Weve come a long way.

[jixel 78]

Originally Posted by Professor Farnsworth

ok well you can take a mechanic's word over logic if you like, but it's certainly not a theory i subscribe to.

I very rarely ever put any of my transmissions, BA/BF/EL/AU/NC/ED/EB into power mode as it's not necessary. In my opinion you'd do more overall wear to the engine and driveline if you did.

My EL has 280,000KM with the original transmission, 200,000KM of that being Nepean HWY stop start yuppy-area daily driving with the previous owner. My AU has 253,000KM on the original transmission also.

Ask how many taxi drivers use power mode? lol It may increase the fun factor of driving, but i see absolutely no reason why it would improve the longevity of the components, quite the opposite in fact.

LOL indeed.

[39ClevoUte]

I have a AU BTR with V8 TCM from windsor 5Ltr fairlane, the lock up only seems to occur on down hills or very low load flat runs, it drops out almost instantly if you apply any throttle over cruise. To me this would indicate very low chance of damaging the clutch.

[Racecraft]

to throw a curly one into the works... my BTR guy told me many moons ago...POWER mode was the go... it built up line pressure to the solenoids and saved the friction bands....

[Professor Farnsworth]

Originally Posted by Racecraft

to throw a curly one into the works... my BTR guy told me many moons ago...POWER mode was the go... it built up line pressure to the solenoids and saved the friction bands....

well one of my cars is 14 and the other 11, still waiting for any issues lol

[Racecraft]

Originally Posted by Professor Farnsworth

well one of my cars is 14 and the other 11, still waiting for any issues lol

not too take the pi$$ but have you had them for 14 and 11 years.....

I can remember the good old days where I'd drop a tang off the convertor or slip the gears and blacken the oil after two shifts of work....
Me = minus $2500

I am not saying he was right, but he built my g/boxes and whatever he said was good enough for me...

If he told me to hold the damn thing in first I would of... THe engine could throw a rod @ 6k but an engine at 1/5th of the price of a reco 4 speeder I still would of done it .....

[Professor Farnsworth]

lol fair enough

no i haven't owned them for that time but the EL was a one owner before me and i did a lot of digging on both of the cars, previous owners said the transmission was never changed. Don't see why they'd lie about that.

[bmorris]

I know people are talking about causing less wear and tear on the gearbox but what about the engine. Being in performance mode in a BF/BA 4 speeder will cause the engine to rev higher, which will cause more wear and tear.

I like to think from BA onwards the automatics are smart enough to work out where they need to be most of the time (well my 4 speed in my BF does).

[Sturmer]

From the BF II Owner's Manual:


PERFORMANCE AUTOMATIC MODE

When the gear selector is moved to the left, the transmission is in Performance Automatic Mode. The transmission will automatically select the appropriate gear for spirited driving. PEF will be displayed on the instrument cluster for 5 seconds (on some models PEF will be constantly illuminated). At normal highway speeds, the selection of this mode will choose third gear. The transmission wii automatically shift to fourth gear only at speeds above 150kmh.

I own a BFII Egas Ute with the BTR 4 speed. I find the selection of PEF suits hilly terrain and around town driving. I thought it locked out the fourth gear, but on reading the above (and not exceeding the speed limit) I understand why it never selected fourth gear on me. PEF stops the car from accelerating as much downhill and hunting on uphills.

It's really hard to tell that the gearbox locks out fourth gear in PEF, as the shifts are so smooth that it is almost impossible to tell when it shifts unless you are constantly watching the tachometer. it almost feels like the shift points are moved in PEF.

[jpd80]

The EB V8 prefers power mode in city driving and click into economy when cruising above 80

[94_ef]

BA and pretty much always drive in economy. If I'm hitting a large hill I usually just flick it into power then straight back to economy. This makes it shift down. It stays down until you reach the top. Use it to overtake too.

[XR Martin]

Power mode in my EL XR8 was stupid, it just held onto the gears way too long.
It was much nicer to drive in econ mode.

[94_ef]

Just to add but what would a factory of engineers know? I bet your mechanic could design a better car than them /s