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To be quite honest I don't know, it was an
automatic and I went to what in most
cars would be DRIVE (D I thought), but I did
remember seeing 1,2,3 type slots...
It was not a stick with a clutch though. when you
say push the pedal into "kickdown"
does that mean you actually push the gas pedal
down past half way or something?
Sorry for my ignorance I am learning...thanks to
all you guys and gals here :)
> "TallGuy" <TallGuy@Myhome.com> haute in die Tasten:
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Frank
Dori A Schmetterling - 10 Oct 2004 21:33 GMT
I thought just about everyone in America (North America!) drives automatic
and knows about kick-down (hit the floor with the pedal)... How long have
you been driving?
DAS

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---
> To be quite honest I don't know, it was an
> automatic and I went to what in most
[quoted text clipped - 37 lines]
>>
>> Citro?n Xantia - Made in Trance
Frank Kemper - 10 Oct 2004 22:28 GMT
"TallGuy" <TallGuy@Myhome.com> haute in die Tasten:
> It was not a stick with a clutch though. when you
> say push the pedal into "kickdown"
> does that mean you actually push the gas pedal
> down past half way or something?
Most contemporary automatic gearboxes can detect the way you push the
acelerator pedal. If you push it only gently, the car thinks that you do
not need much power. It will shift gears early to keep te engine in lower
revs. When you push the pedal further down, the car assumes that you need
more power. During acceleration it will change gears later. If you aready
travel in high gear, but low speed, the gearbox will shift down one gear
in order to enable the car to accelerate faster. The kickdown switch is
some kind of emergency mode. On most cars you clearly can feel it when
you press the accelerator to the floor. At the end of its way, there is
one "step", after that the pedal goes down some more millimeters. Hitting
the kickdown switch means nothing else than "The driver needs the full
amount of performance this car is able to deliver, and he needs it now."
The gearbox will switch down as far as posssible (which usually means two
gears), the engine will deliver maximum power, the car will accelerate as
much as possible. Kickdown is recommended if you want to overtake a car
in fromt of you or if you urgently need to get as fast as possible, for
example when enetering a highway or so. OTOH kickdown means more wear,
more fuel consumption and more noise. My old '82 Mercedes 200 would only
use 1st gear as a starting gear for driving off the line, when you pust
the pedal to kickdown. This gave a better acceleration. When starting
usually (not with full throttle), the car would start in 2nd gear which
gave a smooth yet not very dynamic ride.
Currently I drive a BMW 325i with 4 speed automatic gearbox. This car
always uses 1st gear for start, and it is way faster than my old
Mercedes. When I drive the BMW at a speed of 100 mph and push the
accelerator to the floor, the gearbox goes into 3rd gear at once - which
gives quite a thrilling sound and enables you to get rid of tailgating
Renaults;-)
Frank

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