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Car Forum / Volvo Cars / December 2004The "W" button - is it okay to drive at highway speeds?
Hi Just got back from NorthBay... where it was snowing quite a bit, i've never had such trouble driving a car in my life... Tried the W button and it helped a bit getting things going... and I used it on the snow covered highways at speeds from 50-90kph.... When the roads turned dry I turned it off.... Even when I had to accelerate to get up hills I didn't have any fish tailing it was good... But was it okay to just leave it on? I under stand it locks the car in 3rd for starting up... felt like it went into 4th for the highway tho.... and considering it was a 3rd gear start the car (960 2.9L) didn't feel sluggish AT ALL. In an earlier contribution to this discussion, > Hi > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > felt like it went into 4th for the highway tho.... and considering it > was a 3rd gear start the car (960 2.9L) didn't feel sluggish AT ALL. I would only use it in slippery conditions. By blocking out the lower gears, it reduces the amount of tractive force available at the wheels, preventing wheel spin and loss of directional control. Under normal conditions, with W engaged, the torque converter will have to work a lot harder every time you start off from rest - generating a lot of heat and burning more fuel than you do when you use the gears for low speed acceleration.  SignatureCheers, Bonnet Lock ______ Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid. I had it on in town to get me out of parking lots and maneuver around corners, then resume down the road... On the highway I only had to stop twice (at the lights in 2 small towns... I needed the W mode as much as in North Bay at those stops, one was black ice... ABS was kicked in under light braking from 100m away doing 40-50 kph, the other was snow).... For the most part on the highway I was driving in 3rd or what felt like 4th gear.... but going up hills my RPMs were only 1300-2000 rpm.... usually the tranny would downshift -I'm glad it didn't. So basically I drove the car really easy, but had the tranny and torque converter working extra hard under certain conditions (startups and hill climbs)? > In an earlier contribution to this discussion, > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > speed > acceleration. > Hi > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > 4th for the highway tho.... and considering it was a 3rd gear start the > car (960 2.9L) didn't feel sluggish AT ALL. Once you are moving at highway speeds, the W setting makes no difference. In my experience, fish tailing doesn't happen with front wheel drives. If you also have front wheel traction control, that will help pull you up hills. And if you are going up a snowy hill at low speed, the W setting also helps. The 960 was always a rear drive car... i've had experience with this vehicle starting to slightly fish tail (well, slide its rear end to one side just a little bit, then have the limited slip diff kick in and straighten things out) while just giving the car some mild throttle inputs to accelerate while at-speed to maintain speed up hills or one flat road surfaces. Basically I was thinking to myself (I wish I was driving my Golf, I wish I was driving my Golf for about 45 mins while I got really used to operating a rear drive vehicle in snow - our 960, despite being fitted with snow tires has rarely seen action in snow... i've driven on snow with it MAYBE twice or three times... and only for a few minutes, never with ice under the roads like yesterday... we have never even tried the W button before... my dad thought it was a differential locking button) >> Hi >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > hills. And if you are going up a snowy hill at low speed, the W setting > also helps. I understand the 'W' button disengages the locking ring on the torque converter. This normally engages after a gearchange so the change is smooth, but the mechanical efficiency after is as good as a manual clutch. Without it the converter is only 80-85% efficient & torque transfer would be limited, hence it is best permanently disengaged when high torque to the wheels is not needed. As far as I'm aware there is no limitation on the gear selection when this is in use in Drive mode. The older style of auto which has manual 1-2-3 selection is intended for towing or driving up/down hills, where unplanned upshifts could be dangerous. > The 960 was always a rear drive car... i've had experience with this > vehicle starting to slightly fish tail (well, slide its rear end to one [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >> hills. And if you are going up a snowy hill at low speed, the W setting >> also helps. > I understand the 'W' button disengages the locking ring on the torque > converter. This normally engages after a gearchange so the change is [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > selection is intended for towing or driving up/down hills, where unplanned > upshifts could be dangerous. Perhaps different models / autos in the Volvo range deal with it differently - but AFAIK W(inter) mode makes it start from standing in 3rd gear. It probably does prevent lock-up in the torque converter, too - but is fundamentally for starting off in a higher gear, in order to alleviate wheelspin. > The 960 was always a rear drive car... I?m not too shure about the latest models are you ? :) Gert C Sweden (Used to be a Volvo Country). The 960 and the S/V90 were rear drive 6-cylinder cars... Nothing but. Who cares about the new ones, if we had the XC70 we want we wouldn't have this winter driving dilema ;-). >> The 960 was always a rear drive car... > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Sweden (Used to be a Volvo Country). The W state is just using the higher gear and skipping first and second. That is best at highway speeds. It is real gutless at low speeds. SignatureCheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA, USA Owned '67,'68,'71,'74,'79,'81,'87,'93,'95 & '02 Volvos. The '67,'74,'79,'87,'95 and '02 through European Delivery. http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman/volvo.html In an earlier contribution to this discussion, > The W state is just using the higher gear and skipping first and > second. That is best at highway speeds. It is real gutless at low > speeds. At highway speeds it doesn't make any difference - because it won't be using the lower gears anyway! W is good for low speed use on surfaces with poor adhesion, because it greatly reduced the risk of wheel spin. However, it *shouldn't* be used on good adhesion surfaces because it is gutless and inefficient. Using the lower gears to generate acceleration torque is far more efficient - and effective - than generating torque by excessive torque converter slip. SignatureCheers, Bonnet Lock ______ Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid. Thanks everyone who responded... seems I used it correctly, or so it would seem. Glad to hear. > In an earlier contribution to this discussion, > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > lower gears to generate acceleration torque is far more efficient - and > effective - than generating torque by excessive torque converter slip. |
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