Re: Auto Xmissions & Winter Driving

["Gary Derian" <gderian@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would at least request a clarification from Dr. Gridlock.  The only reason
to hold an automatic in a lower gear is to prevent an untimely up or down
shift.  The change in torque with a shift is a greater problem than the
overall greater torque available in the lower gear.

Gary Derian <gderian@domain.elided>


>         This is, strictly speaking, not a BMW-specific question, but some
> may feel it worthwhile nonethelese.
>
>          It is about about automatic transmissions and winter driving.
>
>         I have never owned a car with an automatic transmission, so I am
> not absolutely sure of this but...I always thought that if you put an
> automatic transmission into  "L", "1",  or "2", that this provided
> increased torque to the driving wheels and was a poor choice for driving
in
> the snow and/or for getting your car moving if you were stuck in snow.  Am
> I wrong?
>
>         I ask because a recent letter from a reader published in a
> Washington Post column called "Dr. Gridlock" advised that the best way to
> do this was to use the lower gears.
>
>         I know that with a standard transmission you would want to put it
> in a higher gear (lower torque) and gently let the clutch out, hoping that
> with the reduced torque you would get forward movement rather than a
> spinning of the wheels.
>
>         If I am correct, I want to write Dr. Gridlock and tell him what's
> what so that there won't be countless drivers who, after reading that
> column, will incorrectly think this is the best way to get a car with an
> automatic transmission moving under these conditions when it is not.
>
>         Many thanks,
>         Bob G.
>
>
>

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