You want to know how automatic overdrive works, but do you even know what automatic over drive is?

Let us start from the start!

Automatic Overdrive is a system that allows an engine to run at lower RPMs when cruising consistently at highway speeds. Such overdrive gears are a form of transmission system offering significant performance enhancements which can also result in enhancing the efficiency of your car.

Hearing all this makes you question the name, doesn’t it?

You might be thinking, how can a system that provides nothing but efficiency, be named “OVERDRIVE.”

Here, the term “Overdrive”, refers to the highest gear that you can shift to, in some Automatic Transmission vehicles. This will cause the engine to make less noise while driving better at a constant speed on a highway. Not only this, but this would also make your car be more Fuel-Efficient. As a result, the output speed of the engine would be faster than that of its input speed.

History of Overdrive

To get the maximum powers out of the cars that were first developed were minimal because they did not have a lot of gears. With time as the power of the cars evolved so did the need for gears. In the early 60s, the desire to see the maximum speed of the car was urged to such an extent that the concept of multiple gears transformed from theoretical to practicality. Later in the late 70s, the crisis of oil made it evident for the car manufacturers that cruising gear is needed to let the car be fuel-efficient. They knew that adding more gears was suitable but it was not an option that should be placed at the table. Therefore, the manufacturers concluded that overdrive is a more sophisticated option that can keep the engine running at a sensible RPM.

What makes Automatic Overdrive better than the rest of the manuals?

When seeing the word “Overdrive”, you might think that such a feature may be all about speed but that is not the focus of this feature. An automatic Overdrive System can help a car go faster, but it is mainly focused on allowing the engine to run at a lower RPM while maintaining the current cruising speed of your vehicle, as mentioned before.

When does the need for Automatic Overdrive System arise?

Although this feature is a breakthrough in providing people with comfort even while driving, therefore, it is used by the majority on a global scale. You’d thank yourself for buying a vehicle with such a system because of which you won’t have to frequently shift gears, as frequent shifting can cause the transmission to overheat and become damaged. Although such a system is your safety insurance. Although, there are some occasions where you should turn the Automatic Overdrive System off.

• When your vehicle is climbing a steep hill
• When your vehicle is carrying something extremely heavy.

In such situations, it is beneficial to be able to rev the engine a bit more and it also gets useful when you can go into lower gears if you are going down very steep hills. It is advised to turn the system off manually, as even in smart transmissions, some cars can detect the steeps but sometimes the same car owners are seen complaining about not detecting such steeps. If your automatic transmission vehicle has a manually selectable Overdrive gear, you will have to push the button whenever you need to activate the system. Once it is pressed, the transmission upshifts to the highest gear possible.

What this button would do is that it would take the strain off the engine instantly by lowering its RPM. As a result, the overdrive would allow the engine power to go right to the transmission while locking the torque converter. This will not only improve the performance of the vehicle but also save you money on fuel at the same time.

How Automatic Overdrive System Benefits you?

Although this system was made in the name of luxurious comfort. The Automatic Overdrive System has proven to be beneficial in the trips ever take in a vehicle but what makes it so beneficial for the drivers?

Overdrive units consist of an epicyclic gear, which is either hydraulically or electrically operated and that’s bolted behind the car’s transmission which makes the car ride smoothly in long drives without getting heated. In such non-stop straight rides, Overdrive can either increase the output speed of the unit or couple the driveshaft to the output shaft. This is where the ‘overdrive’ comes from relative to the input shaft. Some of the more exquisite features that make this system driver-friendly are:

• Overdrive gearing may reduce the car’s engine speed, but as a result, it would reduce wears which would save fuel.
• Want your engine to be at its peak efficiency?

Overdrive will help to keep most engines in their peak efficiency range most of the time. To keep the efficiency, it is important to know when to use an overdrive, because if it is employed at the wrong speed it can cut into the engine’s efficiency and eliminate the savings factor. Moreover, you must realize that most Auto Garage in Abu Dhabi are well prepared for the Automatic override, are you?

As beneficial it is, its use still should be minimized at lower gears. Car designers often provide high-ratio first gears, and more gears between the first and the last gear, to ensure that the engine stays at its most efficient throughout the full speed range.

Summing it all up

As we have discussed the system of Automatic Overdrive in detail, we can safely assume that how beneficial it is for the vehicle owners if they want the safety of their lives as well as of their money. A system that can help reduce the back and knee pain, which possibly arise because of the frequent shifting of the gears. All you have to do is press the Overdrive button and you will have an improved output speed than the input speed.

When we talk about the big monsters in the automotive industry, the trucks. As they are so enormously huge, driving them can get you weary sometimes. Keeping this fact in mind, manufacturers have now included a double Overdrive.