Overdrive on or off in the rain?

Factual Questions
1

I have a small pickup truck and, others have told me to be sure to turn overdrive off when it is raining for better traction, now here is my question which gives better traction plain old drive (D) or overdrive, seems that drive would be more prone to cause the wheels to spin to me, or am i wrong, please help its the rainy season here in KY, and my truck is already light in the rear with no tailgate.

2

All overdrive is for is better fuel mileage. Your transmission should only select it when cruising at a constand speed, i.e. not accelerating. The best thing for rain traction is a good set of tires and careful driving.

3

I just purchased a new pickup (Dodge Ram) and this is what the Owner’s Manual says about turning off the overdrive.

It has nothing to do with traction.

4

Overdrive will cause your engine to run more slowly at a given speed. Usually, that will offer less torque (and better fuel mileage) for that speed than if you weren’t using the OD. So, with less available torque, you tend to get less wheel spin with the overdrive engaged.

Sdog, keep it in overdrive. By the way, it’s counter-intuitive, but your pickup presents a somewhat slicker shape to the wind (and slightly better fuel mileage) with a tail gate. If you still have it, put it back on.

5

thanks for the replies, i already drive MUCH more slowly in the rain, having had and accident where i hydroplaned in a front wheel drive car, does make sense about OD and wheel spin, thanks

6

I thought this thread was going to ask about constant changes in torque conversion and how it acts in the rain and how that affects gas mileage and tranny wear…

7

Overdrive is simply your top gear (4th for many automatic transmissions). Drive vs Overdrive is akin to asking 4th vs 5th gear in a manual transmission.

8

Could you be more specific on what kind of truck this is Sdog?

Some are 4x4, is yours?

9

AskNott, any cite on your better mileage with the tailgate statement? Every time I go for a trip of any length in a pickup, we’ve noticed a marked improvement in mileage with the tailgate down.

10

its a 93 s10, and by the way it is a limited slip (not pos) rear end, and 4.3l v6. by the way i do think gas mileage is better with the tailgate off. by the way is it possible for a person to do a rear end swap themselves or would it need to be done in a shop, i have some prior mechanical experience, and would like to have a pos rearend.

11

Here’s a cite for the tailgate on or off issue.

Or you might consider it a semi-cite since it’s from the Car Talk guys, it’s your call. But it explains the aerodynamic basis for the notion.

12

I think I might have asked about the tailgate thing a while ago. Or maybe someone else asked. Anyway, there’s a thread about it somewhere. emulsified’s link was in it.

As for the OP…

Is it possible that the people who are telling you to turn off the overdrive are confusing “overdrive” with “cruise control”? I think I heard that cruise control should be turned off on slick roads because if a tire loses traction the cruise control will think the car is slowing down and add power, exacerbating the loss of traction.