BMWho?

i'm so fed up with the tranny shifting into 5th gear at 40mph and staying there -- and the resulting poor acceleration -- that i've decided to run my D2 in 4th gear all the time.

am i doing any damage to the tranny? sure hope not.

Matt

p.s. i tried that hold-the-pedal-to-the-floor thingy and it didn't make any difference.

Jkay

I only let the tranny shift .. um .. never. Actually that's a lie. I let it shift on it's own at redline.

Regarding your question .. running in 4th gear means worse gas mileage, and a higher average engine RPM.

BMWho?

i drive in tip around town, but on the highway one shifts so rarely. also, makes the wife nervous

ryoung

Gearing for 4th in an A8 is close to 5th in an S8, and I often run in 4th even on Interstates for the same reason. You'll pay a small cost in fuel economy, but that's it.

BMWho?

excellent response, thank you. now abandoning 5th gear permanently :-)

ryoung

With 25% fewer shifts, the longevity of the tranny improves :-)

SteveIAS8

I think it would be an even swap.

BTW, wouldn't the majority of your shifts most likely be in the lower gears?

A8Lsport

I can't remember if you have or not. It seems that a few others have used the 00011 code and like it very much on the 99s. I have also been thinking the same thing for around town too, since 5th gear is way to tall for 40-45mph driving. Wish we all had S8 final drives to lower the overall gearing.

BMWho?

and it is great in that it lets you stick in first with tiptronic. but it still shifts into 5th at 40 or so.

now that i've been running in 4th gear all the time, it feels like a totally different car on the highway.

ryoung

as an S8 at the same mph in 5th.

Does anyone know of even a single S8 engine failure? Since there certainly have been many tranny problems, I think we're very far from even balancing the scales. Personally, I expect the S8 motor to outlast the vehicle, which would be the same service as an A8 motor that nevers sees 5th gear.