D

damianfitch

New Member
Hi All,
Was just wondering how every uses their box when towing. Would you use cruise control, would you leave it in drive, should you use 1,2,3 manually.
Damian
 
I leave mine in "D" and knock it into 3 or 2 on Inclines, depending how steep they are ............. seems to work ok so far.

As MHM says.......... it does depend on the load
 
Hi , only reason i ask is that until recently i hadnt towed with an auto, the first time i did i left it in drive on steep incline hills. i was up and down the box, tried kickdown and ended up overheating transmission .
 
damianfitch said:
Hi , only reason i ask is that until recently i hadnt towed with an auto, the first time i did i left it in drive on steep incline hills. i was up and down the box, tried kickdown and ended up overheating transmission .
Click to expand...

Which model Disco have you got ? I have been towing a twin axle Lunar Delta which has a all up gross weight of 1600 kgs with a 300 tdi auto and it has been spectacular. I have always left it in 'D' and the gearbox only changes down when the revs / speed drops, it does not yo yo about. This has resulted in some 25 mpg when towing. I have now bought a TD5 auto but have yet to tow with it but am hoping for similar results gearbox wise but obviously better pulling.
 
Put it in 2 up to 35mph then 3 up to 50 mph.Only in D on fast roads like motorways.Turbo diesels work more effectively reving higher.[apparently]
 
With me TD5 auto i tow a 1800kg caravan, mainly just use D, but will use 2, or 3, if on slight hill to pull away, D has always done its job selecting higher revs when needed.

Cruise only used on m'way, I find it races hard to pre set speeds so not being as effiecent as using your boot to regain speed after a hold up, sometimes when set at 60 on a clear motorway i forget the van is there until the revs kick up as an incline appears.

Bloody great car for towing in my opinion.

Going to fetch me van back from mid wales next week, must be mad as im sure shes losing water again??

i will let you know.
 
Regarding the actual use of auto or manual 123, see above and as said it depends what you are towing, most small/medium weight things you will tow like they don't exist.

Cruise control on the motorway, sit at a steady 56 and just sit there, it will run all day long and sip the fuel, any faster you are just throwing away the pennies not to mention breaking the law (well over 60mph)
 
Put it into 3 or even 2 on hills - downhill for braking and uphill to stop the box hunting between the gears, which may cause the box to overheat. As far as I know this is standard advice for all autos when towing.
 
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