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740 "Best" way to drive an AW71

S

sclay

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Location
Bellingham, WA
I'm not a huge fan of automatics, but for at least a little while, my 92 740t will be slushing it's way through the gears. If all goes as planned, it will have a manual in the not so distant future, before RWC can crush it I hope.

I've read on this forum somewhere, that better fuel mileage might be had by driving around town while in 2nd, and not Drive. I've been experimenting with disengaging the O/D, and it's seems to help in keeping the engine on boil, and making the car more lively and fun, but I haven't done it enough to determine if it helps with economy. My commute is a mix of 35mph light to light traffic, with a stretch of 50mph where I click the O/D back on.

So I was curious, if you're missing a pedal, how do you drive your AW71? I'm assuming I wouldn't do any damage by driving without the O/D engaged, or in 2nd gear, but maybe I'm wrong. The car is stock, so no worries about damage based on power, but I do want it to last, and I do like the slightly more engaged feeling of driving without the O/D. So with that in mind, is there a "fun mode" on the AW71 for the occasional twisty road, or having to zip through traffic, that doesn't blow anything up?
 
I drove it pretty regular. Clicked the OD off to pass and such.

It's all just energy management.
 
^^^^ isn't always true. I've found the V50 even does better in 4th in terms of mileage if you're under about 60mph. Keeping it in the 2400rpm range seems to get the best mileage. (75mph does better than 70 on the freeway as well). My wagon and Dodge are the same way...trans will shift to keep the rev's lower, which may put the engine out of it's torque band so it works harder.

For the AW, if you're in the 0-35 range, yeah, run without the OD but you're fine going into 3rd. You won't see any real benefit other than better acceleration most likely. That said, again, see where the rev's land.
 
I loosened my KD cable slightly beyond what the book says and have noticed I can get into and stay in OD at 35mph instead of 39mph. Before I could accelerate to 40 then slow down a little and it would stay in OD for the most part but now I can climb slight inclines at 40 in OD and it wont kick down. I'm in 3rd by 18mph with my AW70.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

I think I mentioned fuel economy too soon in my original post, and while that is something on my mind, I'm more curious about finding a way to make driving the 740 while still an automatic more fun, without the AW puking it's insides out either end of the housing. The Volvo manages a respectable ~18 mpg with the everyday commuting duties, so while I could maybe improve that, from what I've read, it wouldn't be much without some long term highway miles.

Without putting it in the trunk of the wagon and using it as a counterweight, is there a way to keep the AW more engaged on a spirited drive, that still is safe for the transmission?

You find yourself on a lonely, well manicured mountain road with corner speeds not exceeding 45mph. Do you leave it in D and listen to classical in your cardigan? Do you click the OD off and try to keep the engine speeds up while turning to your favorite Genesis track? Or do you throw caution to the wind, disengage the OD while also dropping the gear selector into 2, and cue up some Black Sabbath in an effort drown out the tractor motor straining under the hood?
 
OP change the fluid in that AW.

Place in D and enjoy. Turn off the OD when going up hills and you notice that the trans 'hunts' or downshift-upshift-downshift-upshift annoyingly.

Run it up to Artist's point for great views on an amusing road. Beware exposure!
 
Alright, thanks guys. I think I didn't want to admit that the best option would be to simply drive the car how it was built, but it's good to hear that it is the better choice.

John, a transmission service is on the list. Would you suggest a flush? Or just a drain and fill? I've read mixed reports on both, same with cleaning out the filter. The car (and drivetrain I'm assuming) has around 174k on it, and I don't know when last the transmission was looked at. I've read stories that go both ways with flushing on older AW's that haven't been taken care of, but it seems more often than not it works out okay.

Artist Point is a fun one. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Leavenworth yesterday, and I always enjoy the stretch of US2 right over Stevens Pass and right before Leavenworth heading East, fun in both directions. Which is what got me thinking about the question I asked originally, and how soon I can fix the air conditioning, which is a whole other adventure!
 
I dunno, in my case, fun mountain roads also require RPM. This was a pretty good mix of 2nd and 3rd, couple jaunts to around 5k in 3rd, plenty of time in 2nd as well. FWIW, the camera car was a K-Pax S60 GT6.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dnM7y2PmxqI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Yes, flush that trans. Pull the pan. Clean it out.... Clean or replace the filter screen. Flush it with synthetic ATF until fluid is pretty, pink, smells fresh.

Gary looks like fun.
 
If I was staying in the range of 35-50mph I would turn off the overdrive but otherwise let the trans shift itself. That usually works well for me.
 
Yeah, that is always a fun run unless you get traffic. The video doesn't do it justice sadly, would love to have the exhaust note from mine, but eh, I'll take what I can get. Still need the video of the second half of the run.

Definitely add a trans cooler if you don't have one already. That run in the video tends to make mine boil over if it's even slightly overfull and that's with a 12x12 cooler up front, e-fan on high for the entire run.
 
gsellstr said:
Yeah, that is always a fun run unless you get traffic. The video doesn't do it justice sadly, would love to have the exhaust note from mine, but eh, I'll take what I can get. Still need the video of the second half of the run.

Definitely add a trans cooler if you don't have one already. That run in the video tends to make mine boil over if it's even slightly overfull and that's with a 12x12 cooler up front, e-fan on high for the entire run.
Click to expand...

If you find yourself up this way you'll have to chase me up Baker. :badboy:
 
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