Good Morning,
I've seen power curves regarding most of our engines the 2.0L 16V DOHC Zetec. It delivers 130hp at 5300 rpm's and 135 ft/pds of torque at 4500 rpm's.
However, in an automatic you will NEVER reach the 4500 rpm mark let alone the 5300.
Most driving ranges are from 1500 - 2500 rpm's (about 30-60 horsies) not very impressive.
Since I have an automatic (so my wife could drive it too) I routinely start with O/D switched off, when I reach my cruising speed and if I expect to be at this speed for a while I turn the O/D on.
Sometimes (not always) I start in D1 / O/D off, I accelerate up to 4000, shift to D2, accell again to 3500 then when I have reached my cruising speed I shift to D, and if I expect to be at this speed for a while I turn the O/D on.
This really helps out the Stop Light acceleration problem, but is it bad to shift Automatic Transmissions?
-- Dan
03 ZX5 21.3k "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it" - George Santyana