I recently bought a 93 SL2 as a second car and it did not come with an owner's manual. What exactly does the normal/performance switch do? I can't seem to notice any difference. On some other cars I have noticed a switch to disable overdrive but it does not seem like that is what this switch does.
The switch is supposed to change the shift points to allow the engine to rev to higher RPM in the "performance" mode thereby generating more base HP. In "economy" mode, the engine will shift to higher gears sooner generating improved fuel economy. To see if it is working properly you could start from a dead stop and watch the tachometer to see where it goes from first to second, second to third, etc. and then do the same with the switch changed.
Bob
It changes the shift points. In performance mode, it will stay in a lower gear longer while accelerating. Expect performance mode to reduce gas mileage as a result.
What exactly does the normal/performance switch do? I can't seem to notice any difference.
When turned on it also will kick the tranny into the lower gears with less down gas pedal travel.
It changes the shift points to let the engine spin out to higher RPM before shifting gears. The resulting "PERF" shift feels a little harsher. No real increase in performance, it just makes the sound different.
Shifting to "3" will disable overdrive (but leave the first three gears unaffected otherwise). When driving on hills around 30-35MPH it's sometimes nice to disable overdrive to stop the transmission from shifting in and out of OD all the time.
Tim.
Wakes up the extra hamster in the engine.
Gerbils in the Civics....that's why so many "ricers" have that funny/loud exhaust sound.
They really should have labled this switch "Normal/EPA". It changes the shift points to increase fuel economy very slightly, at the expense of acceleration.
Most newer vehicles have dropped this switch. Some older vehicles had both a Normal/Performance switch, as well as another switch to disable overdrive.
Most cars still have O/D disable. My friend's Nissan did, and it 'forgot' I wanted O/D off whenever you shut the engine. Very annoying. I'm sure it makes the EPA happy, though.
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