Ok so I have been reading through other posts that on the auto trans, L is just first gear, I is 2nd and 3rd, and D is all four. I thought this was true, until I was driving in L, and decided to hit the redline before shifting....so I hit the gas, and came close to the redline, and was getting ready to pop it into "I", and then the car shifted gears...while the car was still in "L"... what the hell??? can anyone explain this?

 

Safety feature so you don't blow your trans!

 

Yep, I had a Dodge rental car and was running the **** out of it once. It did the same thing. Hit redline in any gear and it would automatically upshift....

 

so if it's in L, it will eventually shift through all of the gears if you keep it floored? i thought a rev limiter would just kick in instead of it shifting...

 

It will not shift through all the gears. It does make the shifting much harder, BUT if you hit, I believe it was 50 or 60 in mine, while still in L the engine while cut-out. It will shift up to third i believe it was. Still a bad idea for engine and trans. I learned the dumb way and actually did it. I suggest you not doing it.

 

I always thought what the L gear did was RedLine each gear. So it is kind of a racing gear.

 

Oy... children children...

"L" gear in a Cobalt Automatic handles 1st and 2nd gear, all the way to redline... with hard shifts, engine braking, and no traction control... on a SS 2.4 "L" runs out at about 73MPH.. at which point the engine cuts fuel.. so you lose all power at 73... trust me... I ran a 9.9 second 1/8th mile at 72MPH in L the whole way... fuel cut off right as I crossed the finish.

Hope that answers y'all's questions... feel free to use "L" setting if you're racing.. or don't want the TC kicking in off the line... but I'd keep clear of it for every day driving.

Have fun out there, and be safe!

 

I want to drive a 2.4 auto now out of curiousity.

 

so your best bet is using L gear for 1st and 2nd and when its getting ready to redline shift into I gear so the fuel won't cut out???

 

my 2.2 does the same thing its not just for the 2.4 ss

 

That's the basic idea Dragonsfire... the next time I get to the strip I plan to work on figuring out exactly when to shift to "I" so the tranny will go to 3rd... probably a little before redline is the best place as far as the HP/TQ curve goes.

 

L for 1 and 2 then a lil bit into redline on 2nd gear L shift into I to finish the race

 

I think this is how it should go L gear go 1st-2nd while in 2nd at 5500rpm shift into L and you should be good.

 

thats an early shift, the dynos show us making power all the way into redline

 

oh ok

 

thats why i like manual

 

I looked at my shifter today and instead of an L or an I. I have 1 and 2!?

 

yeah i thought L and I were 2.4 specific

 

no i got L and I too. got the sport package if that makes a difference.

 

I = "Intense" Driving ... real nice on back roads .... will down shift when you let off the gas going into a corner to keep Rs up punch it in the middle power is all there to pull you out

 

can we get some pics of your mods?

 

I wouldn't mind seeing that S/C either.

 

The I stands for "Intermediate". In the 2006 models they changed the 1 and 2 to L and I
WOT

 

L is actualy 1st and 2nd. No TC, lower ratios. However a trick is this, goto L's 2nd gear, shift it to I to change to 3rd, and then back to L. it will take off tc.

 

It's not really meant for racing, but rather for when you need to hold the car in lower gears, such as climbing and decending hills, trailering, etc...but if it helps you race, then by all means go for it.