Hi all

I have just bought a 1991 Excel from my brother (Automatic, no owners manual). He insists that for optimum performance around the city the car should be driven with the overdrive switch ON, meaning that the overdrive light on the dash is ON all of the time. This seems strange. Is he right?

Johnboy

:00000732: Johnboy,

Go to hmaservice.com and register. Enter Excel X2, 1991, 1.5 SOHC engine. Get a ream of printer paper. Print off the entire original owner's manual. this is a great very complete manual, just wish I could get one this nice for my Hyundais.

I would send it as Adobe .pdf files but it is too large.

The US spec Excel does not have button labeled as Overdrive. It has a button that selected Economy and Norm. I did not read through the whole manual but I believe the 4 speed electronically controlled transmission has the Economy mode to enable the 4th gear selection for overdrive, and the NORM position disables the overdrive. The manual has no preference shown for city driving. I would only comment that for speeds below 45 mph/72 kph, the overdrive does not engage anyway.

Byron

Hey, I have a 1996 excel and it also has the overdrive button. It is a separate thing from the "economy" feature. The economy feature saves fuel (somehow) when it is on. The overdrive feature is something that isn't used all the time. With overdrive off, floor the accelerator, and see how much power it delivers. Then turn it on and floor it, and notice the difference. The overdrive makes the transmission operate at a higher gear, giving your car an extra quick boost of power. It's safe to keep the OD on all the time as it only kicks in when the accelerator pedal is floored. It's useful for crossing busy traffic lol.

I'm assuming that's for all cars yeh?
Like my Accent 01 model...so Overdrive ON = more power?