S3 and S4?

LivingAlone@17

New Member
Hey, I know what S3 is on my car, but what exactly is S4? I heard it gives better gas mileage, is this true?

Does it harm the car if i drive it in S4? Why would they put S4 and drive then...

Sorry if this is already a question asked, but I could not find anything on the forums.
 

speedin

The Transporter
LivingAlone@17 said:
Hey, I know what S3 is on my car, but what exactly is S4? I heard it gives better gas mileage, is this true?

Does it harm the car if i drive it in S4? Why would they put S4 and drive then...

Sorry if this is already a question asked, but I could not find anything on the forums.
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Not much of a difference really between S4 and D. If any difference at all. Maybe slightly quicker shift times (but I highly doubt that given how old the trans design is, and if there is a difference its nothing to write home about). I really wouldn't worry to much about it. Essentially the only time id use it is if your manually going through the gears. Again this must be a DA thing as the DC's just had this



No "D", so D4 was our drive. And no S4 or S3.
 
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LivingAlone@17

New Member
Well, I would agree there isn't any difference. But when I drove on the highway and in town with D, and then I did the same route in S4, I noticed a HUGE difference. My car speeds up much faster and does not vibrate or scream as much. any reason it would do that?
 

speedin

The Transporter
LivingAlone@17 said:
Well, I would agree there isn't any difference. But when I drove on the highway and in town with D, and then I did the same route in S4, I noticed a HUGE difference. My car speeds up much faster and does not vibrate or scream as much. any reason it would do that?
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My guess is its just a sport mode. So it will be peppier, but its harder on the trans than D. Do you have a pic of the DA shifter? I cant find one on google images. Seems there are a few people asking about DA auto's right now and I cant remember the gear layout. Basically the same pic as the DC above.
 


JDMxDB8

Raceline USA
Where are the "S's"? I don't see "D". I was under the impression that D4 is used for normal driving which uses all 4 gears. D3 only uses 3 gears.
 

XxCaryxX

New Member
JDMxDB8 said:
Where are the "S's"? I don't see "D". I was under the impression that D4 is used for normal driving which uses all 4 gears. D3 only uses 3 gears.
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^This and obviously driving around using three gears instead of four will hurt the fuel economy, keep the rpms much higher etc. I use D3 when I preload the automatic and then floor and have the computer + my foot downshift it to 2nd and my car will take off like a bat out of hell (Given the power it has when compared to normal). But none of that is good on your car or trans.
 

JDMxDB8

Raceline USA
XxCaryxX said:
^This and obviously driving around using three gears instead of four will hurt the fuel economy, keep the rpms much higher etc. I use D3 when I preload the automatic and then floor and have the computer + my foot downshift it to 2nd and my car will take off like a bat out of hell (Given the power it has when compared to normal). But none of that is good on your car or trans.
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Yessir. One time, I was riding shotgun with my aunt who drives a JRSC'd 97 CR-V on the way to LAX. After I while, I noticed that the engine was revving pretty high while cruising at 80 MPH. I lean over to the left to check out the tachometer and saw that she was revving abnormally high. I then look over at the gear indicator and noticed that it was on D3. I told her to shift up to D4 and asked her why she was in D3. She told me that before she divorced her ex-husband, he told her that D3 is what she should be using, which was total bullshit. The guy was and still is a douche.
 


LivingAlone@17

New Member
Well, I am at work right now, I will upload the picture very soon. However, I was looking online and I came across this:
Those are the more performance-minded shift patterns for the transmission. Your Legend's transmission has 4 gears when shifted to "D" for Drive. S3 limits the tranny to 3 gears and S4 allows using 4th gear. The big difference between Drive and the "S" gears is that both S3 and S4 settings will allow the car to stay in a lower gear a little longer. Use this to your advantage when wanting to accelerate harder (such as passing another car) or when going down inclines (use the engine's natural resistance to help you maintain a safe speed and save your brakes for when you really need them). The "S" settings will typically result in lower gas mileage.
When shifted to the "S" setting, the car will always default to S3 and you have to press the S3/S4 button to get it to use 4th gear. Pressing the same button again will put you back in S3.
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Sounds right? except I get better gas mileage with s4 on than regular drive :S

Anyway, the gears on the shifter that are shown: P, R, N, D, S and then another that I forgot about. But on the S when you shift into this, your light turns on right beside the speedometer and it says S3, but there is a button on the side of the shifter and if you press it it changes it to S4 and back to S3 if pressed again.

Weird... because they are normally only for Legends, not integras...
 

JDMxDB8

Raceline USA
LivingAlone@17 said:
Well, I am at work right now, I will upload the picture very soon. However, I was looking online and I came across this:


Sounds right? except I get better gas mileage with s4 on than regular drive :S

Anyway, the gears on the shifter that are shown: P, R, N, D, S and then another that I forgot about. But on the S when you shift into this, your light turns on right beside the speedometer and it says S3, but there is a button on the side of the shifter and if you press it it changes it to S4 and back to S3 if pressed again.

Weird... because they are normally only for Legends, not integras...
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Ah I see... I get it know. D is the normal drive mode with 4 gears. When you shift into S, it acts like a D3 with 3 gears. Once the press the S-Mode button while on S, it'll turn into a D4 in S AKA Sport mode. The engine will rev up higher and quick in S-Mode. My CB7 had an S-Mode button too.
 

LivingAlone@17

New Member
So will it ruin the car faster if I use the S4 mode all the time? cause my car vibrates badly when in D, but in D4 it is so much quieter :)
 

JDMxDB8

Raceline USA
LivingAlone@17 said:
So will it ruin the car faster if I use the S4 mode all the time? cause my car vibrates badly when in D, but in D4 it is so much quieter :)
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I wouldn't recommend using Sport mode all the time. When was the last time you changed your transmission fluid?
 
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