I’ve read it helps with towing and steep hills, but what is actually happening and does it hurt the car by having it in L at any other time?
In: Engineering
L is for low.
It’s a lower gear ratio, so your engine can exert more force at a lower speed.
W=F•d
Work is a measure of energy, and energy must be conserved
We can scale the force by a factor of mechanical advantage (by any simple machine, in this case gears) but we scale down the distance traveled by the same amount.
W=MA*F•d/MA
If you’re just driving the car normally, it’s more work for the engine to travel a given distance, but it’s not harmful to the engine in any way. A waste of gas more than anything. If you drive it in L all the time, it may wear out quicker over the lifetime of the car, and at high speeds, you will be redlining the engine, but otherwise it’s fine.
TL;DR you have no reason to use L unless you have a very specific reason to use L
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