Easy Mountain Driving
When I lived full-time in Florida, I rarely thought about mountain driving. For the one trip out west or through the Smoky Mountains, it was trivial to simply take off the cruise control and turn on ...
Forum Discussion
holstein13 wrote:Mr.Mark wrote:Yes, but why hit the brakes at all? Can't you setup your cruise control to control the throttle and the engine brakes? It's so much easier. I wonder if the Volvo will let you program it this way.
Our new Volvo has the 6 speed retarder that I can set with the stalk. Or, the minute I hit the service brakes, it automatically activates the retarder at full 'holdback' (can't think of the correct word).
I actually don't have to hit the brakes and can control the descent with the retarder stalk. The retarder is much stronger than the two stage brake we had on the Dynasty (which worked fine).
If I'm near the end of the hill and see the next hill coming, I can move the retarder stalk to zero and start to pick up speed to 'get into' the next hill. If you only allow a 6 mph increase, you are not utilizing the hill to your advantage and your engine will kick in sooner.
Since I drive about 60 mph in a 70/75 mph zone. I'll let the coach coast up to 70-75 into the next hill.
Safe travels,
MM.
