Engine as brakes down a mountain
Our first trip is to Loft mountain, VA,3 adults 2 grandparents, 4 teenagers, and stuff. 27 ' ford conquest by gyulfstream advise is to keep in I low all the way down, use engine as breaks. does that...
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I would say it's the transmission that really determines what gear to use. If you shifter has three positions D 2, 1 I would start at the top of the hill in second and see how it controls the speed.
Realistically though this isn't a you get one shot and your done situation. You're at the top of the hill so the brakes are fairly cool and they will stop you if you need them. The gears are used for the long descents to hold back the speed so you don't overwork the brakes. But honestly I'll bet that every Cruise America rental has had the brakes abused and no downshifting and the renters did just fine.
So start at the top of the hall and drop it down one gear and see what happens. If the speed climbs rapidly step on the brakes and bring it back down 5 - 10 mph under your desired speed and drop it another gear. You'll figure out which gear works best fairly quickly.
Realistically though this isn't a you get one shot and your done situation. You're at the top of the hill so the brakes are fairly cool and they will stop you if you need them. The gears are used for the long descents to hold back the speed so you don't overwork the brakes. But honestly I'll bet that every Cruise America rental has had the brakes abused and no downshifting and the renters did just fine.
So start at the top of the hall and drop it down one gear and see what happens. If the speed climbs rapidly step on the brakes and bring it back down 5 - 10 mph under your desired speed and drop it another gear. You'll figure out which gear works best fairly quickly.
