Quote:
Originally Posted by gdcwatt
We suspect that more people manually shift up when accelerating or when they've reach their desired cruising speed, or when they want to reduce the car's torque at the road, like when driving on snow.
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In real snow in close quarters, I've found the other way to be safer. I'll be driving slowly, yes, but I'll be in an extra low gear at high revs. If I want a little more speed then the pedal gives me it. If I need a little less, the same pedal gives me that, too. If I make a mistake and give too much throttle, that mistake doesn't get horribly multiplied by a higher gear ratio. There's no coasting, no abandoning the gas pedal and switching to the brake, just finessing one pedal to maintain positive control over the drive wheels at all times. Maybe this only works well with AWD and a manual, but there you are.
And yes, driving at high revs in low gear is hypermiling if it keeps you out of the snowbank.