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Neil, I had wondered what exactly happened when you downshift going downhill.
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Apparently, that was a different thread! Oops!
Neilblanchard talked about the Scion turning off the fuel injectors when you did not use the accelerator. He did not specify the Scion, though, so my car would not do that.
Okay, Euromodder!
Thank you for welcoming me, posting the hubcaps, and finding better ones! Seriously, who wants fake chrome? They are cheaper without it? I might purchase those right now!
I like the idea of having some ventilation for braking. I know that the goal is to never use the brakes, but in twelve years, it still does not work out too well for me! Besides, I live in Arizona.
The Phoenix area is flat except for freeway ramps. It is driving through canyons to visit my parents that is an issue. I always start coasting before I crest a hill to shed momentum, but I can still hit 100 MPH if I am not careful. The speed limit is 65 for most of the drive, but 55 on hills, and you can often find the highway patrol at the bottom. I was stopped the very first time that I drove my last Focus. Fortunately, I was only going 60-65, so I was not cited.
There is one straight hill which curves after it starts leveling off. I happily hit eighty there. I figure that I burned gas climbing the hill, I might as well make the most of the backside, but the rest of the drive, they are not just hills, it is canyon driving, a crazy zigzag. My dad stopped driving the short way because he received too many tickets. We usually drive the long way, which is straighter. That is where I passed 100 MPH multiple times. I think that maintaining 50-55 MPH going the other way is fun, but the speed limit is 35!
I try taking the curves quickly, but I do not have the nerve to take a 55 MPH curve at 75. I always jerk the wheel and\or brake.
I hate the idea of relying on my reflexes more than necessary.
When I first heard of the Prius I wanted one just for the hills. I read somewhere that regenerative braking was still less effective than not accelerating in the first place and then coasting, but I would rather get great mileage driving the speed limit than pay for brakes and speeding tickets.
In city, I always watch the next intersection (do not tell me to look at the one past it, too!). They started changing some of the "Don't Walk" signs to actually count down, but if I am close enough to read the numbers, it does not make much of a difference. I try to coast now instead of braking later, but I have been the victim of two hit-and-runs just for driving correctly. I try to not provoke the mindless masses too much.
For some reason I really like having brakes available when I drive down a mountain.
Power steering in a canyon is important, too.
As for my dad and his Focus SFE, he says that it was a 556-mile trip. No, he never taught me to match revolutions.
Honestly, I am not sure that my problem with the clutch reflected more than a bad situation. The clutch went out soon after I bought the car and my mechanic installed a cheap replacement from Autozone. The third time I bought an OEM part, but had learned how to shift without using the clutch, so I did that until the transmission went out.
I shifted normally on my subsequent cars.
Enjoy your Fourth of July, especially all you dang foreigners from other countries, to quote Jeff Foxworthy.