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Thanks, redpoint5,
A lot of the hills around here are too steep & long to be able to do the "run-up" -at least without getting crazy. When heading towards Reno, there's a hill just out of Carson that could *maybe* be taken in top gear if I built up enough speed first, but I think we're probably talking 75mph+, which is 10 mph over the "limit" and would (I would think) cost me so much gas to do, that it would end up being a net loss. ..... maybe not, though. Hmmmmmm.....
On the way home tonight, I tried it on the back side of that hill, where there's a MUCH smaller climb, and I think it worked. I was cruising along at best mpg speed (40mph), but right before the base of the hill, kicked off the cruise control with my brake & then took it up to 45 mph without causing a downshift. Then I kept the accelerator pedal steady, and the speed bled off to about 35 by the time I reached the top. The worst part of that whole deal though, is the top also begins an "on-ramp" type merge with 65 mph (if they're going the limit) traffic. So that gets a little hairy!!
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