Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Mechanic
The power required to climb a grade is fairly easy to calculate. A 7% grade of 1 mile is .07X5280 feet That's 369.6 feet per mile. I have read about coasting for 35 miles coming down the east side of the Rocky Mountains. Most Interstates are 7% grades or less with a few exceptions. Only a car with good aerodynamics will exceed 70 MPG coasting down the vast majority of grades on US roads, so we are talking about very small percentages of grades where there would be regeneration opportunities. I am not saying never just fairly rare and I am sure many here see excetions to that rule daily.
regards
Mech
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I live and drive east and in the Rockies. Even my 4x4 Toyota will easily exceed 70mph coasting down the 7% grades. That's the way I exceed 30mpg driving it to mountain destinations, but those grades are too dangerous to EOC, most of them I must engine brake to control my speed.