Quote:
Originally Posted by pete c
Most every day on my way home, I have a fairly steep down hill S turn followed by a nearly 90 degree right turn up hill.
Hypermiling 101 says stay off the brakes. Brakes eat precious momentum which would largely carry you up that hill.
The problem with this is that following this practice means my tires are howling around that right hand turn. I typically do the downhill in 4th gear in DCO. This provides enough braking that I can negotiate the turn, at the expense of some tire wear. Also, if there is a car sitting at that intersection, the driver may get a bit wide-eyed as some idiot comes barreling straight at him at speed in his Sportwagen.
So the question is do I consume tire or brake pads/diesel? I suspect it probably makes sense to lean towards braking, especially since I have a very efficient engine that absolutely loves to pull hills anyway.
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Keep in mind that hypermiling always comes secondary to safety. You may be able to pull that corner at speed when it's sunny, 75, with no wind. But what happens if it rained while you were at work and you don't realize that bit of ground is still wet. Or what if someone drove over that piece of ground and their car leaked some oil there? What if there's a little bit of sand/gravel on that stretch?
I would use the transmission to slow down as much as you can (if you have a manual), but definitely don't take corners at top speed, the little bit of fuel you save doing that won't nearly cover the cost if you wipe out just one time.