Chat & Social > The Bar - General Chat

Off Road TEchnique question

(1/3) > >>

smo:
I've got a fair bit of experience in driving off road, however its only in a manual.

If i was to get an auto, how would i need to adjust my driving style and what techniques would i need to adopt?

For example...how do you cope with v.steep down hill descents due to the lack of engine braking?

karlo:
According to the landrover manuals that come with the car (can ya tell i'm new to this  :lol: ) you get different amounts of engine braking by using 1,2,or 3 on the gear selector!

andycwb:
Depends on the gearbox.  

The Dakar has a ZF autobox and the engine braking is there as long as you use 1st low.  I know the electronic versions lock the torque converter in 1st low as soon as the vehicle is moving.  I don't know if the non electronic version does the same, but the engine braking comes from somewhere.

It's still a bit faster than a manual, but feels controlled to me.

Quick changes from fwd to reverse take a bit of practice.

Easier to put power down gradually with an auto.

Failed hill start is more difficult sinceyou can't start the engine in gear.

Andy

waveydavey:
It's actualyl easier: You can still get engine braking as you can hold an auto in a low gear, the newer stuff from LAnd Rover does it ona  button press anyway.
THe big advantage with an auto is that it feeds the power more gently so you are less prone to spin the wheels and loose traction, than and they are very hard to stall.

Rich_P:
For a mid-80s Range Rover with the ZF-4 speed autobox, stick the autobox into 1st manually, and there you go, lots of engine braking.  Even more so if you put it into low ratio!  :shock: I didn't expect a Rover V8 to be so good at engine braking in a Range Rover + autobox.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page