Driving question

[James Morse]

They dumped a lot of really fine dirt and it got rid of a lot of ruts but when wet it had a layer of real find mud on top and although I didn't test-skid it just looked pretty slick in places.
Going up isn't really an issue, if you have wheelspin (I didn't) you'd feel it, and gravity will slow you quickly. Coming down is different.
So here's the question. On a steep grade, going down, and it's slippery or you think it could be slippery, what's the best way? I had it in D (in 4x4) and just went easy and feathered the brakes, so as long as the brakes aren't getting too hot that is one way but not great if it's steep for miles which they can be. I didn't have any sliding or issues. But afterward I thought, shouldn't I have been in 1? Should I have been in 1 and 4x4LO? I guess it's a transmission and transfer case question. What's the best setting to use? If I'm going very slow I'm not really going to get braking from the engine with auto trans.
Thanks.
It's places like this. Coming up I hadn't really noticed it so much but going down I was like, wow, this is steep.

 

[franklin2]

Yes, you need to use your transmission more and stay off the brakes. Your automatic will hold you back if you pull it down into a lower gear. You can select which lower gear suits your speed needs. 4x4 low and the transmission in 1 is for very rough rocky terrain. 4x4 low will be for any serious off-roading. 4x4 high should suit most needs, pulling the trans down into a lower gear that works the best. Stay off those brakes and much as possible. I hate warped rotors.

 

[RonD]

Use a lower gear going down, save the brakes
1 or 2 depending on the grade

Not 4L, its good for slow speeds with good traction, crawling, but can be to "torquey" on slippery surfaces

 

[Josh B]

Anything over 35MPH use reverse

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Kinda gotta use your judgement on a case by case basis.

 

[James Morse]

Thanks. So I'll use 1 and 4x4Hi.
Here's the thing at idle on the level, in D you're going what, 8-10mph? Something anyway. So if you're not going at least that, you won't get engine braking from the trans. Unless I'm missing something here.
Yeah I know about warped rotors. I think the thing is, you can't -ride- the brakes on a long continuous downhill. I did this once as a youngster coming down Evans Notch in NH and got to the bottom and the brakes were smoking like crazy and very hot. DIdn't warp anything, but that was just lucky.
Not long ago changed out rotors on the Lexus, but I think one was warped because the caliper wasn't retracting (replaced those too).
There's this: if I feel like I'm (have to be) using the brakes an awful lot, just stop periodically and feel, are the just a little warm, or are they really hot, in which case just stop for a bit and let them cool off.
It's not the Rocky Mountains here. But you do have sometimes a couple thousand feet elevation change in a handful of miles. Typically what you can see is one road takes the quickest route to get to the top of the ridge then there are roads following the ridgetops. Our mountains are more like long stretched out ridges.
I appreciate the help.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

If youre idleing 8-10mph you got an idle issue.

Usually 5mph or less.

But no if youre under normal idle MPH you wont notice engine braking affect.

 

[James Morse]

Hm, well, at really low speed it's hard to get a speedo reading. Tell you what, sometime I'll get on the level, with it warmed up (maybe it was cold and high idle - I just noticed it moved without hitting the gas) and try it with the GPS speedo and see what it actually is.
I don't think I have idle problem it's like 750-800 when warm I haven't checked the spec but that seems about right.
Usually with high idle you hear it. Anyway thanks that was just an off the cuff statement about the speed value, I'll check it. I think it's something though, if you have it in D and let off the brake, don't they normally move? Not fast, but, some low speed.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Hm, well, at really low speed it's hard to get a speedo reading. Tell you what, sometime I'll get on the level, with it warmed up (maybe it was cold and high idle - I just noticed it moved without hitting the gas) and try it with the GPS speedo and see what it actually is.
I don't think I have idle problem it's like 750-800 when warm I haven't checked the spec but that seems about right.
Usually with high idle you hear it. Anyway thanks that was just an off the cuff statement about the speed value, I'll check it. I think it's something though, if you have it in D and let off the brake, don't they normally move? Not fast, but, some low speed.

No it should move under those circumstances...but i wouldnt think 8-10 mph. Maybe ive never really paid attention lol.

I think my F250 idles at 5ish. A manual will idle faster...but my rangers speedo dont work.

So in conclusion i may of been talking out my ass but 8-10 seems fast lol

 

[franklin2]

Thanks. So I'll use 1 and 4x4Hi.

Don't lock yourself in to one gear. There is nothing wrong with trying the shift lever in different gears while you are moving to experiment with it. If you are going too fast and try to downshift, it won't downshift till the speed is slow enough to not over rev the engine.

I live on a small mountain, and when doing about 45mph, I will downshift out of overdrive into 3rd to help the brakes out. If I come up on someone else going even slower down the mountain, I will shift to 2nd, while I am watching them ride their brakes and smelling them down the mountain.

Some of the foreign car makers really had their act together long before we did over here. My wife's Honda Accord is always in some sort of tow/haul mode. If you come down the mountain, and start riding the brakes, the computer for the transmission recognizes you are on the brakes but you are not slowing down, and it will downshift by itself. Pretty smart.

 

[Blmpkn]

Kinda gotta use your judgement on a case by case basis.

This.

Driving off road/dirt road is no different than driving on road.. in the sense that all you really do is adjust for conditions.

Looks like too nice a road to limit yourself to first gear though

 

[James Morse]

too nice a road

True, good road that section anyway. If it were dry you could go right along. And going up I don't really worry about it. As I'd mentioned, there was variable places where there was a mixture of water and really fine silt from the dirt and that -can- make it slippery. So it's not a problem with the basic condition of the road, rather that you can have a perfectly nice smooth road but if it's slippery, that's the reason to go slow. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but you know as well as I that if you get into a slide going downhill it's not easy to regain traction and I'd rather take zero or close to zero chance of going off the road and rolling over until I hit trees. I'm just out for an excursion on these trips, there's no rush.

Just to update about the idle speed - ('97) - looks like something about 650 rpm and on as level place as I could find, in D it's moving maybe 3-4 mph. Not much - let's say, you could walk beside it without any real difficulty. Not 8-10 mph as I'd previously said, that would be running. And the speedo really doesn't, or hardly, moves off zero. The point of all that being, though I didn't check speedo at the time, if you're going downhill at say 10-15mph in 1 which is pretty slow, you should get some engine braking.

I never did any off road until this year. And I don't have a lot of experience with auto trans, I mean, I've had them, but probably 95%+ of the vehicles I ever had were manuals and if it was that I wouldn't have such questions because I'd know what to do just by instinct. So it's not unlikely that I ask some questions that seem obvious to others then in retrospect I usually go, of course, how could it be otherwise.

 

[sgtsandman]

True, good road that section anyway. If it were dry you could go right along. And going up I don't really worry about it. As I'd mentioned, there was variable places where there was a mixture of water and really fine silt from the dirt and that -can- make it slippery. So it's not a problem with the basic condition of the road, rather that you can have a perfectly nice smooth road but if it's slippery, that's the reason to go slow. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but you know as well as I that if you get into a slide going downhill it's not easy to regain traction and I'd rather take zero or close to zero chance of going off the road and rolling over until I hit trees. I'm just out for an excursion on these trips, there's no rush.

Just to update about the idle speed - ('97) - looks like something about 650 rpm and on as level place as I could find, in D it's moving maybe 3-4 mph. Not much - let's say, you could walk beside it without any real difficulty. Not 8-10 mph as I'd previously said, that would be running. And the speedo really doesn't, or hardly, moves off zero. The point of all that being, though I didn't check speedo at the time, if you're going downhill at say 10-15mph in 1 which is pretty slow, you should get some engine braking.

I never did any off road until this year. And I don't have a lot of experience with auto trans, I mean, I've had them, but probably 95%+ of the vehicles I ever had were manuals and if it was that I wouldn't have such questions because I'd know what to do just by instinct. So it's not unlikely that I ask some questions that seem obvious to others then in retrospect I usually go, of course, how could it be otherwise.

Once I get some decent off road tires on the 2019, I’ll be in the same boat. I’ll have to be figuring modes, gears, and whether regular driving mode or sport mode behaves better.

Engine braking outside of Tow/Haul and Sport mode is disappointing but much better with those engaged.

 

[Ranger850]

or are they really hot, in which case just stop for a bit and let them cool off.

Be careful with this method also. Just stopping to let your brakes cool can also cause warped rotors. I'll explain - The pads are going to be just as hot or hotter than the rotor, so when your rotors stop, the pads are holding heat on that one part of the rotor. Which will cause the other setions to cool at a faster rate. You really want to keep moving, so air can get into the rotor vents, without using the brakes much at all.

 

[James Morse]

good point, thanks.