>In article <1993Mar26.160223.7…@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>, hube…@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Hung-Hsien Hubert Chang) writes:
>> A friend of mine told me that  in order not to waste the break,
>> we can change to  2nd speed ( in 5 speed car) when going downhill.
>> The car will not go down too fast because of the mechanic control.
>> But I don’t know if this will hurt the clunch.

As long as the clutch isn’t slipping (if it’s not broken, it
isn’t), it won’t do anything to hurt the clutch.  

>Spending our anniversary in Gatlinburg, TN last year, I quickly learned to
>not ride the brake at all down the mountains;

IMHO, there are no mountains in Tenessee, only large hills

>we were only there four days,
>but I don’t think my brakes would have lasted much longer had I continued to
>ride them the way I did the first time going down.  

Brake wear is bad in the long term, but of more immediate concern is
your brakes overheating.  When breaks overheat, they fade, and you can’t
stop.

I’ve seen 18 wheelers with the brakes smoking and the driver heading
for the nearest runaway truck ramp.

>Going down, momentum
>kept trying to speed the vehicle up, over revving second gear

Were you really overreving the engine (where the tach goes from yellow
to red), or don’t you have a tach?  

>tapping the brake to keep every thing under control.  I used the brake to
>keep from over-taxing the engine/transmission and the engine/transmission to
>keep from over-taxing the brakes.

>Does this answer your question about hurting the clutch?  No, but I think
>this would minimize any damage.  Certainly driving under these conditions
>long term would cause excessive wear as compared to normal driving
>conditions.  Whatever normal is.  Does anyone who routinely drives under
>these conditions have any advice?

I drive my ancient Lancruiser (12" drums all around) 150 – 750 miles a
week in the mountains (Where the elvation varies from 5,500 feet where
I live to over 13,000 feet on certain unpaved mountain passes).
I only use the brakes for idiots, hair pins, and parking.

The key to mountain driving, and avoiding brake fade is to take advantage
of engine braking.  An engine is just an air pump.  If it can’t get enough
energy to pump it’s air through the gas you’re feeding it, it will
take energy through the drive train and ultimately the wheels,  
counteracting gravity’s acceleration or even decelerating the vehicle.
This energy absorbtion is somewhat proportional to engine speed.

So, you should be able to find a gear / gas combination that will let
you go at any reasonable speed without redlining the engine and without
using the brakes.

Driving down 5-7% grades in my Landcruiser, in high range, without using
the brakes or gas, and the 350 Chevy no where near redline,  I go  ~10-20 in
first, ~20-30 in second, ~40-60 in third.  With a little bit of gas and no
brakes, I can maintain any reasonable downhill speed over 15 (crawling speeds
are possible in the 2.3:1 low range).

–
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I also like to know recent prices from anyone who’s bought one, preferably from a dealer.
I’ve seen a few new Green Typhoons on the road, but I haven’t seen either at a dealer in
a long time.

(Of course, I just bought a Laser in September, so I haven’t been shopping much)
(BTW, I love the Laser, but the service sucks so bad that I can’t stand it.
 I don’t want to do a three page summary, but if you want it…..)

Anybody with a Syclone ever carry a motorcycle in back?  I know a big bike is
over the payload limit, but….

mikesteg

Any  suggestions? comments?

Thank you.

Hubert
e-mail: hube…@cs.berkeley.edu