Jakes - Coquihalla Highway

This is all true, but it takes a while to develop the familiarity with a particular road to know what the characteristics are. Even a seasoned driver, who is unfamiliar with a road must exercise caution, and once familiar with a hill must still guard against over confidence. A fuse or circuit breaker is all that stands between you and a failed engine brake.

 

Couldn't agree with you more.

But once you know a hill, you can sometimes safely pick up a gear and stop using the service brake. Room, weather and traffic permitting of course.

 

I recently had my engine replaced and only found out that the engine brake function was not turned on when it was too late to turn around as I had a pick up appointment. Loaded in Kamloops and then went down the hill, to Cullen to get it fixed, without anything but service brakes and proper gear selection.

I wasn't counting on wind resistance that day!

 

Using wind for braking never heard of it till now, next time I get caught speeding I think I'll tell the cop It's the winds fault............

 

Google Wreckhouse, NFLD, or Codroy Valley, NFLD ....... those winds have been known to stop trains !! ..... And for those trains stupid enuf to temp Ma Nature, they simply were pushed over on their sides.

 

Well, if going faster requires more energy to overcome air resistance, then going down a hill faster will also require more energy to overcome air resistance.

All I'm saying is that there are times when a few miles an hour faster will be fast enough to create additional drag and will be the difference between periodic brake applications to keep speed in check and not having to do that. I'm not talking rolling off the top of the Coq in high gear.

I'm not advocating blasting down hills recklessly. I hope people understand that.

 

I use my engine brake all the time. Even when I ran Overwaitea on a hwy 3, all the big hills no mater what the road surface. Radio off. 100 % attention.

There are times when traction is so poor that it will begin staling the engine but you will have warning signs like a bouncing tack needle. I think a lot depends on how much weight is on the drives. Maxed out, its pretty hard to break traction, but not impossible.

 

The only time I ever came close to jackknifing was around a corner on a flat piece of road. I briefly let off the the throttle. The truck stopped pulling and the trailer started coming around. Applying throttle fixed it.

When using a service brake (in every road condition) there is a time lag in application and release. Engine brakes are instant on or off. If you're braking traction while slowing down, the answer is not continued braking is it? With ABS it's not the issue it once was.

The bottom line is that a vehicle will not move under its own power or brake or steer without TRACTION.