Well my girlfriend and I just moved into an apartment near campus where we're going to school. The terrain where we're living now is a lot different from what I'm used to.
Theres tons of hills all over -- and STEEP ones to say the least. I know winter I'm going to be having trouble on these so I think for the most part I'll avoid them all together if I can, however, some are unavoidable and it's not winter yet so I'm constantly going up/down them...

Are there any things I should do to the car for this kind of terrain? I suspect that it's really tough on the engine for these big "hill climbs" or tough on the breaks going down them... Any advice anyone?

 

The engine will not even notice a short hill but long hills require a good cooling system, especially in heavy vehicles like trucks.

Brakes do not like long hills. Just use them on and off to keep the speed from creeping up. Everyone here is going to tell you to downshift. I'm all for that but it's takes a "slight" load off your brakes and places a hard load on your engine and trans. It also barely scrubs off any speed on steep hills.

In the winter, climbing them with a rear drive Mustang will be a challenge. Your sig shows a 6 cylinder Mustang. So I'm guessing no trac loc read diff. That's good and bad. Good, it will not swing sideways as it tries to climb a snow covered hill. Bad because open diff always chose the wrong wheel to send power to. Get some skinny snow tires and keep the gas tank full, for weight.

 

Downshifting on downgrades is done to control speed, not reduce it. Actually slowing down is a job for your brakes.

BUT!!! . . . do not downshift going down hills when the road is slippery - this can cause the rear wheels to lose grip and the tail can come around on you. You should be going slowly anyway.


Norm

 

just use your park brake when you park... other than that your stock car is more than capable

 

Is your vehicle a stick or an auto? If it is a stick, you should be fine for the winter months depending on how steep these hills really are. Just add a little bit of weight in the back, and drive with common sense. Approach a down grade slowly, i.e. brake way before the crest of the hill, so when you actually start descending you are already going slower than you normally would on flat ground. Keep it in a lower gear to help with engine braking. Use smooth pulses on the brake to keep the speed down without heating the pads and rotors excessively. When climbing, attempt to keep a steady gear and speed through out the entire hill. Do not try to shift gears on the hill, as this increases your chances of breaking loose. A smart thing to do would be to practice on some of the serious hills now, while its dry, and see what gear feels like the car will have adequate power to ascend the hill without bogging, at a slower rate of speed(because you will be in snow obviously), and not too high of rpms that it wants to break loose on you. Ideally, given the 4.0, I would assume being able to keep it around 2700-3000 rpms you should be fine. Think slow, you do not want to try hitting a hill at 50mph and slow down half way up because of load, grade, traction etc, and then have to downshift, thus increasing the likelihood of breaking loose. Carry some bags of kitty litter or sand in the trunk, as it will help with traction and can be used if you get stuck. But don't over do it! Even just 150lbs should do the trick for that vehicle. Hope this helps some.

 

Well I'm in an Automatic :S

And these aren't just small hills, they are VERY steep and long hills, thick of a black diamond at a ski resort and those are comparable to the size and how steep these hills are. Some of them seem steep enough to the point where if I floor it over them I'll actually get all four wheels off the ground heh.

I dont know about winter or what I'll do, but these are some good pointers... as far as right now though I'm mostly concerned about the strain on the engine because I'm constantly keeping the gas peddle pushed in pretty hard on some of these hills...

 

You all are talking like he's driving a big ol mack lol. If theres snow all over the place chances are you aren't going anywhere anyways. If you ride your brakes too much they can heat up and get whats called brake fade. You lose your brakes cause they over heated. Hills aren't hard on a motor as long as your engine will stay cool. If you start spinning in the middle of a hill when its real icy you can try to zig zag to get a little bit of traction. Its better than spinning out and having the chances of sliding all the way back down.

 

See what other people living in the area do. Usually after a snowfall the city FIRST goes and clears the really steep roads first & puts salt or gravel on them. So a big tip.. DON'T go driving just after a snowfall, wait for the city do do their stuff first

 

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