How to properly brake on mountain passes

[ZackR]

^^^^ This!

 

[Funner]

^^^^^^^That

 

[NMC_EXP]

I've only looked at the first post.

If it is a steep downhill put it in low range 4WD and keep it there.

I've never owned an 80 series but with my FJ40 and FJ60 if 4WD was required for a trail it was always 4WD-Low. Mechanical gear reduction is not self sacrificial. Brakes are.

 

[Grench]

I've only looked at the first post.

If it is a steep downhill put it in low range 4WD and keep it there.

I've never owned an 80 series but with my FJ40 and FJ60 if 4WD was required for a trail it was always 4WD-Low. Mechanical gear reduction is not self sacrificial. Brakes are.

I skimmed through his linked video of the 'trail'. Nothing on there appears to be an actual 'trail' requiring low range. It's a graded mountain gravel road. He should have been able to downshift into 2nd and barely touch the brakes on 'the worst of it'. I suspect the issue is that the OP above was unaware of the concept of downshifting to slow down. I would have simply done about 50% of that in 2nd gear, revs be damned.

Not 'his fault' though. A lot of people don't understand the OD/D/2/1 markings on an automatic transmission. Hell, a lot of modern cars don't even -have- anything but P/R/N/D without side-stepping the shifter into an off-the-side rat maze. We shouldn't be surprised. Instead they might have a 'hill descent mode' button - with no real idea of when to use it.

So, at the risk of having people tell me I'm a dumbass...

On an FZJ80, the overdrive button on the side of the shifter -enables- 4th gear while the shifter is in D. I imagine some people don't even know it is there - and run the truck at highway speeds in 3rd and wonder why they're blowing up the engine.

D enables 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears to shift progressively - but prevents the transmission from going into 4th.

2 enables 1st and 2nd gears to shift progressively - but prevents the transmission from going into 3rd or 4th.

1 limits the transmission to only low gear.

The primary reason for these capabilities even existing on any automatic transmission vehicle is to enable engine braking on grades. I also use this when pulling a trailer and coming up to a stop. I'll progressively downshift while braking. By taking some of the stress off the brakes, I'm more likely to 'still have them' if I have to brake 'shorter' than I'd otherwise have planned.

I'll often drop to 2nd on my way into a tight right/left tight turn, but I tend to drive my automatics as if they were manuals more often than most do.

Secondary use - great control over the vehicle to prevent it 'jumping gears' or 'searching for gears' when trying to finesse an offroad obstacle.

YMMV

 

[Moog]

The other thing that I don't think was mentioned is to properly adjust your LSPV if you have a lift. Not adjusting/eliminating it or not enough adjustment and the front brakes will get overwhelmed quickly on long downhill sections.

 

[Grench]

And I forgot the other driver controls over the behavior of the FZJ80 automatic transmission too. The console buttons that are perpetually sticky due to food, debris and that soda some POs kid dumped on it. PWR and 2nd.

PWR changes the shift points higher. More revs before gear change. Accelerates slightly faster as it holds the lower gear to higher revs. Slightly worse gas mileage. I typically leave this engaged all the time. Gas is an entertainment expense.

2nd button is often misunderstood. It forces the transmission to skip 1st and only use 2nd gear and up. Can be slightly useful in low traction situations (slimy mud, snow, ice) to keep the engine revs, and power to the wheels, very low and even when starting out. I find a gentle right foot does just as well for that. The other use is to use it in conjunction with placing the shifter in 2nd, effectively locking the transmission into 2nd gear only. I do not endorse it, but doing this 2nd gear only with the rear diff locked can be entertaining in certain circumstances.