Driving on Hills - Do's and Don'ts!!


Thread Starter #46
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Keeping in right lane is suicidal. Always stay on left side. Are you auto geek who do not drive ? Or are you from US
Sirji me foolish.
I meant the right (right ==designated or correct lane) lane instead of right (right hand side) lane. That's a right interpretation of the foolishness done by me :stupid:
 
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One particularly challenging hill driving road is the ghat road to reach Matheran from Neral. 7km to climb 2500 feet sounds innocuous, but if you are an inexperienced driver, it can scare the pants off you. Multiple hairpins and multiple segment gradients on the same stretch. They have very clearly marked "1st gear" on certain gradients, and no matter whether you are in a Pajero or an Alto, you need to shift to the 1st gear. Certainly not for the faint hearted. And to think that Maruti van taxis do this day-in day out with 6 or more passengers and puny 800cc engines!
 
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^^Since there came the term 'inexperienced driver'; I have just one golden advise for the ones who are hitting hills for the first time and don't want to get their pants wet:

"BE SLOW and BEFRIEND THE FIRST COG"

Seriously; if you drive slow and let others go ahead then within 10-15 kms of driving; you get accustomed to the way of driving and after that you can gradually increase your speed till say 100 kilometers of distance.

My own experience:
There is this place called Gangnani en route ot Gangotri; the road is something like the one shown here but the gradient was high; quite a steep incline it is and even Innova was also not relaxed climbing it even in first gear.
IMG_5301.JPG

The road is hardly as wide as a bus and traffic density is a bit heavy when I stalled Innova with 5 on board on the incline. That was my first trip to hills and I have been driving really slow since more than 240 kms of the Hilly terrain. But it was hard to move the car after stalling; I took 3 attempts to get the vehicle moving but it was a lesson.

Similarly if you are a first timer and end up hitting a tough terrain then it's best to be slow and climb the terrain in the first cog itself even if the speeds reach up to 30-35 kph; try to shift to second and you are bogged down in no time I can bet. This is applicable especially in the situations like the one mentioned by @Acechip
 
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which is the best car to travel hills station?

hi, i have plan to travel chennai to yellagiri hills so pls suggest me which car is suitable to take rental for driving hills station.
 

bhvm

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Get a Scorpio. The higher GC with Strong engine shall help.
Other Option will be like-
Safari,-But too heavy-Bulky.
XUV- FWD may loose grip. Not rugged enough.
Terrano or Duster- Could be done. Just be careful of really big potholes or Stones.
 
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Re: which is the best car to travel hills station?

Everybody loves to drive in hills yet the fact should be acknowledged that it's equally dangerous when things go wrong without presence of mind.

After much years of my driving experience (7 years) which had included ghats, let me pour down my points:

1) Respect vehicles coming upwards as everybody knows the momentum is important for them.

2) When you have place to stop over to let opposite vehicles to pass then do it instantly without thinking that he will get down too.

3) We all should know that heavy vehicles in hills suffers a lot to gain momentum when coming up-hill and it's our courtesy to have them pass through even if you wait.

4) Sometimes being always in the left lane and having everybody follow the same doesn't work in curves, if a vehicle is coming from below say a truck, they need all the space to turn the monster, so when you're going down-hill and you see a truck in your lane, you can take the right lane and wait until he passes then get back to your lane.

5) Whatever features your car can carry like ABS, EBD Traction control or hill assist, but remember our Indian ghats aren't fools race track, so what I'm trying to say here is stick to basics like being in lower gears as much as possible and don't worry if the vehicles passes you from behind then why can't you, thumb rule here is the slower you go, the safer you reach.

6) Engaging brakes continuously will have the brakes heated and not to function which will lead to brake failure, so next time, you're going towards a cliff, remember this point and make it a point to use less brakes and more to keep the car engaged in lower gears.

hi, i have plan to travel chennai to yellagiri hills so pls suggest me which car is suitable to take rental for driving hills station.
We did Yelagiri ghats in an Alto and Figo and didn't face much of issues as the hills didn't command much of SUVish way to drive as the roads are well tarmac'd.

But the thrill is always in SUVs like scorpio in these roads.
 
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Hill driving tips

Hi guys,

I'm a new driver. I must have barely driven 300 kms by now and still learning the nuances of driving. I haven't taken my vehicle to a highway yet but planning to do so soon. My question is regarding hill driving.

1. Is it safe for a new driver to venture out on a hill trip. I'm planning to drive to Munnar which is ~ 150 kms form my place. Form what i read online, roads to Munnar are in decent shape.

2. What all some of the tips to drive in Hills.

3. Is it okay to take a brand new vehicle to hills?. My car has covered only 100 kms so far. I drive a Hyundai Grand i10 petrol if it helps.

regards
Sumesh
 
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Re: Hill driving tips

1. Is it safe for a new driver to venture out on a hill trip. I'm planning to drive to Munnar which is ~ 150 kms form my place. Form what i read online, roads to Munnar are in decent shape.
Road drive doesn't matter at all. It goes smooth. If it has any ghat section then remember there is 2 aspects going up and down via ghat road.

In both cases you need pretty confident on your own.

2. What all some of the tips to drive in Hills.
For Hill up drive, is almost same as like driving on normal road. Just matter if you get jam/hault/slow moving traffic then you need to well verse with your driving skill. You should not leave your car break until you feel that your car has been lock with its gear ( while removing leg from clutch ) and keep moving ( remove your left leg from clutch now ). If you smell something is burning then it's your clutch plate which goes HARDER on when it heats up. Try to take break and let it cool down naturally.

For down drive is need to keep control on your car and should be in 2-3-4 th gear depends on road and traffic. But for sure avoid TOP Gear here.

3. Is it okay to take a brand new vehicle to hills?. My car has covered only 100 kms so far. I drive a Hyundai Grand i10 petrol if it helps.
You car is capable of doing all stuff with proper driving skills. so if possible take company of good friend driver

Enjoy
 

bhvm

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Re: Hill driving tips

Hi guys,

I'm a new driver. I must have barely driven 300 kms by now and still learning the nuances of driving. I haven't taken my vehicle to a highway yet but planning to do so soon. My question is regarding hill driving.

1. Is it safe for a new driver to venture out on a hill trip. I'm planning to drive to Munnar which is ~ 150 kms form my place. Form what i read online, roads to Munnar are in decent shape.

2. What all some of the tips to drive in Hills.

3. Is it okay to take a brand new vehicle to hills?. My car has covered only 100 kms so far. I drive a Hyundai Grand i10 petrol if it helps.

regards
Sumesh
1. Yes, but 300 KMS driving experience is way too less. You better take someone experienced like your dad/Bro along in Interest of safety.

2. A few tips-
>Vehicle going UP had priority in case of Narrow road.
> Keep vehicle in One gear LOWER, I mean Higher engine RPM than usual driving speed.
> Keep enging boiling and downshift beforehand before taking U-Turns bends etc.
> Use headlights and Horns on blind turns.
Take turns very Gingerly, Watch out for suddenly charging vehicles.
> Take breaks and stop if you are feeling less confident.
> DO NOT drive half clutch. Do not rest foot on clutch pedal.
> Fill enough fuel and more for spare.
> Check tyres, lights, Wipers, Brakes, Horns, Water, oils etc beforehand the Journey.

3. No problem.
 
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Re: Hill driving tips

Hi guys,

I'm a new driver. I must have barely driven 300 kms by now and still learning the nuances of driving. I haven't taken my vehicle to a highway yet but planning to do so soon. My question is regarding hill driving.

1. Is it safe for a new driver to venture out on a hill trip. I'm planning to drive to Munnar which is ~ 150 kms form my place. Form what i read online, roads to Munnar are in decent shape.

2. What all some of the tips to drive in Hills.

3. Is it okay to take a brand new vehicle to hills?. My car has covered only 100 kms so far. I drive a Hyundai Grand i10 petrol if it helps.

regards
Sumesh
Driving in hills definitely requires some additional skill especially when gradient is too steep along with hair pin curves. Keep the car in lower gear and RPM within 2000.
Grand i10 is RPM sensitive car, it will stall as soon as RPM goes below 1000. But if you keep it in power band then you will have fun with it on hills.

There is already a thread where you can have a look or discuss more on this.
 
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Re: Hill driving tips

My opinions would be-

- Since you are a new driver, use half clutch (while climbing up) when you feel its unavoidable rather than getting into an accident. But try to avoid it and use accelerator+hand brake combo while climbing steep inclines.
- Since your car is a Grand i10, be careful in braking. Granding i10 lacks braking feedback for a long brake pedal travel (feels like a false play) and then brakes hard with a sudden jerk. This sudden jerk can cause other vehicles to hit you from back so practice breaking as much as you can.
- Don't accelerate too much while going down as brakes take lot of beating while going down and get wore out easily.
- Avoid driving in hilly regions during dark as it becomes unsafe even for the best of the drivers.
- If females in car, be vigilant as many hilly areas are vacant and more crime prone IMO.
- Don't eat too much before driving.
- Honk gently on turns and blind spots.
- Maintain distance between you and the car ahead while climbing up as heavy vehicles//inexperienced/careless drivers slide the car back while climbing up.
 
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@sumesh Most sensible option for you is to take a good driver friend this time and learn by observing how he drives on hill. Practice on near by less steep inclines before venturing to ghats on your own. Please avoid going to ghats alone for the first time.
 
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