HDC on ice

[toddjb122]

....HDC worked great again today and helped me avoid a 3 car pile-up at the bottom of a hill. Portland, OR got hit by the same snow/ice that got us here in Seattle. .

Just so I can learn from your experience...how did you engage it in this scenario? Were you driving along in SNOW mode, High, came up upon the hill and hit the HDC button at the top of the hill? Or do you stop, put in LOW or some other configuration.

Thanks!

 

[roverdawg]

Just so I can learn from your experience...how did you engage it in this scenario? Were you driving along in SNOW mode, High, came up upon the hill and hit the HDC button at the top of the hill? Or do you stop, put in LOW or some other configuration.

Thanks!

I was in Snow mode/High and came to the top of the hill to peek over (wasn't going to chance it if there were too many parked cars), and decided to go for it. I put it into 1st and headed down using the transmission to brake. The hill had a slight turn and I soon noticed a pile-up at the bottom blocking the right side. I needed to slow down a little and already knew that the ABS would let me slide a bit at the bottom so I pressed the HDC in the center console and used the cruise control (-) button on the steering wheel to slow it way down. Once I got to the bottom I switched off the HDC and away I went. Did it on the fly, the HDC does make a tremendous racket at first as it slows down the vehicle but that quickly goes away once it is at it's desired speed.

 

[Houm_WA]

dawg,

If it were icy enough or steep enough, I don't think that approach would've been the best for you. My approach to a very steep/icy hill would be to stop on top, put it in 4-Lo AND 1st gear with HDC off, and idle down.

Even today on a snowy hill of medium angle, I crept down in Lo and then for fun engaged HDC and as soon as the brakes engaged the car started sliding.

I re-iterate: great on mud, gravel, loose dirt, sand....BAD on ice.

 

[tommithy]

I'm not sure the terra grapplers would not be worse (or at least no better) on sheer ice like it sounds like you are experiencing. The only tire that will do anything in this condition is a true snow tire.
Question, in HDC going down a steep hill, isn't the entire system pretty much focused on braking?? If so, how is that or any mode any different than just braking and relying on the abs?
I agree that the HP's are downright scary, so bad that i bought new tires for my leased LR3 to avoid them.

I think the Terra Grapplers would be better on ice then these crummy goodyears. I'm not saying night and day difference like a good set of blizzaks or studded tires but definately better. I do know they would be better in snow then the goodyears, besides I need a good offroad tire anyway.

 

[roverdawg]

Houm,

I'll give that a try next time and see how it compares. I've never tried it in low. btw what speed is your HDC set at? Hopefully, we'll get lots more snow/ice to play in this year.

 

[roverman]

tommithy,
Definitely agree that they would be much better in snow and off road. Wasn't knocking them at all, i'm just a big proponent of snow tires. If I'm gonna have the best 4x4 in the world I want the best tire for the job. Of course I'm a hypocrite b/c I never got snow tires for this one as the lease is gonna be up soon and I'm not sure I'm keeping it yet. Dealer told me the dreadful lie that my 16" rims and snow tires were compatible with the LR3 when i leased it

 

[Houm_WA]

dawg, I'm not sure what speed it's set at; I didn't know that the LR3 would tell me that. I know I can adjust it using the CC buttons, but where does it show you the speed?

Anyhow, definitely try 4-Lo next time. It's profound and as I said before, at the LR driving school, the ENTIRE course was done in Lo. At all times...LOW. When I went offroad with the Cascade Rovers we were in low essentially the whole time. Low just gives better control of the vehicle....MUCH better control. Nice 'n slow.

As for roverman's question about the HDC relying on the brakes regardless of mode; that is true. This is why it's not good on ice.

 

[roverdawg]

dawg, I'm not sure what speed it's set at; I didn't know that the LR3 would tell me that. I know I can adjust it using the CC buttons, but where does it show you the speed?

Anyhow, definitely try 4-Lo next time. It's profound and as I said before, at the LR driving school, the ENTIRE course was done in Lo. At all times...LOW. When I went offroad with the Cascade Rovers we were in low essentially the whole time. Low just gives better control of the vehicle....MUCH better control. Nice 'n slow.

As for roverman's question about the HDC relying on the brakes regardless of mode; that is true. This is why it's not good on ice.

The HDC uses a combination of engine braking and the ABS to maintain the set speed while keeping the wheels moving, albeit slowly. Houm, you're right there's no way to pre-set the speed of the HDC (I thought I read somewhere that you could set it to 2.5mph or 7.0mph), it's starting & minimum speed is dependent upon the gear/hi-low setting selected. I'm a big fan of it on ice but am looking fwd to trying your technique. Felt really secure creeping down at 2.5 mph w/o touching the brakes. I figure in that situation the LR3 can more efficiently control my descent then I could manually using the transmission/ABS. When I used HDC in Snow/HIGH the response & timing was perfect. My only concern is that in LOW, the HDC controls the speed more aggressively (per the manual), which would not be good on ice.

 

[Houm_WA]

dawg, I am not sure about HDC and hi, because if I approach a steep hill...and I mean pretty steep here, even like (at a minimum) 85th as you first head west coming off of the I-5 South offramp, and steeper....I would put it in low and not mess around. If it was truly icy (and not just snow) I would expect HDC to cause a slide. I hope you (and hence, we) get a chance to try it....if not this year, certainly next year.

 

[roverdawg]

dawg, I am not sure about HDC and hi, because if I approach a steep hill...and I mean pretty steep here, even like (at a minimum) 85th as you first head west coming off of the I-5 South offramp, and steeper....I would put it in low and not mess around. If it was truly icy (and not just snow) I would expect HDC to cause a slide. I hope you (and hence, we) get a chance to try it....if not this year, certainly next year.

Sounds good, Houm. I've got a feeling that we'll have a snowy February! It's tough not really having a good place to test this out. Most instances of use, are as you say, not where you want to be experimenting. I believe the HDC, at 2.5 mph is even below 1st gear and the brakes rarely kick in at that speed. Got to play on McGraw before the sledders showed up and before they put up the street closed sign, but even then you had the occasional car coming along the side streets. Still hoping to get down to the Land Rover School in California, or better yet, the one in Montreal for their snow/ice course, maybe this year.