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Honda CR-V Mountain Driving

mntmommntmom Member Posts: 5
edited August 2014 in Honda
I live in the foothills west of Denver and wonder if the CRV will be able to get up the mountain roads quickly? Anyone have mountain driving experience with this car? I don't need to sail up the hill, I just dont want to get run over by a semi.
Thanks

Comments

  • blueiedgodblueiedgod Member Posts: 2,798
    I live in the foothills west of Denver and wonder if the CRV will be able to get up the mountain roads quickly? Anyone have mountain driving experience with this car? I don't need to sail up the hill, I just dont want to get run over by a semi.
    Thanks


    I don't know about CO, but here in the "hills" of upstate NY, semi's usually stay in the right lane puffing along at 40 mph climbing up, especially if they are loaded. Most highways here have "slow lanes" on the uphills for the trucks to climb without slowing down the traffic.

    I have an older, 2005 CR-V with a manual transmission, but the same K24A1 engine. It has no problem keeping 80 mph on the uphills without having to downshift. In fact, I usually pass "big" V6 and V8 powered SUV's making their slow climb.
  • illinialumincoillinialuminco Member Posts: 3
    I live on the south side of Denver and have taken my '07 CR-V up to the Dillon/Frisco area a number of times. No problem--just keep your RPMs up, lock out OD on the long climbs and you will be running with or leading the pack up the mountain.
  • motoguy128motoguy128 Member Posts: 146
    Well, my '07 Nissan Versa managed to get over most of the major climbs on the front range around Denver.... all while towing a trailer with a motorcycle (~800lbs).!!!

    I was onl able to manage 45mpg going up Loveleand pass, and 35mph on the steepest parts of Independence pass, but the others, I carried the posted speed limit.

    The CR-V will rev a litlte high, but should manage just fine.

    Look at it this way. If you have a 240HP V6 or a 166HP I-4, and they both need slets say 80HP to climb a moderate grade at 65mph, the V6 might make 80HP @ 2000RPM, while the CR-V's I-4 may need 2700RPM to manage the same power output. So there's the difference. So the V6 might have downshifted to 4th gear , to get ot 2000RPM, the CR-V mwill liekly need to drop to 3rd gear to get to 2700RPM for the power it needs.

    Most poeple unfortunaltey feel that a car is underpowered if it needs to downshift frequently. It's only underpowered if it's in the upper 20% of the RPM range to hold a cruising speed with a normal load on a moderate grade.

    Most people never use the full pwoer of a larger engne. So the only difference, is tha tthe larger engine makes the same power at a lower and more comfortable RPM. So it's accelration is more effortless.

    You need to give the CR-V some deliberate throttle input to force a downshift and maintain speed up a grade, but that doesn't make it underpwoered.

    If you want underpwoered... I had a '91 Toyota Tercel that could open your eyes. Merging on the freeway required lots of momentum comming off the on-ramp... and lot of RPM's. The little hamsters under the hood were really screaming.
  • blueiedgodblueiedgod Member Posts: 2,798
    Merging on the freeway required lots of momentum comming off the on-ramp...

    I see this every day. Millions of people tend to forget that the on-ramp's main purpose is to match the speed of the right lane and then merge, without making the guy behind you slam on the brakes when the vehicle enters the highway at slow speed and THEN decides to speed up.
  • motoguy128motoguy128 Member Posts: 146
    I think most Americans are a buch of wimps and are afraid that the ramp will come to an end and they will need to come to a stop, so accelerating much past 50mph, could be "risky".

    In reality, even short on-ramps are pretty long, and it's simply a matter of speeding up or slowing down 5mph to merge smoothly even if a long tractor trailers is approaching.

    When I've merged solo, I onlt end up tapping my brakes because I'm actually overtaking a car in the right lane, but don't have enough room to complete the pass, os I lift, or brake lightly and slot in behind them... and start looking for a gap in the next lane to go around.
  • blueiedgodblueiedgod Member Posts: 2,798
    Being whimps is just part of it. Being not very smart or thinking through is the major part. Every day I see people sitting at the end of the "SPEED UP RAMP" wiating for an openning. Where had they simple matched the speed of the right lane and have merged without causing a commotion, they wouldn't have needed that bloated V8 to match the speed in 2 feet, rather than the 300 feet.

    Driver's education, or education in general leaves a lot desired. Lack of simple arithmetic understanding is what got us into this mortgage crisis, where people making $1000/month bought houses that had $3000/month payments.
  • mntmommntmom Member Posts: 5
    Thanks for your input, I did end up with the CRV & love it. No problems at all getting up the hill!
  • mntmommntmom Member Posts: 5
    Thanks for the laugh!!!!!
  • mntmommntmom Member Posts: 5
    Thanks for that. I did end up getting the CRV & it's been great coming up 'the hill"
  • mntmommntmom Member Posts: 5
    Hmmmm.....French or Canadian~??
  • motoguy128motoguy128 Member Posts: 146
    Actually, I'm American... but after traveling to France, Germany a few times, I find that I drive more like a European (I actually pay attention to what the he** I'm doing). Perhaps I'm a bit more socialist at heart...meaning that I care how my actions and lifestyle affects other people, and have less of a "me, me, me" viewpoint in life.

    If I'm going 70mph on the freeway passing a slower car, and a car approaches from behind (I actually use my mirrors) doing 80mph, I'll speed up and pass a little more quickly to get out of their way. Why... perhaps just the golden rule, I hate it when cars block the left lane when I approach, so I won't be a hypocrite and do the same.
  • amers423amers423 Member Posts: 1
    I'm thinking about buying a honda cr-v (2005, EX) an upgrade from my saturn sl1. I can get my saturn up the mountains just fine if i'm the only one in the car- i just have to keep my RPMs high the whole drive. so i'm wondering how does the cr-v do with passengers and gear? also how does it do coming back to Denver- east on 1-70 coming up to the tunnel? a couple miles up, right before the top, my saturn likes to slow down to about 45 miles an hour and i can't get it back up to speed. which isn't all that bad unless there's weather (which i wouldn't want to be driving in anyway) or heavy traffic. any advice is appreciated! thanks
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