Hill descent control?

[rivers edge]

Ok... I know the general operation of the hill descent control, push the button and while descending down a hill it will help keep your l/r from going down to fast. now... last night I was playing around in a gravel pit and was going up and down some hills and decided to use my hill descent. I think I might have aproached the hill wrong or something, I started to go down and it sped half way down before it kicked in by then I was going so fast that when the tires slowed down the D2 did not! I ended up sliding all the way down the hill! should I have used my brakes when aproaching the hill or what should have I have done differently?

[Disco Mike]

I am going to assume, you were in low range, that is the only way to engage Hill Decent.
You should engage it before you are half way down the hill, or as you put it, the tires will stop and the truck won't.
Also, remember, using hill decent wears out the brakes and will over heat them if you use it alot, try a little transmission braking also.
Mike

[jhmover]

If you're going to use HDC on a steep hill you should be in first gear. If I remember correctly, it adjust your speed down the hill based on what gear you're in, so if you're in a higher gear, you're going to go down the hill a lot faster before it does anything. Were you in first gear or did you have it in drive?

[d2sti]

Don't worry in a few months it wont work, then you don't have to worry about how to use it j/k

But my 3 amigos came up before I could use it

[jordieb213]

yeah...if you are approaching a descent, you should 1.)stop 2.)put the car in low range 3.)select which gear is appropriate for the slope 4.)press the HDC button. 5.)hold on tight and enjoy the ride!!!!

but also pay close attention to what DiscoMike said about the brakes. They are working pretty hard for you to sit back and relax, so you really need to select a lower gear for the steeper the grade. HDC works great, and if you know how to use it correctly, it can be a real treat for the driver.

[rivers edge]

ya... I was in 4lo, 2nd! That is the way I usually would descend from a hill. but now I just throw 1st! I noticed when I was at TMTC that 1st gear actually makes the l/r go slower than hdc(most of the time)! Thanks for the help!

pics from TMTC trip:

http://www.landroversonly.com/forums...465#post113465

[SCSL]

The earlier DIIs had a higher speed cap for hill descent. The later models had a lower speed cap that made hill descent work a bit more effectively. However, the model year that this was changed escapes me...

[Disco Mike]

Originally Posted by SCSL

The earlier DIIs had a higher speed cap for hill descent. The later models had a lower speed cap that made hill descent work a bit more effectively. However, the model year that this was changed escapes me...

I have a 99 D2 and I can't imagine the HDC being any slower. I run 265's and 4:10 gear and in low range 1st. gear, I stay under 5 MPH, I sure have no complaint.
Mike