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Pike's Peak in 2014 Corolla S?

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Turbonerfs101e 
#1 ·
Hi, all...I might be going out to Colorado and I really want to visit Pike's Peak. I hear they are very strict on things. You have to have a solid low gear and ride in it...would that be M1 on the shifter? They tell you to use the same gear going down and let the transmission slow you as much as possible so you don't overheat your brakes. Speed limit is 25.

Has anyone ascended the mountain with an 11th-Gen? I just want to know how the CVT handled it. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
CVT's and steep grades

This was a thread that I started earlier in the fall. I live next to a mountain and it's tiny in comparison to Pikes Peak, but it's really steep coming down. I remember my dads jeep cherokee from back in the day though and it did just fine going up and down Pikes Peak. The biggest thing as you said is to pick a lower gear. Try M1/M2 on your decent, and on the uphill, you should be fine with keeping it in drive unless you would prefer the manual mode for more control. It's a steep mountain but it's not as steep as you think with how the road has been designed.

The biggest thing to be weary of is lack of oxygen. Especially if you've never been that high in elevation before (12,000+ feet). You can experience altitude sickness. Your car will also lose quite a bit of horse power at the summit.

Good luck!
 
#3 ·
Also, the CVT will use engine braking if you have cruise control enabled, so maybe use a combo of CC & staying in M1/M2,
iirc M1 will shift to M2 automatically at about 25/30 MPH
I've never been on any steep grades with my car yet, but I know a few around here I could test out.
 
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#4 ·
Does the CVT on the Corolla have a brake feature like my Prius? Going down steep grades I can just slide the shifter into the "B" mode and it helps control speed down steeper grades. Back in the 80's I lived in Pueblo, CO and drove up to Pike's Peak many time in my 82 Tercel! Even with 60 HP I made it with no problem! I do love having a MT though for coming down the mountain! :grin:
 
#6 ·
S Corollas only have D+M, there's a button for sport mode though.
Sport mode while in D, it holds higher RPMs and shifts closer to redline and in D w/o sport.

L/LE have D/S/B modes. I tried B in my loaner and it worked wonderfully, engine shot up to 5k RPM and felt like I was driving in first gear no matter what. I'd assume Sport mode in an L model would be around the same as with an S, but minus the option to go into manual shift mode

In my S though, I've never taken any steep grades and can only think that cruise control, plus sport button, plus Manual mode would provide the best amount of engine braking. I know for a fact that CC will do engine braking if you start gaining a lot of speed, but the problem is, you can't engage CC until you're ~25MPH.
 
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