Down Hill Racer...........
#1
01-04-2008, 08:48 AM
Down Hill Racer...........
Took a trip to Big Bear New Year’s Eve. Let me just say, the Camry is a hoot on twisty mountain roads….in the “B” mood.
On the way down the mountain, for the first couple of minutes, I rode the brakes. But then I remembered that the Camry had an engine breaking mode.
Sooo……..I raced a BMW 5 Series down the mountain. And we were hauling as(s)……we were moving. I never knew, or one never knows, what a car can do unless it’s pushed. And I must say that the Camry Hybrid behaves with a different personality when pushed.
I followed that BMW step-by-step. Taking curves and turns right behind him. The difference was during the setup for the curves. The BMW would break hard and often. I’d just take my foot off the gas and let the engine break for me. And not being a BMW with BMW suspension and performance tires, I’m sure the Camry’s slip and traction controls made me a better driver than that BMW driver actually thought I was.
The BMW driver would pull far ahead in the straights-passing lanes, only to be caught in the curves. I’d just figured that if I couldn’t hear the tires breaking traction, then I wasn’t pushing hard enough.
Two thirds of the way down, the BMW driver slowed to a crawl and pulled over to a turn-out. As I slower pulled past him, he stuck his arm out the window and gave me a thumbs up, followed by an A-OK, then a wave.
He followed me for a while. But then I felt pressured to keep up the same pace …which wasn’t as fun and at times down right scary. But I kept it up and lost sight of him by the time I got to the bottom of the mountain.
I won’t ever be doing that again. But it does make me wonder what the Camry Hybrid can do with better tires and the Camry SE suspension set-up.
On the way down the mountain, for the first couple of minutes, I rode the brakes. But then I remembered that the Camry had an engine breaking mode.
Sooo……..I raced a BMW 5 Series down the mountain. And we were hauling as(s)……we were moving. I never knew, or one never knows, what a car can do unless it’s pushed. And I must say that the Camry Hybrid behaves with a different personality when pushed.
I followed that BMW step-by-step. Taking curves and turns right behind him. The difference was during the setup for the curves. The BMW would break hard and often. I’d just take my foot off the gas and let the engine break for me. And not being a BMW with BMW suspension and performance tires, I’m sure the Camry’s slip and traction controls made me a better driver than that BMW driver actually thought I was.
The BMW driver would pull far ahead in the straights-passing lanes, only to be caught in the curves. I’d just figured that if I couldn’t hear the tires breaking traction, then I wasn’t pushing hard enough.
Two thirds of the way down, the BMW driver slowed to a crawl and pulled over to a turn-out. As I slower pulled past him, he stuck his arm out the window and gave me a thumbs up, followed by an A-OK, then a wave.
He followed me for a while. But then I felt pressured to keep up the same pace …which wasn’t as fun and at times down right scary. But I kept it up and lost sight of him by the time I got to the bottom of the mountain.
I won’t ever be doing that again. But it does make me wonder what the Camry Hybrid can do with better tires and the Camry SE suspension set-up.
Last edited by Xavier6162; 01-04-2008 at 08:51 AM.
#3
01-04-2008, 10:00 AM
Re: Down Hill Racer...........
Wouldn't matter. A BMW 5 Series would make my 8 yr old a good driver.
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