hill feature?
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From: SF Bay Area
2002 C230 K
hill feature?
On the drive in to work I discovered an interesting feature of the car (C230K - manual transmission). There's an uphill portion on the exit I use, to go back over the freeway by way of an overpass. Traffic had stopped halfway up this incline and I noticed that on the slow crawl up to merge onto the other road that once the car is going from rest, it will maintain enough throttle without actually giving it any gas via the pedal to drive along without stalling.
Anyone else notice anything similar? All of the other manuals I've had would just shudder and die on an uphill without driver input from the gas pedal - of course, they're all relatively old - maybe all newer cars do this now.
Along similar lines, I read in the new Mercedes Enthusiast magazine that MB is working on some new brake features. One is an uphill assist. If standing still on an uphill road the car will maintain braking without pushing on the pedal. It releases the brakes once the gas pedal is pressed. Would make driving the manual much easier in San Francisco! The other feature would be used in traffic jams. If traveling under 25 and the feature is engaged the car will gently apply the brakes once the driver lifts his foot from the gas, eliminating the repetative back and forth motion. This feature sounds a little dodgy to me - unless it's combined with Parktronic to prevent driving into the back of the car in front of you if it stops more suddenly.
Cheers, BT
Anyone else notice anything similar? All of the other manuals I've had would just shudder and die on an uphill without driver input from the gas pedal - of course, they're all relatively old - maybe all newer cars do this now.
Along similar lines, I read in the new Mercedes Enthusiast magazine that MB is working on some new brake features. One is an uphill assist. If standing still on an uphill road the car will maintain braking without pushing on the pedal. It releases the brakes once the gas pedal is pressed. Would make driving the manual much easier in San Francisco! The other feature would be used in traffic jams. If traveling under 25 and the feature is engaged the car will gently apply the brakes once the driver lifts his foot from the gas, eliminating the repetative back and forth motion. This feature sounds a little dodgy to me - unless it's combined with Parktronic to prevent driving into the back of the car in front of you if it stops more suddenly.
Cheers, BT
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'01 C240/6
Most manual transmission cars will go up a slight incline in first gear without giving it any gas. I think it depends on the idle speed and the gearing.
The hill assist (puts the brakes on when you are on an incline so you don't roll back in a manual car). Subaru had that 20+ years ago!
The hill assist (puts the brakes on when you are on an incline so you don't roll back in a manual car). Subaru had that 20+ years ago!
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From: SF Bay Area
2002 C230 K
Originally posted by SoCal240/6
Most manual transmission cars will go up a slight incline in first gear without giving it any gas. I think it depends on the idle speed and the gearing.
Most manual transmission cars will go up a slight incline in first gear without giving it any gas. I think it depends on the idle speed and the gearing.
My mom had a Suburu that didn't have this feature
- but it had a handbrake, maybe they were mutually exclusive.Cheers, BT
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From: Basel, Switzerland
Audi A5 Sportback + Cannondale Prophet
I owned a '96 Chevy Cavalier about 6 years ago that did this. It would go up a San Francisco-style hill ay my girlfriend's (now wife) parents house without so much as puting your foot on the throttle, even if it was loaded with four adults and their beach gear. I thought that was pretty neat, since I've tried it on plenty of other, newer and more technologically advanced cars. haven't tried it on my C230 (different city, no hills around).
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From: SF South Bay
2002 C230 Coupe
when i was passing a huge speed bump around my hosue last night at a vey low speed i intentionally let off the gas pedal to see what will happen. amazingly the car automatically gave more gas to the engine while it was having tough time going up the bump. i know for sure because i saw the engine rev down then rev up and i also felt the push.
so i think if the load change is fairly gradual the computer will response and automatically give more gas to rev up the engine. but if, say, u let go the clutch too fast from a dead stop then the engine will stall because u don't allow enough time for the computer to response to the sudden load change.
so i think if the load change is fairly gradual the computer will response and automatically give more gas to rev up the engine. but if, say, u let go the clutch too fast from a dead stop then the engine will stall because u don't allow enough time for the computer to response to the sudden load change.
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From: Basel, Switzerland
Audi A5 Sportback + Cannondale Prophet
Because this same "feature" was present on my relatively low tech Cavalier (less likelyhood of fancy computer work there), I think it has more to do with something purely mechanical than software related. It seems to do exactly what an automatic would do in the same conditions, short of engaging the clutch to prevent a stall.
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From: NYC
2005 C320 4Matic
I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I discovered the hill assist feature. No brakes, no gas, car doesn't roll backwards on an uphill.
My previous car only offered downhill assist
.
My previous car only offered downhill assist
.
Last edited by raunen; Feb 23, 2006 at 11:04 PM.
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'05 C230SS 6MT, 1966 Triumph TR4a IRS, Shelby Cobra 427 Supercharged
Its merely because the car is computer controlled fuel injected. The copmuter says to idle at this engine speed, no less, no more. If you ease off the clutch (as opposed to just dumping it) the computer can keep up to maintain that engine speed. So once moving, as long as you are not in too high of a gear, the engine will idle in that gear.
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From: New Jersey
SLS AMG | S65 AMG | GL550
Originally Posted by Enze6997
How does it distinguish between idle on a hill and stalling on flat ground?
Does it just depend on having a running start?
Does it just depend on having a running start?
It's a shot in the dark, but a simple Gyro could tell the computer if the car is flat or on an incline.
Erik
