I've taken my car offroad several times since picking it up in May, and it's been great. Previously I had a '12 WK2 Hemi so I'm pretty familiar with the QuadraTrac/SelecTerrain system etc. I definitely notice the difference with this car having a turbo. Last month however I realized that it can be a double-edged sword; it's difficult to drive slowly when you're in rocky terrain. I was wondering if people have any tips for how to manipulate the car to try to minimize any surging caused by the turbo. Before you say "use SelecSpeed!" read my story below.
I was in low-range at OR1 height driving up a road that was mostly loose rock/talus. Think gravel but each piece of gravel is between golf ball and baseball size. I've driven across small-ish talus fields before, but this was my first time on a road of this kind. As I drove over the rocks they would often shift, which would cause the car to slip slightly/rock to one side, but there were also larger boulders semi-submerged in the talus which would not move. So the ride was what I consider extremely bumpy. I had to be at OR1 to clear the boulders. The tires would often run into these boulders and need some extra throttle to make it over them. But when I gave it enough throttle to make it over, the turbo would spool up and launch me over the rock. Even though I then removed my foot from the gas, the momentum would make the car go too fast for the suspension to handle the uneven terrain and the body would rock side to side very harshly.
I did engage SelecSpeed several times, both going uphill and downhill, and the resulting ride was worse than me driving manually. The automated wheel-braking was fairly aggressive and the car would lurch what seemed like every time they were applied. I think the algorithm was not able to maintain a constant speed like it wants to do and couldn't really handle that situation. The feature works brilliantly on smoother terrain.
Upon reflecting on the experience later, I thought that the car would have driven better if it started in second gear so I wouldn't get quite so much torque out of it. Or maybe I shouldn't have been in low range?
Any suggestions on how to achieve a more gradual torque delivery in these cars?
I was in low-range at OR1 height driving up a road that was mostly loose rock/talus. Think gravel but each piece of gravel is between golf ball and baseball size. I've driven across small-ish talus fields before, but this was my first time on a road of this kind. As I drove over the rocks they would often shift, which would cause the car to slip slightly/rock to one side, but there were also larger boulders semi-submerged in the talus which would not move. So the ride was what I consider extremely bumpy. I had to be at OR1 to clear the boulders. The tires would often run into these boulders and need some extra throttle to make it over them. But when I gave it enough throttle to make it over, the turbo would spool up and launch me over the rock. Even though I then removed my foot from the gas, the momentum would make the car go too fast for the suspension to handle the uneven terrain and the body would rock side to side very harshly.
I did engage SelecSpeed several times, both going uphill and downhill, and the resulting ride was worse than me driving manually. The automated wheel-braking was fairly aggressive and the car would lurch what seemed like every time they were applied. I think the algorithm was not able to maintain a constant speed like it wants to do and couldn't really handle that situation. The feature works brilliantly on smoother terrain.
Upon reflecting on the experience later, I thought that the car would have driven better if it started in second gear so I wouldn't get quite so much torque out of it. Or maybe I shouldn't have been in low range?
Any suggestions on how to achieve a more gradual torque delivery in these cars?