Hill Stop Assist Question

[Donstar]

12 hours ago, poconojoe said:

I like it. In fact, I wish it would continue to hold until you press the accelerator pedal. But It only holds for a few seconds.

I find it useful on steep hills, especially when trailering. Because, even with an automatic transmission, the truck can and will roll backward on a steep hill.

I'm in my 60's and grew up with standard transmissions. I've owned quite a few trucks, cars and hot rods that were sticks. I kind of miss it a bit. They don't even produce Silverados with a stick anymore...that's ashame.

Back in the 80's I had an F250 with that granny (low) first gear. You could let the clutch out and it would roll along without giving it gas. Wouldn't stall, just roll along. Man that thing was geared to tear down a house. Lock in the manual hubs, put it in 4x4 low, drop it in first (granny) gear and the torque was amazing.

I think it is intended to allow for a smooth start and is not intended as a brake or holding device. I assume your brake lights come off when activated and the person behind you is expecting yo to depart.   The stump puller gear was handy for steep hill starts.  However, the subsequent shift to second was sometimes a little less than seamless.    Every time I read complaints about the shifting patterns or lack of predictability of the 6spd/8spd automatics I think of how much these individuals would have loved the 4spd manual c/w bull low.  It was and would still be my transmission of choice.  

[poconojoe]

1 hour ago, Donstar said:

 The stump puller gear was handy for steep hill starts.  However, the subsequent shift to second was sometimes a little less than seamless.   

Yep, most if not all of the time, (that is under normal conditions) I would just start off in 2nd gear.

[flyingfool]

you actually dont even need to hold the brake pedal down when its active, you can just lightly rest your foot on the pedal and it will hold, I think HSA was designed for women drivers in steep hilly areas . or people who never really learned how to drive a car.  but as long as to can trigger the brake light i think it stays locked

[Donstar]

2 minutes ago, poconojoe said:

Yep, most if not all of the time, (that is under normal conditions) I would just start off in 2nd gear.

Yes, bull low was rarely used but it was a bonus on steep hills or pulling stumps! (I actually used my truck to pull out a stump or two)  I can only guess how effortless a 4 spd manual would be with current engines and technology.  The expression about paddling the boat was true with the old <100 hp engines.  With >300 hp engines, you'd spend a lot less time shifting! 

[poconojoe]

1 hour ago, Donstar said:

Yes, bull low was rarely used but it was a bonus on steep hills or pulling stumps! (I actually used my truck to pull out a stump or two)  I can only guess how effortless a 4 spd manual would be with current engines and technology.  The expression about paddling the boat was true with the old <100 hp engines.  With >300 hp engines, you'd spend a lot less time shifting! 

Yeah, and with today's technology and increased gear selection on the automatics, we would probably have 10 or 12 speed manual transmissions in our everyday trucks! That would be fun!