I drove on the beach once

 

Off Road

In the mid 90's I went to the Green Sands Beach in a Land Cruiser, and while there a stock Ford Explorer got stuck while on the trail behind us. We had to pull him and inspect the car for damage before he turned around and went back. Unless the trail is better, I wouldn't try it in my E. I'll be going there later this month or early Feb, depending on the weather, so I'll update and send pix if the trail is easier.

On a more happy note, I did go to the Mauna Kea summit twice this month, once before the snow and once after it snowed. The road can be rough at times, but nothing that really challenges the ground clearance. Of note, I rolled the window down to take a picture and the wonderful aroma of burning break pads filled the E. It was about 55 deg F at the time, so I stopped to let them cool down, drove down about 1,000 more feet then stopped again and let them cool down again. I believe the thin air reduces the ability for air to cool the breaks, plus riding them down for 3,000ft makes a difference too.

I have 3 pictures following of a trip before the most recent snow, and the rest are after. The last one is a Big Island tradition. Most folks with pickup trucks will pile snow as high as they can in the bed and drive home and dump it into the lawn and let the neighborhood kids play in it until it melts. With the E, I was only able to fill a cooler up =( .

 

Of note, I rolled the window down to take a picture and the wonderful aroma of burning break pads filled the E. It was about 55 deg F at the time, so I stopped to let them cool down,... .

Have you tried dropping to a lower gear to engine brake vs just wheel brake on declines? Honda drivetrains work well with this...

 

haha, cute mini snowmans :lol: I miss snow, last time I was in snow is when I was 3 years old. I'm going vegas tonight, if there's snow on top of the mountain then probly go up there

 

did you put the Element in Low when coming down from the observatory? We went up there in our FJ and tried to use the breaks as little as possible. I love the view and sky once you get up there. I also drove up past the station on Mauna Loa, that gives a great view of Mauna Kea.

 

Man, when's the ferry going to start going to the big island? I wanna go.

 

Probably never. The State and Hawai`i Superferry have been sailing in rough seas since the get-go because HS launched service of the Alakai amidst the controversy regarding the mandatory Environmental Impact Statement, as required by State law, and the subsequent adoption of Act 2 by the State legislature, that allowed the Alakai to continue to sail.

A second ferry was ordered to initiate service to the Big Island, but has been delayed because of the current economic downturn.

Don't think you'll be taking that ferry ride to the Big Island before April...

 

I remember my friends 91 civics' auto trans downshifting automatically when decending steep hills not sure about the Elements though

 

Low Gear

When it over heated the first time, I was switching from L in the steeper parts and 2 in the flatter parts. The second time, it was at least 20 deg colder, but I left it in L the whole time. I am used to 4x4 vehicles where you can switch to 4Low and just let it crawl, no breaks no gas, down a steep hill. If only the Element had a button to manually switch into all wheel drive.

Anyone know if it is more likely to switch into AWD with the VSD off?