That’s a beautiful area and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited NP in the U.S.! I made the same trip on 10/5 and rode the leaf train from Bryson City to Dillsboro and back. Also made the trek up to the observation tower at Clingmans Dome and the thin air sure makes a difference on an old body! Stopped on the side of the road at Cherokee and watched the bull Elk sparring and bugling for some attention from the females as it’s rutting season. I wasn’t pulling a trailer but I used the tow haul mode and downshifted a lot in the slow twisties and never had a problem.
Smoking brakes while in the Smoky Mountains
- Thread starter dja4260
- Start date
My Dad burned up a transmission doing that .
It's not The Tail of the Dragon but westbound I-40 can be an exhilarating drive through the mountains in that area if you have the right car and light traffic. Big sweeping turns, high entry speeds, will really give a suspension a workout. So much fun in my 540 with M5 sway bars.
Coasting in neutral on a steep hill while trying to keep yourself slow is definitely not the best idea.
Whenever I'm on steep hills ( usually PA ), I stab brake on the hills. Probably gets people mad but does keep the brakes from smoking.
Whenever I'm on steep hills ( usually PA ), I stab brake on the hills. Probably gets people mad but does keep the brakes from smoking.
We rode the train and caught the trees all changing colors. It was beautiful! We also walked to the top of Clingmans Dome and saw all the Elk hanging out just off the road. It was a beautiful time to travel the park!
Downshift and pulse brake. Not sure why it’s so hard to figure out and that’s coming from a guy that grew up in pretty much flat lands.
Wow. That’s something else. I’ve never overheated brakes and I drove some of my cars hard through mountain backs and twisties in my lifetime. Mazda 3, s60 t5, scion ia, Corolla se
The semi was going too fast. Been all over the U.S.A , weekly trips over the Grapevine hill in California or over Donner Summit on I 80 and that road in Colorado at close to 80,000 CVW and never had smoked the brakes ! Chris nailed it.
That is your heavy vehicle mode kicking in.
So, I towed a long pull through the appalachians years ago. My brakes never faded, I gear down, and don’t get in a hurry. I’ve experienced faded brakes many times growing up with older cars in those parts. As such, I had no clue the brakes were smoking on the downhills until I stopped for a break and the vehicle behind me let me know. i observed after the trip that the sealed front wheel bearings leaked some grease out. In 2 years a lost a rear axle wheel bearing - but do note that these were cartridge bearings in the rear as well, not floating in oil. The front never failed. So based on that, I’d note any seal weepage and just let that inform what you might watch for, if anything at all, later. You are most likely just fine with no problems at all.
500 feet from my driveway is a steep 500 foot stretch of road that ends at a stop sign to the main road at the bottom of the hill. I've shoved it into neutral when the road was icy or snow covered because the fast idle speed would make it go too fast and overrun the brakes.
I love the Smoky Mountains. They're just a few hours from my house. My family and I were there last week. Here's a picture I snapped from the top of the chairlift in Gatlinburg. I've ridden my bicycle up to Clingman's Dome a few times, but never will again. That road is waaaaaaaay more congested than it used to be. Not worth the risk of getting hit.
Except that lots of new vehicles (small turbocharged engines mainly) just don't have that much engine braking.
My setup requires a completely different downhill style than a truck with a V8. The I4 just won't hold much of anything back, so you start at slower speeds at the crest of the hill.
While a bonehead move. I give you 2 thumbs up for posting it here.
Doubt anything is damaged.. if you dont have brake pulsations you are probably fine.
my 2.5L forester does have about 50% more engine braking than the 2.0 in the 2019 cherokee...
I did the whole pigeon forge/gatlinburg thing apr/22 nice place.. traffic is abit fierce.
And many don't have high tow ratings. Frying your brakes or your transmission is due to lack of experience-and nothing more.
I tow all over the Rocky mountains-up 8,000 foot mountain passes without issue.
I didn't say there were issues, I said it requires a different style other than picking a gear where you had to actively use the engine to pull you down the hill. It was a direct response to the quote.
I'm not going to be drawn into an argument, you know full well that trucks are moving to smaller displacement turbocharged engines, and that plenty of them will out tow a V8.
MolaKule
Staff member
I've never smoked the brakes but on a trip from Knoxville to Cherokee NC I had to stop and put out a guy's fire in his trunk. Apparently some frayed wires caught a carpet on fire. I was the only one who stopped that had a fire extinguisher. 
Never smoked them on the RV but they got hot enough to vibrate the steering wheel out of my hand. GM's idea to put ceramic brake pads on heavy duty vehicles. In addition I found out that I needed to downshift manually, tow/haul mode doesn't. New semi-metallic pads and dowshifting downgrades isn't the same. Dang pads squeal though so might try ceramic pads again.
I drove the mountainous Gatlinburg > Cherokee when I was down there visiting.I've never smoked the brakes but on a trip from Knoxville to Cherokee NC I had to stop and put out a guy's fire in his trunk. Apparently some frayed wires caught a carpet on fire. I was the only one who stopped that had a fire extinguisher.
Dont remember Cherokee being such a uh.... dump when I was a kid sad how the world moves on.
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