Serpentine without fear: how to climb and descend properly
The smell of overheated brakes on the third down is not normal — it's the car telling you that you're driving wrong. Here's how it doesn't happen.
There's a moment on a long descent when the brake pedal suddenly feels softer than half a minute ago, and the smell of burnt resin wafts from the front wheels. It's not a malfunction. It's physics sending you one last warning before you run out of brakes on a bend over a precipice. Ninety percent of drivers who felt it didn't understand what happened—they simply kept pushing harder, accelerating their own problem.
The mountain road does not penalize speed. It punishes ignorance. Climbing and descending require two completely different disciplines, and most people ride both the same way — and it's a mistake that overheats the brakes, cooks the transmission, and turns a relaxed ride into a sweat with both hands on the wheel.
Why is the brake not the main tool on the descent
A disc brake converts kinetic energy into heat. That's her whole job. On a long descent of several kilometers, that heat has no time to go away — the plates and disc heat up faster than the air can cool them. When the temperature exceeds the limit of the working mixture of tiles, usually between400 and 550 °Cfor standard organic and semi-metallic tiles, it appearsfading: the coefficient of friction drops, the pedal sinks, the braking distance is extended. In the extreme, brake fluid boils (DOT 4 boils approx230 °C dry, below 165 °C when it absorbs moisture), steam is created in the lines, and the pedal goes to the floor without any effect.
The solution is not to buy stronger brakes — the solution is not to use the brake as a primary retarder at all. The descent tool isengine. When you downshift and take off the gas, the compression and friction of the engine slows the car down without any degree of heat on the discs. It's calledengine brakingand on the mountain there is a difference between control and prayer.
How to brake with a motor in practice
The rule is simple:you enter the descent at the same speed as you would climb. If the ascent on that slope would drag in second or third gear, you ride the descent in the same second or third gear. The engine keeps revs at 2,500-3,500 rpm, the car goes at a constant speed, and you use the brake only briefly and decisively before a curve — you press, slow down, release. You never hold it down continuously. Short, strong pulses give the disk time to cool between them; constant light pressure is the fastest way to fading.
With automatics, you are looking for manual mode or positionL / S / Myou choose the degree yourself — modern gearboxes allow this and will not let you over-rev. With two-pedal DSG and ZF automatics, the paddle on the steering wheel does the same thing as the lever: it fixes the gear and lets the engine hold the speed.
| The slope of the descent | Recommended degree | The role of the brake |
|---|---|---|
| Mild (up to 5%) | 4th / 5th | occasionally, briefly |
| Medium (6–9%) | 3. | just before the bend |
| Steep (10–14%) | 2. | impulsive, rare |
| Very steep (15%+) | 1. / 2. | exceptionally, in an emergency |
The climb is a test of coolness, not strength
Uphill, the problem moves from the brakes to the radiator. A long climb at low speed and high revs, in the heat, with the car full and the air conditioning on full blast — that's the worst possible scenario for the coolant temperature. The engine is running under load, and the air flow through the hood is low because it is driven slowly.
The key is to keep the revs in the torque zone, not the noise zone. This is usually the case with diesel1,800–2,500 rpm, slightly more with atmospheric gasolines,3,000–4,000. If the engine starts to choke and the transmission is hunting a gear, drop down a gear and let it breathe. Do not force the climb in too high a degree — it heats up both the engine and the clutch. We wrote in detail about the entire summer preparation of coolers, tires and air conditioning in the text of Frprepare the car for the heat and 1400 kilometers, and it is a must-read before every mountain route in the summer.
On a long descent of several kilometers, that heat has no time to go away — the plates and disc heat up faster than the air can cool them.
If the temperature needle moves towards the red:turn off the air conditioning, turn on the heating to maximum(the cabin becomes hell, but the heater is an additional cooler that draws heat from the system), remove the load and, if necessary, pull over to a safe place with the engine in idle. Never shut down an overheated engine suddenly, and never open the expansion tank cap while it's hot — hot pressurized fluid causes third-degree burns.
The curve is driven outside-inside-outside
You go in wide, cut the top of the curve (apex) as close as possible to the inner edge, go out wide. You brake on the directionbeforebends, not in them — you enter the bend already slowed down, with your foot lightly on the gas that stabilizes the car. Braking in the middle of a corner shifts the weight to the front, relieves the rear axle and leads to skidding. On tight two-way switchbacks, it keeps to its lane without cutting into blind left turns — there might be an oncoming truck that needs the full width.
Hidden Gems: the little things that distinguish a driver from a passenger
First: before a long descent, stop at the top and let the brakes cool down for two or three minutes if you spent them on the climb. A hotly started descent is a losing battle.
Second: learn to read your car by smell. Pungent, chemical smell = overheated tiles. Sweet smell = leaking antifreeze. Burnt, like burnt toast = clutch. Each of them asks you to stop immediately.
Third: early dawn is the best time for serpentines. The asphalt is cool, the traffic is minimal, and the brakes start at the lowest possible temperature — the same principle we praised onFruškogora sections, except that on the real mountain it has a much greater significance. For those who are just connecting the mountain serpentines with the sea, the whole logic of the descent to the coast is elaborated in the guideAdriatic highway, where every descent towards the bay is driven according to these same rules.
Fourth: the tire is the only connection to the road. Check the pressure when cold, before departure — 0.2 bar less per wheel and the car on a steep curve reacts softly, imprecisely, with a delay that you don't want to feel on the precipice.
Questions & answers
short and to the point- How do I brake my motorcycle on a long descent?
- Drop down to the gear you would be climbing that grade (usually 2nd or 3rd), keep the revs at 2,500-3,500 rpm and let the engine slow down. He only uses the brake briefly before a curve, never constantly.
- Why do my brakes go soft when going down a mountain?
- That's fading — the tiles overheated to over 400-500 °C and lost friction. If the pedal sinks and smells burnt, brake the engine, stop and wait 10-15 minutes for them to cool down.
- What should I do if my engine overheats on a climb?
- Turn off the air conditioner, turn on the cabin heating to maximum as an auxiliary cooler, lower the gear and, if necessary, stop with the engine in idle. Never open the radiator cap while it is hot.
