I'm taking the family up Mt. Washington tomorrow morning. I haven't been up the mountain in a few years and never been in a car, always gone up on a motorcycle. We'll be taking the baby 2010 Jetta TDI that only has 900 miles on it. Since I'm still well within the breakin period should I do anything in particular.....low or high RPM's or just drive as I normally would?
Just drive it normally but follow the Auto Road's instructions. First gear is the ONLY gear you should be using and keep the RPMs around 2500-3000 RPM. Anything above 3000 RPM is a waste and you'll feel the torque fall off. Anything below 2500 RPM is a lot harder on it. 2500 RPM as you climb in first gear is the torquey sweet spot.
In late August I took my 2010 JSW
TDI up Mt. Washington. It handled it great with its 6-speed manual transmission and low-end TORQUE. As for break-in I assume your following Drivbiwire's break-in guidelines, right? Basically don't baby it, don't use cruise control for the first 5k miles, drive it like you stole it by practicing frequent and firm application of power over the RPM range. The important thing is to regularly get on the power and LOAD the engine, not just get the RPMs up with a light load on the engine.
As for driving up the Mt Washington Auto Road in your new Jetta
TDI, it will be good for it because it will keep the engine loaded on the way up. With my manual tranny, I found staying in first gear as recommended during the climb works best. Maintain around 2500-3000 RPM and you'll be at the recommended speed of 15-20 MPH. What I also do is crank the heater and fan controls to full HOT and max fan speed for extra cooling system capacity. I regulate my own temperature with the windows. When you get to the top and get parked, let it idle for several minutes before shutting it down because it will be thoroughly heatsoaked from a half hour of steady climbing at 15-20 MPH.
On the ride down, I leave it in first gear and stay off the brakes entirely except in a few spots where I briefly get on them hard and come almost to a stop before a major curve. I then let off the brakes and let the car slowly pick up speed again on its own. If I've got somebody coming down a little faster than I am, I use one of the turnouts along the way and let them pass. I'm not in a hurry at all. I once had somebody in a Honda Pilot SUV on my butt and I could smell his very hot brakes
when I pulled over to let him go by. I could tell that driver doesn't know how to drive on the Mt. Washington Auto Road.
Manual trannies are best for the Mt.Washington Auto Road.
My brakes weren't hot at all when I got to the bottom.
For anybody who has never driven up Mt. Washington before, the road is a steep, narrow, winding mountain road with no guardrails and steep dropoffs near the edge of the road. Rapidly changing weather and road conditions at different elevations also part of the driving experience. The drive is not for the faint of heart if these things bother you or if you're afraid of heights. Guided tours are available. The total length of the drive is just under 8 miles.
Mt. Washington Auto Road site:
http://www.mountwashingtonautoroad.com/
I'm thinking about going up there tomorrow too! I'm watching the weather and summit forecasts carefully. Maybe we'll meet up.
Mount Washington Observatory site:
http://www.mountwashington.org/
Current summit conditions and forecast:
http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/conditions.php