The steepest road your California has managed to go UP.

[sidepod]

But has anyone fried their brakes coming down?

 

[Loz]

But has anyone fried their brakes coming down?

yes, after descending on the road section at the bottom of Deux Alps and had to stop for 15mins at the Dam..

oh yeah, and another time in our old Landcruiser after we had been up the stelvio and down the swiss side had to resort to brakes, gears and handbrake to bring to a stop.

 

[Czmitche]

Have not tried this one but Wales may have it.

Harlech street takes record as steepest in the world

Guinness World Records says the Harlech street has beaten the previous record holder in New Zealand.

www.bbc.co.uk

And we went down it in our T6 Westfalia - it is one way but we went up another hill in Harlech that must have been 30%+

 

[Czmitche]

And we went down it in our T6 Westfalia - it is one way but we went up another hill in Harlech that must have been 30%+

Harlech is pretty full on - there is a campsite right at the bottom of the ‘mad’ hill - which we missed hence went up and down

 

[Czmitche]

Harlech is pretty full on - there is a campsite right at the bottom of the ‘mad’ hill - which we missed hence went up and down

 

[bvddobb]

Harlech is pretty full on - there is a campsite right at the bottom of the ‘mad’ hill - which we missed hence went up and down

That's near the Castle, isn't it? Think we did that one down during our Wales trip in 2016, looking for the campsite after visiting the castle, but somehow we have missed that 40% sign...

 

[MattBW]

But has anyone fried their brakes coming down?

I cracked an injector pipe on my T25 going up.

 

[barry]

Hard Knott Pass is pretty steep but the Cali's been up and down it a good few times both in the dry and wet - it's said to be 1 in 3 but I doubt that - maybe a couple of the corners on the tight-side apex.
(Pretty familiar with the pass over the years because I've spent a lot of times in the Lakes: nearly came to grief in 1962 when my Singer Le Mans ran out of brakes going down and 1969 when my mini got stuck going up on snow).

Bealach na Ba, the pass going from inland over to AppleCross on the coast is the steepest I've been on in the UK. The top is 2,000' and there are stretches that are 20%. There are several tight-side apexes that are much steeper than that and are exposed, too.

I've been over passes in N Portugal, France and Spain in the Cali fully loaded for 4-6 week trips to the continent that were probably not any steeper than 1 in 5 but seriously exposed.

 

[sensisuperstar]

In the UK our civil engineers tended not to bother wrapping asphalt around our small hills and fells, instead they went the fastest route...up and over! Here is Yorkshire we get some relatively short and steep climbs. In the Cali I’ve driven up Rosedale Chimney at up to 33%...1st gear job on the hairpins.



Grosmont in the Yorkshire Moors is also 33% in places and I’m just back from Malham in the Dales and some of those climbs must be around 25% in places. My 204 makes mincemeat of them all, great fun, especially coming down

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Just wondering, as I always try to take some low traffic, nice roads to explore some places when on holidays, what would be the steepest road you have ever driven on in your California? Upwards that is.
Post a link to it, and maybe even the percentage, if you know it?

I'll start with my known steepest:
17% upwards to have a look at the Orgues in Bort-les-Orgues, France.
View attachment 50596

My 140 hp, front wheel drive managed to cope, but I just let the engine work in 2nd gear. No pushing, no forcing. Just take a speed, and keep it without accelerating.

Not (really) worth the visit . Nothing spectacular up there. You have a better view of it from downstairs when the sun hits the basalt rocks.

Tizi n Tichka south of Marrakesh is the steepest "proper" road, but plenty of pistes in Morocco where the 4wd and diff lock certainly come into their own.