Automatic? Do you use the handbrake?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by morsing

The "Park" function in a transmission is far more reliable than parking brakes.

?? you do realise that in P the wheels are lot locked at all? They are completely free to rotate in opposite directions .. see my previous post on this.

[Volvocano]

Originally Posted by Clan

?? you do realise that in P the wheels are lot locked at all? They are completely free to rotate in opposite directions .. see my previous post on this.

I used to have a really steep drive and even in the winter my car never budged an inch - I never use the handbrake. Sure in theory things could go horribly wrong - I'll take my chances.

[canis]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

I suggest you read the Highway Code and Road Traffic Act - you could not be more wrong.

Leaving manuals on an incline relying only on engine braking through first gear is reckless and dangerous, the car will creep forward as the cylinder pressure leaks past the valves and piston rings. Yes, leaving it in gear is a good backup for the parking brake, but there are no circumstances where it is a sensible or legal substitute.

Yes, indeed. I had a car which couldn't hold itself on an incline. It would stay for a few seconds, then fall a few inches, wait a bit, then another few inches. It did have very low compression though, I don't remember the numbers involved, I was very young, but I do remember the machanic laughing, shouting out the result to his colleague.

I just don't understand this bizarre refusal so many people have to use the parking brake. I can only assume it goes back to when they're learning, and it becomes cemented in their mind as the "learner's brake" and having mastered the clutch, they refuse to use it ever after.

[Forg]

Originally Posted by canis

I just don't understand this bizarre refusal so many people have to use the parking brake. I can only assume it goes back to when they're learning, and it becomes cemented in their mind as the "learner's brake" and having mastered the clutch, they refuse to use it ever after.

It's because they don't understand the mechanicals, how it all works ... and because the man told them to use the parking brake they're not going to do it ... don't wanna let the man win!

They'll mostly be the same personality types that got upset when an orange conman & failed reality-TV compere lost a presidential election in some foreign country or other.

[morsing]

Originally Posted by Forg

It's because they don't understand the mechanicals, how it all works ...

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[john.wigley]

Let's not turn what is (I hope / think) a serious discussion into a joke.

I think that it is precisely because those commentators who advocate using the hand / parking brake do understand the 'mechanicals' that they do so.

Rather, apart from the legal requirements / potential consequences of not doing so, not setting the hand brake when parked implies a lack of understanding.

I still maintain that it is better / easier / cheaper to replace a set of brake shoes when necessary than a broken gearbox, even if the latter is a less common event.

Regards to all, John.

[Pidgeonpost]

I haven't caught up on the full 5 pages of this thread, but my routine has been ingrained. When parking, in the V70 (Geartronic) I leave it in P with the parking brake applied. In our Yeti, which is manual, I leave it in first or reverse, depending on the incline, with the handbrake applied. I may be right, I may be wrong, but old habits die hard! My wife once 'lost' our Saab 900 after leaving it in neutral and with the handbrake too loosely applied. Luckily the car just rolled gently into the bracken with no harm done. The handbrake worked on the front wheels on that model.

[Simmy]

in the owner manual for the c70 it states that to apply the foot brake while applying the hand brake i believe this makes sure the pads are firmly gripped to the disc and pulling the hand brake keeps them there.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Volvocano

I used to have a really steep drive and even in the winter my car never budged an inch - I never use the handbrake. Sure in theory things could go horribly wrong - I'll take my chances.

the very fact you never use the parking brake means that eventually when you do need to use it, its not going to work and will fail the MOT and cost you money to repair.

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by Simmy

in the owner manual for the c70 it states that to apply the foot brake while applying the hand brake i believe this makes sure the pads are firmly gripped to the disc and pulling the hand brake keeps them there.

That is a very good point, 'Simmy'. In addition, a hand brake operating on the discs may lose effectiveness should the discs contract on cooling, whereas a drum contracting onto shoes can only increase that of a drum operated one.

Regards, John.