Poll: Do you use the parking brake/gear/both?

[furinax]

Just wondering what people do. I was told the parking brake can warp the rotors since it applies pressure unevenly if left on for too long or if the brakes are applied hot. I have had numerous instances using the parking brake where the pads seem "stuck" and they don't get unstuck unless I get the car moving again. I started using just the gears (on flat surfaces and long instances) and things seem to be okay. When not at home I usually use just the ebrake.

 

[heySkippy]

Both, always.

 

[gleibig]

In the garage....gear only.

 

[SFNSXguy]

If the car is hot - after a long run or at a track day - and on level ground, put a block behind a wheel. Otherwise use the handbrake. NEVER use the gearbox as a parking brake.
JMO,ICBW

 

[Wavey1]

If the brakes are really hot, I just leave it in gear. Otherwise both in gear and brake on.

 

[Jinks]

Parking brake only. Unless on a high hill top. Pads and rotors are cheap. Gears and transmissions are not. California parking spaces are tight. Which is why I never leave it in gear. To each his own.

 

[Lostbuckeye]

I voted other.

 

[jeffreygebhart]

In the garage: put it in neutral w/parking brake on, chock wheels, then release brake and put it in gear. Elsewhere, parking brake first and then put it in gear.

 

[warrenw]

Front of car pointing down hill, 1st gear, front of car pointing up hill, reverse gear. I only use the park brake when the engine is running and the car is parked.

 

[Hagasan]

Are these guidelines not part of your driving test in the US?
In the UK (where stick-shifts have always been vastly more common than automatic gearboxes) the handbrake should always be used. With regards to road driving anyway. If you are on an incline then leaving the car in gear is also recommended because as the brakes cool down the contraction can cause the braking force to partially ease off. If you're pointing downhill then leave it in reverse. If pointing uphill the leave in first. There is no danger of damaging the transmission doing this. There is far more force going through these parts when driving. If you're storing the car then handbrake off to avoid any seizing... In gear and/or ckocked. On the track, don't apply the handbrake with hot brakes after a run to avoid any possible hot-spot binding or disc warping

 

[warrenw]

Are these guidelines not part of your driving test in the US? On the track, don't apply the handbrake with hot brakes after a run to avoid any possible hot-spot binding or disc warping

They were for me, but I took my test in 1978, in Canada. and yes, after a track session, never apply your parking brake.

 

[docjohn]

stick in spokes of wheels

 

[PSHUMARD1]

Doc... lol

 

[Jinks]

stick in spokes of wheels

Sounds like what homeowners do when the hvac doesn't work.... They jam a stick in the compressor contactor.:biggrin:
Little do they know, without gas, a compressor has nothing to pump.

 

[GraemeD]

Sorry for the long post, but this is how I understand it.
The reason for selecting the correct gear for the direction facing when parked. on some engines that have a hydraulic cam belt/chain tensioner. During normal operation, the tensioner is on the undriven or slack side of the belt/chain system. if the engine is used as the holding force, it will turn as the compression bleeds off. If the crank turns backwards to its normal direction, due to the incorrect gear being selected. this now pulls on the slack side and without oil pressure to hold the tensioner firm the tensioner collapses. Now the next time the engine is started, it has to re-tension the chain with the chance of skipping a tooth worst case, or just noisy operation for a few seconds at best. The NSX does not have this issue because the belt tension is fixed and should not vary. So match the gear to the direction the car will roll; if pointing down hill, first gear. If pointing up hill, reverse.

 

[Hagasan]

The whole point in leaving the car in gear is that if the handbrake fails there is a backup. You don't match a forward gear to pointing downhill or reverse to uphill. That would defeat the purpose. On a steep enough hill a car could still roll forward in a forward gear. You want the opposite so this cannot physically happen. Unless the tires just slide

 

[jwmelvin]

You want the opposite so this cannot physically happen.

The engine can't spin backwards? Why not?

 

[B-E-A-S-T]

Sorry for the long post, but this is how I understand it.
The reason for selecting the correct gear for the direction facing when parked. on some engines that have a hydraulic cam belt/chain tensioner. During normal operation, the tensioner is on the undriven or slack side of the belt/chain system. if the engine is used as the holding force, it will turn as the compression bleeds off. If the crank turns backwards to its normal direction, due to the incorrect gear being selected. this now pulls on the slack side and without oil pressure to hold the tensioner firm the tensioner collapses. Now the next time the engine is started, it has to re-tension the chain with the chance of skipping a tooth worst case, or just noisy operation for a few seconds at best. The NSX does not have this issue because the belt tension is fixed and should not vary. So match the gear to the direction the car will roll; if pointing down hill, first gear. If pointing up hill, reverse.

Isn't it, pointing uphill first gear and downhill reverse (similar to what post #10 says) ?


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[warrenw]

Isn't it, pointing uphill first gear and downhill reverse (similar to what post #10 says) ?


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You need to prevent your engine from rotating in the reverse direction. Hence keeping the engine in the gear that would turn the engine correctly.


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[GraemeD]

The engine can't spin backwards? Why not?

an engine can be turned either direction, it should only run in one direction, but it can turn both ways.

Isn't it, pointing uphill first gear and downhill reverse (similar to what post #10 says) ?

No, it is not.

 

[fastaussie]

i use both. park the car, pull up the hand brake, turn off the ignition, step off the clutch. leaving it in first gear or reverse.

like the other guys said, never use the hand brake after an extremely hard track session. you'll likely warp the rotors...

 

[ozone]

I almost never use the handbrake unless I am on incline (for double protection).

 

[SoloNSX]

Usually both. Parked in the garage, usually gear only. Anywhere else, ebrake and gear unless I know the brakes are way too hot, which is basically never.

 

[warrenw]

an engine can be turned either direction, it should only run in one direction, but it can turn both ways.



No, it is not.

Engine turning backwards would likely cause your timing belt to jump a tooth or more.
The belt pulls cam gears:
The crank pulls the timing belt pulling the cam gears. The idler only takes up slack. I doubt it could deal with the engine rotating backwards.

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[neuronbob]

For normal driving, I always both park in gear and with parking brake with my 6MT NSX or any manual car. After a track session, I park on a level surface in gear only.

Since I learned to drive on a manual shifter, I have become one of those weirdos who uses the parking brake even in my wife's automatic car. I have trouble depending on the pawl in the automatic transmission...