• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Parking brake question

N

NetWareHead

THAT guy
Can someone settle a debate for me please? Lets assume a manual transmission.

Scenario 1: Clutch in. Foot on brake. Turn off engine. Select either first or reverse depending on road grade. Clutch out then brake out. Apply parking brake. This way, the car's weight is resting on the transmission and the parking brake applied after, is merely insurance against it slipping out of gear.

Scenario 2: Transmission is neutral, clutch out. Turn off car and apply parking brake. Result is the car's weight is solely on the parking brake.

What is the proper method of securing a parked car with stick transmission?
 
I always leave the transmission in 1st or reverse and the parking brake on too and I have been driving manual transmission cars for 30 years.
 
Leave it in gear and apply parking brake. Either way the brake will be the only thing holding the car still.

Being in gear will slow it down a little by applying engine braking if it does roll, but if it wants to roll it's going to roll, the parking brake is the only thing really keeping the car from rolling in either scenario. You're not resting the weight of the car on either the transmission or engine; even in first gear, the weight of the vehicle will easily overpower the resistance of the engine even on the slightest incline. Being in gear is merely an added precaution to minimize the distance, speed, and damage if the parking brake fails.
 
Last edited:
exdeath said:
Leave it in gear and apply parking brake. Either way the brake will be the only thing holding the car still.

Being in gear will slow it down a little by applying engine braking if it does roll, but if it wants to roll it's going to roll, the parking brake is the only thing really keeping the car from rolling in either scenario. You're not resting the weight of the car on either the transmission or engine; even in first gear, the weight of the vehicle will easily overpower the resistance of the engine even on the slightest incline. Being in gear is merely an added precaution to minimize the distance, speed, and damage if the parking brake fails.
Click to expand...

This. /thread

ZV
 
I only put a manual car in gear on an incline, and even then only when it's steep enough. I've never had a car roll due to handbrake failure in 20 years.
 
It happened to my friend when he parked his car in my parents driveway. The e-brake slipped and he either forgot to leave it in gear or the car popped out of gear. His car rolled down the hill and into the middle of the road!

We were in the back yard and all of a sudden heard all this honking. We walked out front and saw his car in the road and that was an "oh shit" moment, lol. Amazingly it didn't hit any cars and it stopped when it bumped into a tree across the road without causing any damage to the car. He was soooo lucky.
 
I always set the parking brake and then turn the car off in gear (reverse usually but 1st works fine). Even with an automatic I always set the parking brake before puting the car in P.
 
exdeath said:
Leave it in gear and apply parking brake. Either way the brake will be the only thing holding the car still.

Being in gear will slow it down a little by applying engine braking if it does roll, but if it wants to roll it's going to roll, the parking brake is the only thing really keeping the car from rolling in either scenario. You're not resting the weight of the car on either the transmission or engine; even in first gear, the weight of the vehicle will easily overpower the resistance of the engine even on the slightest incline. Being in gear is merely an added precaution to minimize the distance, speed, and damage if the parking brake fails.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I was taught to engage the parking brake before letting the clutch back out in gear. The purpose was to put the load on the parking brake instead of the tranny. Made sense, but I thought putting it into gear would actually stop the car like putting it into P. Guess not.
 
NetWareHead said:
Scenario 1: Clutch in. Foot on brake. Turn off engine. Select either first or reverse depending on road grade. Clutch out then brake out. Apply parking brake. This way, the car's weight is resting on the transmission and the parking brake applied after, is merely insurance against it slipping out of gear.
Click to expand...
IMO, you should put it in whichever direction you were last going. If you were going forward, keep it in 1. If you were backing up, keep it in R. The reason for this is that I remember my Honda dicking around a little when switching between forward and reverse. Just because I move the stick to R to back up doesn't mean it's actually in R. I could let the clutch out a little, something grabs and rotates a bit, then it pops into R. When you're securing your car, there should be no dicking around. Keep it in the gear you know is completely engaged.

Scenario 2: Transmission is neutral, clutch out. Turn off car and apply parking brake. Result is the car's weight is solely on the parking brake.
Click to expand...
Horrible. Only the back of the car is actually secured.


Keep the car in gear and turn the car off. Take your feet of the pedals and let the car put its entire weight on the transmission which would be either gear 1 or R. When it's completely resting on the transmission and completely stopped, apply the parking brake.
 
Put the weight of the car on the parking brake, then engage the clutch. I have no idea why you'd unnecessarily apply stress to the entire drivetrain and engine for the entire time the car is parked.
Same for an automatic- put it in neutral, set the parking brake, then put it in "P".

The parking brake isn't a backup. It's what is supposed to hold the car in place. Putting it in gear is just for backup.
 
Last edited:
Throckmorton said:
Put the weight of the car on the parking brake, then engage the clutch. I have no idea why you'd unnecessarily apply stress to the entire drivetrain and engine for the entire time the car is parked.
Same for an automatic- put it in neutral, set the parking brake, then put it in "P"
Click to expand...

If you don't put the weight on the transmission, it can easily pop out of gear. Try this yourself. Put the weight on the parking break then try to row through the gears. You'll notice that it's easy to pop it in and out of any gear you want. If you let it roll all of the weight onto first gear, it's really hard to pull it out of gear just by pulling the stick.
 
ShawnD1 said:
If you don't put the weight on the transmission, it can easily pop out of gear. Try this yourself. Put the weight on the parking break then try to row through the gears. You'll notice that it's easy to pop it in and out of any gear you want. If you let it roll all of the weight onto first gear, it's really hard to pull it out of gear just by pulling the stick.
Click to expand...

I don't have a manual right now. If I did, I wouldn't be worried about ghosts going in my car and popping it out of gear.

Have you ever left your car in gear and come back to find it in neutral??
 
Imp said:
Interesting. I was taught to engage the parking brake before letting the clutch back out in gear. The purpose was to put the load on the parking brake instead of the tranny. Made sense, but I thought putting it into gear would actually stop the car like putting it into P. Guess not.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter because the drivetrain in a manual spins freely in or out of gear; there is nothing to bind it, therefore no load on it regardless of when or how the brake is applied. Manuals do not have a park pawl, the only resistance in gear is engine compression and friction, which is not enough to hold the weight of the car or be under any kind of load. If you tried to "load the transmission" the car would just roll and spin the crank until you applied the parking brake.

The only reason to leave in a low gear is to increase the mechanical advantage of the drive train over the wheels and slow down the vehicle as much as possible if it does roll.

A car rolling in gear will be slower and possibly come to a stop sooner, due to engine braking, than a car in neutral with no resistance at all. Other than the parking brake, the only thing that would stop the car is the curb, which is why you crank the wheel such that the tires hit the curb if it rolls.
 
Last edited:
Throckmorton said:
Because there's a small chance the parking brake might fail.
Click to expand...
That seems even less likely than ghosts messing with my gears.


the only resistance in gear is engine compression and friction, which is not enough to hold the weight of the car or be under any kind of load
Click to expand...
That's not true at all. My Honda Civic could be parked on a very steep hill and the whole thing could be held in place by first gear.
Even second gear provides a large amount of resistance. There's a steep hill near the river in this town where most people just ride their brakes the whole way down. In my Civic, putting the car in second gear would slow it down from 40mph to about 25mph while it was going down the steep hill.
 
get it in first gear, leave everything, then apply brake.

If you don't leave everything, the first gear won't be inserted, and your car might start to roll if the brake fails.
 
ShawnD1 said:
That seems even less likely than ghosts messing with my gears.



That's not true at all. My Honda Civic could be parked on a very steep hill and the whole thing could be held in place by first gear.
Even second gear provides a large amount of resistance. There's a steep hill near the river in this town where most people just ride their brakes the whole way down. In my Civic, putting the car in second gear would slow it down from 40mph to about 25mph while it was going down the steep hill.
Click to expand...

We are talking about manuals right? If I do that in any of my manual cars it would speed up and mechanically over rev going down a hill.

Weight of car and gravity on incline >>>>>>> engine resistance.
 
Last edited:
exdeath said:
We are talking about manuals right? If I do that in any of my manual cars it would speed up and mechanically over rev going down a hill.
Click to expand...
Does your car have like 20 gears or something? Second gear in a 2006 Honda Civic at 40mph is about 5000rpm.

My current car is an automatic and I'd say just regular driving an automatic is way harder on the engine than engine braking on a hill is. This slutbox corolla redlines the engine like it's going out of style. I don't know how any car with an automatic transmission can last more than 5 years when the damn thing redlines every single day.
 
ShawnD1 said:
Does your car have like 20 gears or something? Second gear in a 2006 Honda Civic at 40mph is about 5000rpm.

My current car is an automatic and I'd say just regular driving an automatic is way harder on the engine than engine braking on a hill is. This slutbox corolla redlines the engine like it's going out of style. I don't know how any car with an automatic transmission can last more than 5 years when the damn thing redlines every single day.
Click to expand...

Well if you step on it, yeah. Ironically, when I encounter someone afraid to redline their manual on a regular basis, I advise them that people redline the same car with an auto every time they put their foot down, and remind them that Toyota or Honda wouldn't allow the automatic to do it if it was going to hurt anything.
 
exdeath said:
Well if you step on it, yeah.
Click to expand...

That's how driving a 4 cylinder works. In my Civic with a manual I don't think I redlined it even 1 time in 3 years of driving it. If I need a bit of extra power on the freeway, drop it down to gear 4 and floor it. Nothing dramatic happens, but the car speeds up. In my Corolla with the automatic, pushing the pedal down does nothing because it stays in top gear. Push it down a bit more and nothing happens. Push a little harder and it drops to second gear, redlines, then goes to third, then fourth gear. It's like the car is making a special effort to wear itself out :awe:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top