Parking brake question

[Meghan54]

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:

Then your Corolla was either old, had an improperly adjusted transmission, or was simply a "stupid" transmission.

Our '02 vehicle downshifts via its automatic through individual gears as the pedal is progressively applied, i.e. part throttle press unlocks torque converter and shifts 4-3. A bit more throttle gives 3-2. No jolting, no drama. Just good quick, clean shifts. The electronics handle the shifting quite well, the vast, vast majority of time.

But it's true....if you simply floor the accelerator, true it slams down into the lowest gear it can shift into without hitting red line.....sometimes just a few hundred rpm before redline. That does suck.

 

[Spicedaddy]

For manuals, I think setting it to a higher gear makes it harder to move.

 

[ShawnD1]

Then your Corolla was either old, had an improperly adjusted transmission, or was simply a "stupid" transmission.

It's a 2010 model and it's just stupid. It behaves about the same as my 92 Ford Tempo did. There's a huge dead zone of power where you either have half throttle in fourth gear or you have three quarters throttle in second gear. The power difference between the two is huge, so the car jerks when this happens.

 

[exdeath]

For manuals, I think setting it to a higher gear makes it harder to move.

Lower gears produce more revolutions of the engine per revolution of the tires thus offering more resistance.

 

[Throckmorton]

That seems even less likely than ghosts messing with my gears.

That's the whole POINT of putting it in gear instead of just using the parking brake-- so you have a backup in case the brake fails.

 

[feralkid]

Pro-tip for setting parking brake: First step on regular brake pedal, then set parking brake, then release regular brake.

The hydraulic force sets the brake and the cable then holds it in place, otherwise you are relying on cable to engage brakes---not as effective and harder on the components.

 

[exdeath]

Pro-tip for setting parking brake: First step on regular brake pedal, then set parking brake, then release regular brake.

The hydraulic force sets the brake and the cable then holds it in place, otherwise you are relying on cable to engage brakes---not as effective and harder on the components.

This accomplishes nothing. The parking brake in the majority of modern cars is either a dedicated cable operated small caliper or a set of small drum brakes in the hub of the rear discs that is not even connected to the hydraulic system or disc calipers in any way.

 

[DivideBYZero]

LOL @ Americans and handbrakes (Parking brakes)!

Just listen to exdeath, he's the only one of you making any sense.

Also, I'd lay money on 99% of "parking brake failures" being the driver not applying the handbrake enough when leaving it. It's very easy to apply it one notch below where it has real bite and thus the car will roll if not in gear, and on an incline.

 

[hanoverphist]

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.

this. that pin youre putting all the vehicles weight on isnt immune to wear and tear.

i have a manual trans in my truck, i never leave it in gear when i park it. if im against a curb i turn the wheels slightly so it will rest on the curb if it slips, but really... its my back brakes, the thing has never slipped yet. i also check the cable and assembly about once every 6 months to make sure its all adjusted correctly and not breaking.

 

[simonizor]

The answer is obvious. Why would you want to rely on only one thing to hold your car in place when you could have two things holding it in place? When you have the parking break on, there will be no stress on the transmission because the vehicle isn't allowed to move, so there really is no reason to put in in neutral in the first place.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I'm bemused at peoples understanding of the "stress" that occurrs on a manual transmission when it's parked. If you think that's high I can't imagine what you think it's like when 3-500hp is pounding through it...

 

[hanoverphist]

I'm bemused at peoples understanding of the "stress" that occurrs on a manual transmission when it's parked. If you think that's high I can't imagine what you think it's like when 3-500hp is pounding through it...

i dont leave it in neutral for any reason related to stress on the transmission while parked, its because ive seen too many times where someone else will start my truck, let the clutch out and forget its in gear or not even check. it pisses me off, and ive done it myself. the "wear and tear" comment was about using an auto trans as the weight bearer when parking on an incline instead of setting the parking brake first.

 

[exdeath]

There is no stress on the transmission, its actually the engine that's holding the car, hence why you leave it in gear; the transmission is always there no matter what. And there is no stress, the engine spins freely and doesn't bind. If you did load the engine before the parking brake, it would just turn over the quarter revolution until the parking brake snugs up. There is no stress or load on the engine or transmission unless its broken and binding up. Get it? You can't load or stress something in a static configuration if unpinned and free to move.

If being in gear is enough to hold the car, it's resting on the piston rings, compression, etc, and it will slip and turn over long before it can be significantly loaded, and that's far less than the 100s of psi of combustion. If you think that stresses the engine or trans or wears out your rings, don't ever let your foot off the gas at 45 mph... hell don't start the car at all, it will wear down the engine. :awe:

 

[BW86]

I just throw it in first put the parking brake on and get out of the car - no real science.

 

[Howard]

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.

My old Civic would not roll downhill when 1st gear was engaged and parking brake was free.

 

[JCH13]

My old Civic would not roll downhill when 1st gear was engaged and parking brake was free.

Same with my Speed and my Miata...

 

[simonizor]

Why is this even a debate? Sure, it might not make much of a difference, but why would you want to rely on one method of having your vehicle held in place when you could have two to rely on?