Sometimes when driving on the open highway, I strike roadworks where I have to wait in a queue. The ones that concern me are when this happens on an incline. I drive a manual vehicle and I can't yank the handbrake on hard enough to stay still while waiting for the go sign, so what I do now, is just apply the handbrake lightly and keep my foot on the accelerator and clutch at the same time to keep the revs up and keeping the car still. Am I damaging anything by doing this? Fortunately it doesn't happen very often. TIA.
toyboy3,
Apr 2, 5:51am
Just burning up the clutch, garages love this good earner , go and get the brakes fixed
duncb,
Apr 2, 6:01am
Clutches and brake pads are made out of similar material. They both wear down with use. Riding the clutch is like driving with the hand brake on. It will wear them out quite quickly. The difference is that brake pads cost around $50 and take an hour. Clutches cost $100s and take several hours to fix. You will need the handbrake fixed for a WOF anyway. Get it fixed ASAP.
tweake,
Apr 2, 6:03am
bit late for an April fools. its obvious BS as you can just put your foot on the brake.
intrade,
Apr 2, 6:12am
if you do this you burn the clutch out in no time. ! i seldom ever use the handbrake unless its a real steep hill. So if you do something like this without repairing the handbrake, You would put handbrake on and put on foot brake also . when move off you take off with handbrake still on and while you move off release handbrake . I am fast enough to get on gas and clutch and modulate it to move forward without handbrake= a lot more easy on diesel with a lot of torque at idle like my mb140 2,9 5 cilinder van. If you stop you put it in neutral. on a 1990s corolla automatic 3 speed aisin you put it in N also. On a 2003 astra Gm the transmission does flick it in neutral automattically when the brake is on for a few secounds. I noticed it offten when you can feel and hear the engine shearing the fluid and it stops and starts again with brake release. they do this automatically
msfroufrou,
Apr 2, 6:31am
There's nothing wrong with the handbrake and car always passes for a WOF. It's just difficult for me to yank it on hard enough to rely on it on a steep incline. I can yank it on ok, but releasing it is the problem. I'll try intrade's explanation.
tweake,
Apr 2, 6:46am
so why use the hand brake at all. use the normal foot brake to stay still on the slope, then do a no hand brake hill start. pretty standard normal every day stuff so i don't see what the problem is.
mrfxit,
Apr 2, 6:46am
I see this all the time in city traffic, cars & trucks rocking slightly sitting at the traffic lights
franc123,
Apr 2, 6:53am
Time to get the handbrake looked at, it's obvious it's not working optimally. There should be no concern about it being able to hold the vehicle still on ANY slope.
s_nz,
Apr 2, 7:13am
It's surprisingly common so see people doing what OP describes (I notice it more in asia, as few vehicles are manual here these days). But it is bad driving practice as is results in substantial clutch wear, and potentially clutch failure.
Correct practice is to come to a stop and use the foot break to hold the vehicle stationary, then to do a standard hill start when it comes time to move off. If the handbrake needs to be applied so hard that releasing it is an issue, one can just hold down the button through the entire application, so the ratchet doesn't engage.
An alternate thing that could be tried is to heal / toe, to avoid the need for the handbreak, but be aware some vehicle have an interlock that limits accelerator use while breaking.
That's not really true, especially when towing. As an example the hilux has a section in the manual stating that the handbreak is inadequate to hold both the ute and a large trailer on a hill, and stating that the driver should have somebody else chock the rig before getting out if they park with a trailer on a hill.
That said, the queues for road work zones are rarely on extreme slopes.
lythande1,
Apr 2, 7:58am
Husband used to hassle me for doing that. he'd say I'll burn out the plates. So I didn't. We had a Triumph once, and I drove 33km to work each day. and back. IN Akld traffic. Stop, start, stop start. no riding the clutch. but the sheer frequency of foot on clutch, foot off clutch, move a few inches, repeat killed it in no time anyway. LOL.
Shortly after replacing it, the gearbox died. If you drive in traffic like that all the time, buy an auto.
Occasional riding won't kill it, but it is bad for it, especially if you do it a lot.
franc123,
Apr 2, 9:16am
Where exactly were trailers mentioned here? It is irrelevant nitpicking.
s_nz,
Apr 2, 10:04am
There are limitations to handbrakes. It is false to say that they should be able to hold a car on "ANY" slope. This is completly relevant to the topic of discussion.
m16d,
Apr 2, 10:38am
When you burn the clutch out, which is probably next week, trade the car on an auto.
saki,
Apr 2, 10:46am
do what you are capable of, burning clutch perfume to an old racers nose.
msfroufrou,
Apr 2, 11:11am
Thank you s-nz for the tip re holding the button down. I didn't know that.
poppy62,
Apr 2, 11:25am
Perhaps you may not realize, that in order to release a hand brake that has been applied with extra force. You need to pull it up a little bit in order to release the pawl (button) on the ratchet. I can imagine you would indeed struggle to release the handbrake if you didn't perform this procedure.
tamarillo,
Apr 3, 2:00am
Just keep foot on brake and car in neutral and watch lights in other directions. When you see them go red or cars stopping you know to get ready to go so the engage clutch and gear and wait for green before releasing brake and applying accelerator whilst releasing clutch.
kavebunny,
Apr 29, 10:42pm
learn to drive leave a big gap and idle along n leave ya foot off the pedal or get an auto
nukhelenc,
Apr 30, 2:57am
I cant stand the idiots in autos who creep a car length up to the lights while im in a manual behind, just ends up with a massive car length gap Known as Creepy Crawly's
kazbanz,
Apr 30, 7:51am
If that's your biggest worry in life then you have a pretty easy life :-) Being serious --Have you considered an alternative route until the road works are finished?
alowishes,
Apr 30, 8:05am
Nothing wrong with a good space on front of you at the lights - just in case the guy on front gets it wrong and jumps on the brakes unexpectedly.
marte,
Apr 30, 10:58am
I think hes sorta describing what the Police do too. At a pedestrian crossing where theres a car stopped already ( & at lights ) they stop a full car length behind the last vehicle, then move forwards again. I think its so the car behind then stops early too, which gives everyone a extra safety factor. On the odd chance the car in front starts moving, it gives you a ' soft start' when you start moving again.
cjohnw,
Apr 30, 12:09pm
Cry me a river - a “massive car length gap”. Third World problems - tell that to the people in India!
nukhelenc,
Aug 14, 5:49pm
Oh look im attracting the Creeper Crew
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