Parking Break....

Parking Break....

okay so my uncle drives a 4runner and a pathfinder, both automatics. he insists that putting the car on the "park" position is good enough....

my rolla is automatic but i still use the hand/parking break.

who does? who does not? why?



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I use the parking brake for extra measure. You are supposed to use it when you're parked on an incline. I guess I use it all the time because I might screw up the parking gear. Plus why would car manufacturers include parking hand brakes if there was no need for them?:dot: Answer me that.

I see no reason to use the emergency brake if parked on a flat surface.

If someone wants to tow your car, it makes it a whole lot harder though. Remember to crank the wheel all the way over to one side too. That way if they still try to tow it, it'll hit the curb or the car next to you. LOL Got that advice from my high school P.E. teacher back in 2001. haha can't believe I still remember it.

I do not use the E-Brake in my Jeep, because the auto tranny is stong enough to hold that car. However, I use the e-brake on small cars like my moms malibu, because those trannys are not as strong at holding the car on an incline.

exactly my point. they could have saved a couple of bucks for parts (handle, lines, etc) and another couple of bucks for labor if there was not a use for it... anyway.. this isnt a debate thing so i aint debating... just saying my input on it...

sure do, had my car roll back out of my driveway once...that was fun

until you hit something... :grinyes:

hehe i was being sarcastic. my car actually got stopped at the bottom of my driveway by the trashcan that got blown over the night before

Yup and put the car in first, but even with a auto I did.

The hand brake is also used to adjust the rear brakes as well - on some cars (rear drums and rear discs with internal drums). On level ground - you might be OK to go without the parking brake, aside from the rear brake adjusment feature, but on even a slight incline - too risky to use without.

So people still don't use it because of old habits, especially in on older cars. Since they are used to infrequently, using them could cause the rear drums to freeze up - especially in winter time. Used to park on a hill and just block the wheels with a brick - no parking brake in the winter. Bad news if the car ran away from you - also bad news if you snapped the parking pawl in the transmission from too much stress from not using the parking brake. Take home message - always safer to use the parking/e-brake.

oh yah... i forgot it had another name.... LOL i always knew it as just the parking/hand break....

well, if you guys are using them to park, whats stopping you from using it when coming to a stop at a red light?? it is a brake after all isnt it?

if your car doesnt stay put while its in park, your transmission has some serious problems i would get checked out.

Well technically you still are using it since when you stop all four brakes are braking. So its the equivalent of you pulling up on the e-brake. As long as you're stepping on my brake pedal all four brakes are engaged.

the drum brakes dont do much work when it comes to stopping the car though. yeah, they activate, but they really dont do much. I personally dont drive an automatic, so I always use the e-brake. However, if I drove a autotragic, I would see no point in using the E-brake unless im parked on an incline. However. it is your vehicle, and your preference.

no matter if the surface is on a 100 degree slope or nothing flat or whatever i always use it...i look at it as a good habit..not a bad one

i use it in every vehicle i drive/operate... from my corolla to a 120k lb tractor trailer to a front end loader...

It's how I was taught from the beginning. For me, it's automatic to just pull the parking brake after I put the car in park. Plus, it never hurts to do it anyway....

When I park on inclines with my parking brake on, sometimes I forget to push down on the pedal brake first before releasing my parking brake and my car ends up rocking back til the front catches...shows that it's doing something...

Drum brakes still hold the car in place. Hence why you use it when you want to do a burnout. LOL

older cars have drum brakes all around.

I always use it

Yeah. Really old cars. I've seen that setup once on an old Chevy truck. Really old.

tractor trailers also have all drum brakes.

the brake drum is actually more efficient than a disc when it comes to friction area, heat storage, and dissipation. the only thing a disc has over a drum setup is the actual clamping force. a caliper clamping onto a disc bites much harder than a drum could.

food for thought

i thought discs can dissipate heat better

I have a Automatic plus I'm to lazy to reach over and pull up ....lol.....just might forget there on and drive with them .... I have done that in the past....lol....

in extreme conditions discs cannot dissipate heat better than drums. take a look at the giant drums on tractor trailers.

race cars use discs, yes. but the discs they use are far different than those found on 99.9% of street cars. the discs and pads are made of materials the work BEST when extreme heat is present, and due to the advantage of extreme clamping force given by giant calipers, discs are the better choice.

sorry about going off topic, but drums got brought up and they do more than most people give them credit for.

true story

This is a strange thought but do they have reinforced or racing drum brakes?

Some vintage race cars had composite brake drums - outside was finned aluminum (think big heat sink), bonded to a cast iron friction liner. Backing plate had holes punched in it to facilitate air circulation for cooling and usually have more than one wheel cylinder to actuate the brake shoes.