[S@~+#0$#]

Originally Posted by rameshspassion

I use the hand brake quite often but forget to release it when starting the vehicle again :( What should I do?

Dude, watch for the red tell-tale lamp in your instrument console.... most cars have the hand-brake warning light. Also, pull the handbrake to the maximum so that the vehicle will not move or such that you'll atleast feel the friction if you don't release the handbrake.

I always use the handbrake while parking and in traffic signals. Not that I used to forget but I never will in the future as I learnt this the hard way.... my opel astra club slipped gears while I had parked outside my house and moved about 20 metres and hit an electric pole. The car's front end was badly damaged but more importantly nobody came in its way.

[mithun]

Off Topic : Recently I drove my car with the handbrake ON for about 8 KMS. Will it cause any damage to the car ?

[Sahil]

I dont really use it.... Most of my cars are automatic so i just slot it into P when parking or at the signals. But the valet guys always pull the hand brake while parking, for me the P gear locks the wheels properly. Once a bluemoon if i have parked on a steep slow and dont wanna role back even lil bit then i use it to start up straight.

[revharder]

Originally Posted by mithun

Off Topic : Recently I drove my car with the handbrake ON for about 8 KMS. Will it cause any damage to the car ?

what car you were driving?

there should not be much damage, but if you have tried some high-speeds with such dragging wheels, then there might be some damage done to the rear calipers. else no probs, but still get a small checkup done to the handbrake system.

by the way, since you drove it for 8 kms, it seems that you might have not engaged the handbrake tight enough. coz present cars' handbrakes are so efficient that if they are engaged tight enough, they won't let you move the car w/o disengaing it.
so there might not be enough damage. but a checkup is recommended.

[parijnan]

I use it when parking. I also use it sometimes when I'm starting on an incline especially if I'm wearing boots or shoes with a fat sole and I cannot feel the clutch start to bite.

[saint_sinner]

yup.. i use it everytime while parking..... and yup is pretty handy doing 180, 360's.. the max ive done is a 720.... never did it again...

[revharder]

Originally Posted by saint_sinner

yup.. i use it everytime while parking..... and yup is pretty handy doing 180, 360's.. the max ive done is a 720.... never did it again...

are you sure you did 720?

720 needs very mature inputs!
if you can do it again (i mean, if the first one tried was not by a fluke!), then, please share your experience with us all.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by saint_sinner

yup.. i use it everytime while parking..... and yup is pretty handy doing 180, 360's.. the max ive done is a 720.... never did it again...

720 !!!!!!!!!! ...did u do it on yourself or on some vehicle ...hehe just kidding .....its so difficult to do even 180 ...and you are talking about cars ...


what car did u do that ?????????

[~~VinZ~~]

use the hand-brakes not for hte sake of jus using it!!.. but wen it's realli need to be used!!... supremebaleno spoke the rite thing!!

[navin]

720 means you spin around not once but twice. Even on ice it is diffucult on tarmac you'd have to be a very good driver to do this.

I accidently did a 540 (360 +180) approx once on ice. It was not planned or controlled and my heart was still beating 120 bpm for a few minutes after that experience. If a snow bank had not stopped my car I wonder what would have happened. Thankfully the road was empty.

[varunroy]

Use it always just like the seat belts, moreover the Sumo Turbos and Safari are recommended to run on low RPM for about 60 seconds before and after every drive. Using the Hand brake here is absolutely neccessary.

so long....

[lateshnair]

I always use it during parking or at the signals.

But the best place i find hand brakes very "Handy" is stopping on slopes. Release the handbrake and accelerating at the same time wont let my car go back while going forwards. Usually very help is traffic jams on a incline roads.

Though i wonder how to do drifting using handbrake's...would love to do. Anybody any tips?

cheers
Latesh

[esteem_lover]

Never came across this thread. I instinctively krrrkkk my parking brakes the moment the car stops. And when i park, it definitely goes on along with engaging the car in 1st gear.

[Jaggu]

Yes i do. Even in traffic stops.

[rr_zen]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Never came across this thread. I instinctively krrrkkk my parking brakes the moment the car stops. And when i park, it definitely goes on along with engaging the car in 1st gear.

Me too. Whenever I know that the car is not going to move for some, I engage it. When it is parked, yes, of course.

One more situation where the parking brake comes in handy is when you encounter traffic snarls while climbing up a slope, say a subway or a fly-over. It takes the pressure of your right leg and lets it concentrate only on the gas pedal. Also, when moving the car forward (at the so called biting point) the driver in the car behind you does not face the threat of his car being banged by a car in the front.

@e_l: Do you engage the parking brake with that 'kkkrrk' sound everytime ? I hold the release button even while engaging it so that my teeth are safe.