[v.anand]

^^Wheel spinning and damaging the tyre thread? Oh! come on, I can't believe we are talking this in Team-Bhp, a forum for auto enthusiasts. I don't mind doing it day in and day out whenever I get a free and empty stretch which looks safe enough for all concerned and a car which carries some good initial torque, coupled with very sharp U turns using that magic lever aka hand brake.

Jokes apart, involuntary wheel spins are absolutely no problem for any car and any tyre, if its only occasional. We all are humans and I haven't come across one single person driving in the right gear at the right speed all the time in a manual transmission car. Occasionally, we all over rev a little, lug the engine a little no matter how experienced and good a driver you are. The cars are made to withstand certain amount of stress, these minor irregularities are absolutely within such permissible range for all critical components involved.

Coming back to the topic, what I have noticed with the hired drivers and driving school instructors is they pride on how long and hard they keep the owners cars in half clutch position and its a question of ego for them to use the hand brake while stopping at signals. Long time back, I was told by my instructor that judging the quality of the driver is by making him hold the car in an incline with half-clutch for the longest time possible. Unnecessary techniques like these lead to excessive clutch wear and thus excessive maintenance expenditure.

My technique is to not stress the clutch while moving from an incline and using the hand brake if the duration of stop is reasonably long. If its traffic and slow moving, I use half clutch till it comes to complete halt. For beginners, its best to practice and master both these techniques since both are necessary and are complementary to one another.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

My father taught my mother to do hill starts by placing one of her favourite hats just behind the back wheel. Dropping back just an inch or two would ruin the hat!

OT: Such tricks to teach driving are simply splendid. Infact, I remember the first time I was behind the wheel of my friend's dilapidated Omni and stalled it a couple of times due to nervousness, his uncle, who was an ambulance driver told me just one line that I will never forget:

"Why are you afraid? It is you who are driving the car and not the car which is driving you. Never forget this."

Coming back to the topic, the best way is to use the handbrake and then release it once the clutch bites.

Automatics are easier since they shift into gear once "D" is chosen and hold the clutch as well.

[hellboy999]

Hello there,

I understand both the handbrake and half clutch positions are complementary however from my personal experience is that once we release the handbrake on a bigger degree inclines(Like the ones found in multilevel parking lots), the car barely moves forward owing to the self torque generated by the engine unless given gas.

In fact the car starts rolling backward if the accel pedal is not pressed at the same time as we release the handbrake.May be its a matter of practise but I certainly believe that the half clutch + brake is what we use when we are in slow moving city traffic then why not use the same on an inclined hill.

[vaibzi]

Originally Posted by hellboy999

half clutch + brake is what we use when we are in slow moving city traffic then why not use the same on an inclined hill.

+1

I drive a swift diesel. It has oodles of torque, so I just release the clutch a bit more than the usual, release the brake and the car rolls forward on inclines. If the car is fully loaded, then I press the accelerator a tad and everything goes on fine!
With petrols, the same technique with a bit more pressure on the gas pedal is the way to go. I've never really used the handbrake and all that stuff. Maybe I'm not used to it.

[BluntInstrument]

Only once have I ever had to use the heel-toe technique, this was way back in 1998, I think, in an Ambassador. I had been driving for only a couple of years then and was driving my Canadian cousin around the hills. I got stuck behind a stopped bus on a sharp incline immediately after taking a very sharp curve and stalled. With the bus in front and a deep gorge behind me. There was a hand-brake lever in the car but the lever has been stuck in one position since as long as I can remember, still is to this day. I, contrary to what everyone here says is the correct method, used the heel on the brake and the toe on the accelerator. One of the hairiest motoring memories I have.
In recent times, driving my Palio and NHC in and around Simla on vacations, I have found the hand-brake a very satisfactory and civilised way of controlling a car on inclines. Simply engage on stopping, get the revs up, release clutch and hand-brake smoothly and gradually while keeping the revs up enough to take the load and off you go.
I tend to use my hand-brake on flat roads while parking (it is referred to as a Parking brake) also while stopped at intersections or in bumper to bumper traffic. The last because someone once pointed out that, were I to be hit from behind in a traffic jam and did not have the hand-brake engaged, the car would be more likely to run into the vehicle in front(or for that matter, in the path of on-coming traffic at an intersection), thereby damaging both my rear and front as well as the vehicle in front.
And isn't riding your clutch or using half clutch going to wear it out sooner?

[hellboy999]

Originally Posted by BluntInstrument

I tend to use my hand-brake on flat roads while parking (it is referred to as a Parking brake) also while stopped at intersections or in bumper to bumper traffic.

Hello there,

Can you throw some light on using the parking brake(i know its the same handbrake) while parking the vehicle n flat roads?How does it help us during parking?I have never come across this particular use of the hand-brake.So it would be very informative for us if you can elaborate.

[shankar.balan]

in an automatic one needs to be in D or R mode for the vehicle to start moving either forwards or backwards depending on the need at the time.
while proceeding forwards up an incline just keep the vehicle in D mode with the foot hovering over the brake. the car wont stall even if you put your foot on the brake and stay stationary for a bit with it in D mode - but over time if you keep doing this you will tend to wear out the clutch plates etc. So if youre going to be stationary for say 20-30 seconds, then shove it in N and pull on the parking brake. To move off,push the lever to D, simultaneously release the parking brake and press the accelerator lightly so as to start moving forward. An AT is far easier to handle in situations of this kind in hill driving and in start stop traffic as well. Trouble is that the overall FE in AT vehicles is not so great which is why they are not so popular here in Indian cities - where in fact it makes much more sense to have an AT than a manual.

Originally Posted by richie4u

Well I always wondered how do you climb a steep incline in an automatic, well obviously you cannot use the half clutch method so using the handbrake+ accelerator the only option? I have never got the opportunity to use an automatic on a steep incline so how do you do it?

[hellboy999]

Hello mates,

I have a query on driving on heavy inclines in mall/building parking lots.As the incline is quite steep what speeds and in what gear do you people usually.Yesterday I switched onto second gear in a mall parking ramp and ended up with just 10km/hr on the incline which led to other vehicles honking behind me.I could also see some vehicles zooming past me on the adjacent ramp.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by hellboy999

Hello mates,

I have a query on driving on heavy inclines in mall/building parking lots.As the incline is quite steep what speeds and in what gear do you people usually.Yesterday I switched onto second gear in a mall parking ramp and ended up with just 10km/hr on the incline which led to other vehicles honking behind me.I could also see some vehicles zooming past me on the adjacent ramp.

With the current engines, 2nd is too steep a gear to start from 0 km/hr (idle), especially on an upward incline.

Prolonged use of 2nd gear would mean more engine-knocking and in turn harm the engine.

While starting from idle, make it a point to be at 1st gear. And on an incline, 1st gear it should always be unless you have a very good momentum. You should ideally keep the clutch slightly pressed as the engine is very sensitive to the accelerator and every slight press/depress of the accelerator can jerk the car.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

With the current engines, 2nd is too steep a gear to start from 0 km/hr (idle), especially on an upward incline.

Not only with 'current engines' , 2 gear was never designed to move the car from idle, in any engine. It will harm your clutch. Unless you are on a slope, or you are stuck in slush, and do not prefer abrupt change in torque.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

You should ideally keep the clutch slightly pressed as the engine is very sensitive to the accelerator and every slight press/depress of the accelerator can jerk the car.

Libran, its half clutching, and it will burn your clutch, I will NOT recommend it.

Originally Posted by hellboy999

As the incline is quite steep what speeds and in what gear do you people usually.

Well, some inclines on some cars are such that, the 1st gear is too high, and 2nd is too low. I would recommend keep moving in 1st. Ideally, keep the engine in its power band. It varies for different cars.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Libran, its half clutching, and it will burn your clutch, I will NOT recommend it.

Well, in the queue leading up to the parking fee collection booth, the cars are bumper-to-bumper. And almost all these booths are situated just after an incline.

Hence, the clutch is necessary.

[amitoj]

In slow moving, bumper to bumper traffic on a mall's incline:
1. I let the car ahead of me move some distance.
2. Then I drive up to it
3. Pull the handbrake.
4. Wait for some time after the car in front of me has moved again.
5. Repeat steps 2,3,4.

Sometimes people honk. I don't care.

[hellboy999]

Ok guys from what I have deduced from the discussion that next time on an incline I would try to keep the car in the first gear itself while climbing up a steep incline since the speed would be too low for 2nd gear to be engaged.
Lets see how what speed the car attains and if at all I need to shift to gear 2.

[BluntInstrument]

Originally Posted by hellboy999

Hello there,

Can you throw some light on using the parking brake(i know its the same handbrake) while parking the vehicle n flat roads?How does it help us during parking?I have never come across this particular use of the hand-brake.So it would be very informative for us if you can elaborate.

Once upon a time, when I was much younger, me and a few friends were at a party. Sometime after 11:00 PM, a group of us got, what seemed at the time to be, a brilliant idea. Knowing as we did the parking habits of one of our friends, who never used to park his car with the handbrake on or the gear engaged , we managed to roll his car a good half a Kilometer away from where it was originally parked. Don't ask how we managed the turns in the road because I don't remember at all but we managed to hide it behind a building and spent the next 45 minutes enjoying his frantic search and despair.
And that is why, dear sir, you should engage your handbrake while parking. Putting it in gear will also do but it is still possible to push the car some distance. Putting the handbrake on will make it that much more hard to move the vehicle. As far as I am concerned, it has become a habit to engage gear and handbrake both while parking, if for no other reason than peace of mind. If, however, you are prone to park the car in a place where it might get towed, by all means, don't engage your parking brake, youll be doing your rear tires a favour.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by hellboy999

Hello there,

Can you throw some light on using the parking brake(i know its the same handbrake) while parking the vehicle n flat roads?How does it help us during parking?I have never come across this particular use of the hand-brake.So it would be very informative for us if you can elaborate.

Parking (hand) brakes are there to ensure the vehicle stalls as it is. The moment you park (even if on a straight road), the moment you turn off the engine, the hand brake should come on.

1) even in gear, the car can still move a bit
2) it doesn't put pressure on the gears to prevent the car from moving
3) in an unfortunate eventuality of a collision, the car would have a much greater chance of being still rather than rolling ahead.

Even when you're stranded on a junction, you can engage the handbrake and release the main brakes.

PS : if you happen in park in parking lots/malls where there is paralled parking, they will ask you not to engage the hand-brake as they would want to move your car to make way for the other. Only in such cases, oblige.

Originally Posted by BluntInstrument

Once upon a time, when I was much younger, me and a few friends were at a party. Sometime after 11:00 PM, a group of us got, what seemed at the time to be, a brilliant idea. Knowing as we did the parking habits of one of our friends, who never used to park his car with the handbrake on or the gear engaged , we managed to roll his car a good half a Kilometer away from where it was originally parked. Don't ask how we managed the turns in the road because I don't remember at all but we managed to hide it behind a building and spent the next 45 minutes enjoying his frantic search and despair.
And that is why, dear sir, you should engage your handbrake while parking. Putting it in gear will also do but it is still possible to push the car some distance. Putting the handbrake on will make it that much more hard to move the vehicle. As far as I am concerned, it has become a habit to engage gear and handbrake both while parking, if for no other reason than peace of mind. If, however, you are prone to park the car in a place where it might get towed, by all means, don't engage your parking brake, youll be doing your rear tires a favour.

One helluva story; gives me ideas!