I dislike them immensely. The operation is horrible and you can tell they are designed with infrequent use in mind. Dropping an anchor out the trunk would be less uncouth than an American car's parking brake.
Handbrake in old american muscle cars?
- Thread starter Blackhawk47
- Start date
Associate
- Joined
- 1 Feb 2008
- Posts
- 788
vw tourag is the same, foot pedal handbrake with a handle to release it under the steering column.
Soldato
What about British HGV trucks, foot or hand brake? Actually the brakes apply automatically when its got no air pressure I think so not comparable, just thought it might be a weight /truck thing
If the car was an auto, couldn't you just put into P (PARK) and leave it as that? 
Been doing a bit of research and it seems if you do that the transmission will lock the wheels anyway.
Been doing a bit of research and it seems if you do that the transmission will lock the wheels anyway.
Soldato
Park isn't a subsitute for a handbrake - it's like leaving the car in gear, it's a precautionary measure. The park mechanism (it's basically just a lock, called a pawl, that engages with a gear), as well as the transmission, isn't designed to endure the full weight of the vehicle on a daily basis (i.e. if you were continually parking on steep slopes).
The parking mechanism in an autobox can be overcome fairly easily too, if someone hits it, so you need that additional braking from the handbrake.
.....plus there's the legal necessity for a parking brake, as well as a need to have that same system in reserve if the main brakes fail
Protip - if you want to ensure the maximum life from your automatic transmission, then do the following: when you come to a stop, first engage the handbrake then neutral. Once the vehicle is resting on the handbrake, then engage park. This means the transmission and parking pawl is not stressed, reducing wear and tear.
The parking mechanism in an autobox can be overcome fairly easily too, if someone hits it, so you need that additional braking from the handbrake.
.....plus there's the legal necessity for a parking brake, as well as a need to have that same system in reserve if the main brakes fail
Protip - if you want to ensure the maximum life from your automatic transmission, then do the following: when you come to a stop, first engage the handbrake then neutral. Once the vehicle is resting on the handbrake, then engage park. This means the transmission and parking pawl is not stressed, reducing wear and tear.
Last edited:
I tend to drive up, stop with foot brake, put in park, engaging paring brake, release foot brake. I do this purely to stop the parking pawl 'lurch'.
Soldato
And what about the foot parking brake?
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Soldato
Try doing a handbrake turn with one
Try doing any kind of turn in an old American car!
(my little Japanese import has a foot-operated parking brake, column change and a front bench seat, just to say)
Soldato
Try doing a handbrake turn with one
Just do what they did with the Chargers built for the Dukes of Hazzard TV series - disconnect the locking mechanism from the parking brake pedal. Then all you have to do is stamp on it to lock up the rear wheels, swing the car around, lift off the pedal and get back on the gas. Job done.
Soldato
Got one of these in the Cefiro, though for some reason only the autos have it. The manual gets a normal handbrake.
Wouldn't be too hard to jam the release lever in the up position with a block of wood or something, then use it as a handbrake turn pedal.
Wouldn't be too hard to jam the release lever in the up position with a block of wood or something, then use it as a handbrake turn pedal.
My Cadillac has the lock on the parking brake automatically disabled when the motor is running. This stops you driving off with the brake on (it releases when you start the engine) but has the advantage of also being the handbrake turn pedal. other models of Cadillac I have owned or rented or borrowed release the lock on the parkign brake when you take it out of park. Same effect for use on the road...
As sugested by someone else, you can click out the lock mechanism either with a retaining pin or by removing it altogether. No need for a block of wood.
As sugested by someone else, you can click out the lock mechanism either with a retaining pin or by removing it altogether. No need for a block of wood.