Gear or neutral at park?

Arthur said:
I've always treated the parking brake as a supplement to gear/compression/Park parking, level or incline. On a level park at say mall parking I sometimes don't even use the handbrake, just gear. In a manual, gear is opposite to incline, so reverse when pointing nose-down, and 1st when pointing nose-up.
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Poster on page 2 says this shouldn't make a difference. Gear is gear?
 
ALWAYS - in gear with handbrake on.
And use a brick behind the wheel if you need peace of mind.
It's so you don't accidentally freaking kill some one.
 
Kosmik said:
No, he's right, new toyotas, require the clutch to be pressed down before the ignition will fire.
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Although pressing the clutch has the same effect as pressing the brake Renault Clio drivers are advised to do the latter. :)
 
LazyLion said:
/Snip
And use a brick behind the wheel if you need peace of mind.
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This is really bad advice. I've seen people leaving rocks in the road and then driving off. :(
Rather make sure the handbrake is working properly.
 
Go on a 4 x 4 training course and then you will see why it is absolutely critical to consider the parking/stopping place and conditions before deciding what to do.

I am paranoid about this. I "never" park in SA without placing the vehicle in 1st or reverse, with the handbrake on after releasing the clutch as well as turning the wheels into the curb based on the slope (even the slightest of slopes). I even use chocks on the rear wheels if the slope is severe (4 x 4).

As for Automatics, well that is where the "rot" sets in --- In my opinion no one who started his driving career in an automatic knows squat about driving a vehicle. You have to start driving with a manual car and then move on to an automatic to know anything about driving.
 
LaraC said:
Although pressing the clutch has the same effect as pressing the brake Renault Clio drivers are advised to do the latter. :)
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And that is a new curse, a work around to pamper those that have never been taught the true art of driving. I hate these new gimmicks in modern cars!

It should be ingrained to always check that a vehicle is in neutral before doing anything!
 
MagicDude4Eva said:
When I worked in Munich, our apartment block (I actually lived in the same block as the Munich shooter) was short of parking and it was quite common to "bumper-park" - i.e. all cars out of gear and no handbrake and people "just made space" - although not quite as extreme as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsK5C8m44JY
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This is very common in Germany and France. According to them it's a bumper for a reason and aptly named :D
 
MickeyD said:
Just got my new Focus (back then) back from the dealer after the first service. Parked it in front of the garage, in neutral, handbrake up.

Hour later my kids come in joking that our car "crashed".

Naturally I was very upset, called the dealer. next thing the dealer principal was here... also started with the leave in 1st gear, etc. and I said that it is not what the Ford manual says (I checked while waiting). Showed it to him. They took it away and repaired the damaged for free.
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One time when RTFM was a fatal mistake hey! :D
 
Another piece of handed down wisdom - when you're waiting to turn right across oncoming traffic anywhere that blocks the flow behind you, don't turn your steering right until you're clear to go, otherwise if you get rear ended while you're stationary and your steering wheel is turned to the right your car will be bumped right into the oncoming lane. Try and keep your car and wheels pointed in the direction of the road and not towards where you want to turn, until you're actually ready to turn. Saved my life once. Obviously, if you're at a traffic light or in a dedicated turning lane, this is not necessary, but get into this habit when you're turning right across traffic into a driveway or side road.
 
Usually if I'm parking on an incline, I get the handbrake up, release the brakes to confirm the car is holding on the handbrake, then engage first. Hasn't faulted me yet. It's become a habit of mine since I've started driving.
 
Bond said:
Poster on page 2 says this shouldn't make a difference. Gear is gear?
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Hehe. Maybe not much diffs. But there's slightly more resistance if the engine has to run backwards. I also have a vague memory of a car running fwd despite compression on a very steep incline, but reverse gear held it ... could have been my ancient '58 Morris Minor.
 
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Arthur said:
Hehe. Maybe not much diffs. But there's slightly more resistance if the engine has to run backwards. I also have a vague memory of a car running fwd despite compression on a very steep incline, but reverse gear held it ... it could have been my ancient Morris Minor.
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The engine cannot run backwards. The gearbox changes the direction the wheels turn. ;)
 
Bond said:
Dad being the only one I know, well and gf's bf. So it's quite widespread/normal.
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Arent you your girlfriend's boyfriend? Is he at least a nice chap? Sounds like he looks after his car
 
LaraC said:
This is really bad advice. I've seen people leaving rocks in the road and then driving off. :(
Rather make sure the handbrake is working properly.
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1) I thought we were talking about parking in driveways and at home
2) Don't park in the middle of the road.
3) Take your brick with you
4) Have you driven in Joburg lately?
 
LaraC said:
This is really bad advice. I've seen people leaving rocks in the road and then driving off. :(
Rather make sure the handbrake is working properly.
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HA! Once took a trip between Sutherland and Calvinia, through the backroads. About 100 km odd from anywhere on a very dusty dirt road came across two rocks in the road about half way up a hill and wondered who was in trouble. After about 20 km, on each hill, there were the two rocks. Then finally, there was the vehicle, a Datsun bakkie, loaded to the hilt. Stopped to see what was going on and the family appeared out of the bushes, grandpa, grandma, 4 kids. Apparently what happened the previous night already, the vehicle ran out of petrol and would die on them every time they hit an uphill. So they would stop, someone would hop out find two rocks, chuck the wheels and then the family would push it to the top of the hill, and they would then all hop in and repeat. Needless to say the rocks stayed behind in the road at each stop.

At day break the pa and brother took off to walk to Calvinia to get petrol, not knowing that they were in for a 70 km walk. At midday ma and sister with a 3 month baby took off to look for water.
Solved the problem with 20L of petrol off my roof rack, and then found out that no one in the family could drive. So my wife drove the bakkie, until we came across the ma, sister and baby, where upon everyone first had some water and food to eat and then off we went again, about 30 km further we came across pa, and brother totally exhausted. We ended up escorting the family all the way to Calvinia.

(Mid summer, with temperature outside sitting at 37 degree C).
 
LaraC said:
The engine cannot run backwards. The gearbox changes the direction the wheels turn. ;)
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He's referring to having a car roll in the opposite direction the transmission is intended for. Yes you can force a engine backwards and it just depends on which gear ratio is the lowest and how much engine compression there is vs weight.

Also a 4 stroke engine forced backwards has a suck stroke rather than a compression stroke. I cannot see how that'll be good news for your valves and fuel injection.
 
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