Just short of using when parking on an incline, etc by why is is commonly called e-brake as well. Granted if you're brakes go out and you have nothing to rely on...I guess it could be used as a emergency, but it doesn't really stop or slow a 5000lb suv........
What is the use of the e-brake/parking brake
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Kestas
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Which SUV is this, so that other owners could chime in? The e-brake should slow down an SUV. Your e-brake could be seized or misadjusted. I believe some states have a standard for checking out e-brake function to pass safety inspection, where the vehicle must stop within a certain distance from a certain speed, just using the e-brake.
I was testing this on my BMW X5...at around 35mph..no dice.
However, when I engage it, the actuation feels fine.
When engaged, and when in reverse...there is resistance.
When engaged and the car is not being throttled, there is resistance if memory recalls.
Just didn't have any real stopping power at real world speeds in where I would need a *emergency brake*.
However, when I engage it, the actuation feels fine.
When engaged, and when in reverse...there is resistance.
When engaged and the car is not being throttled, there is resistance if memory recalls.
Just didn't have any real stopping power at real world speeds in where I would need a *emergency brake*.
That's one of my pet peeves...people calling the PARKING brake an EMERGENCY brake. To my way of thinking, down shifting is a more effective and more "natural" way of slowing a vehicle. I've had lots of emergencies in my life and not a one of them was solved by pulling that handle!
I was able to stop my old Monte Carlo from 60 mph with the e-brake alone. Granted, there was actual smoke coming from the rear brakes after I did that, but it stopped fine.
I haven't tried it with my new one and I have to say I don't really plan to.
I haven't tried it with my new one and I have to say I don't really plan to.
My dad was saying if your master cylinder failed then you would have no brakes. So the parking/emergency brake is used since its like manual brakes. On some highways there are runaway ramps in case your brakes fail going downhill.
On a manual transmission I suppose that is your park. Of course on a hill you would put it 1 or R depending on uphill or downhill. Some people use the e-brake when starting on steeper hills. I tend to pull the brake first before putting it to park. Don't want to get off topic but some drifters use the e-brake.
On a manual transmission I suppose that is your park. Of course on a hill you would put it 1 or R depending on uphill or downhill. Some people use the e-brake when starting on steeper hills. I tend to pull the brake first before putting it to park. Don't want to get off topic but some drifters use the e-brake.
Even with my automatic, I'm *VERY* anal retentive about using the e-brake. EVERY single time I park, even on perfectly flat ground, I first put the car in Neutral and firmly apply the parking brake while holding the service brake. I then release the service break and ensure that the car does not roll, and only then do I put the car into Park.
I do this for two reasons: Keep the weight of the car off of the powertrain and, ensure, that if for some reason the car were to pop out of Park, the brake is set firmly enough to prevent the car from rolling.
I absolutely cannot stand it when someone else drives my car (the service people, a friend, whatever...) and they don't set the parking brake the weight of the car is sitting on the transmission.
I do this for two reasons: Keep the weight of the car off of the powertrain and, ensure, that if for some reason the car were to pop out of Park, the brake is set firmly enough to prevent the car from rolling.
I absolutely cannot stand it when someone else drives my car (the service people, a friend, whatever...) and they don't set the parking brake the weight of the car is sitting on the transmission.
My wife uses the emergency brake as a governor to keep her speeds under 35 miles per hour..."Those new spark plugs you installed ruined my car!...I told you, you shouldn't let Nate(buddy she hates) touch my car...It won't even go over 35 now!!!"
After I discovered she unknowingly drove a mile with emergency brake on...I disengaged and told her I needed twenty bucks for new plugs...went over to Nate's enjoyed a Cigar and conversation...drove back home...Voila! problem fixed...
After I discovered she unknowingly drove a mile with emergency brake on...I disengaged and told her I needed twenty bucks for new plugs...went over to Nate's enjoyed a Cigar and conversation...drove back home...Voila! problem fixed...
First lesson in drifting...
Crank the wheel,
Floor the throttle,
Hit that e-brake!!!
Fast and the Furious XXV
(New Jersey Drift)
Crank the wheel,
Floor the throttle,
Hit that e-brake!!!
Fast and the Furious XXV
(New Jersey Drift)
Then you either have a malfunctioning E-brake or it was poorly engineered.
My money would be on the first option.
YEARS ago all brakes were cable acutated. At that time the secondary hand operated brakes were for emergency use. So at one time they were properly named EMERGENCY brakes. (All this as described by my father who began his mechanic career in the early '30s).
Think now the proper name would properly be "park" brake. Although, I'll ocasionaly apply whatever you want to call it to cease forward movement when slowly entering a parking space.
Mister Jon,
Don't know about your parking procedure,,, but you certainly seem correct in your self description.
Bob
Think now the proper name would properly be "park" brake. Although, I'll ocasionaly apply whatever you want to call it to cease forward movement when slowly entering a parking space.
Mister Jon,
Don't know about your parking procedure,,, but you certainly seem correct in your self description.
Bob
Isn't the emergency brake self-adusting?...on drums?...found it interesting Chevy went back to rear drums...on their trucks anyways...
All e-brakes are drums, or atleast the ones I have seen. The brake is housed inside the rear brake rotor. They "should" be self adjusting during reverse stops but I believe that with rear disks, you have to activate the brake to engage the self adjusters.
A cautionary tale for your enjoyment. One fine November day in 1992 I went to the lumber yard to buy a sheet of plywood in my Ford van. I put it in park and did not pull the parking brake. To this day I do not know if it didn't make it completely into park or if it came out somehow but just as I opened the back door, the engine surged (which it did every now and then) and the van surged backwards crushing me against a forklift tire. The end result was a broken pelvis and a tibial plateau fracture where the bumper hit my left knee. I don't have that van anymore but whenever I put anything into park now, I use the parking brake too.
You should have spent your time fixing the idiot light that warns her she's left her e-brake engaged...
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Well, one brand new Liberty has a new bumper due to me not setting the ebrake on my wife's Wrangler while I was in the dealer for parts. The engine cannot hold the thing on an incline. The tires are too big and the rolling resistance too low and the thing will just slowly chug along until it hits something. Leave it just in gear (forward or reverse) and if you're on enough of an incline (doesn't take much) ..and it's moving.
Yup, it's a PARKING brake, not an emergency brake. I know a new driver who flipped their car because they pulled the 'emergency' brake when they began losing control of the car. The car began fishtailing, they yanked the 'emergency' brake and the car immediately went into a snap oversteer, went off the road sideways and ended up on the roof.
I always use the parking brake when parking, but I must admit there was one instance when I did use it in an emergency. I was driving an old VW Golf that had rust damage from Michigan winter salt. The back half of the exhaust system with the muffler fell off and on the way off, it ruptured one of the steel brake tubing lines.
Stepping on the brake pedal sent it right to the floor. Amazingly, there was still 'some' residual braking. Only ruptured one of the two lines (most cars have two lines that go to front right, rear left and FL, RR), but I would estimate it at no more than 15% of normal braking right in the last 1/2" of the pedal travel above the floor (distances would be more than 5 times longer than normal).
I used the parking brake (in a straight line) as an auxiliary brake to help slow and stop the car. This however, was on a comparably light little car at ~35-40mph. Whether the parking brake would have had much effect on a 5000+lbs SUV is debatable.
Having been in amateur rallying, I've also used the parking brake for drifting/turning on loose surfaces to combat understeer.
Max
I've experimented with stopping my '97 Mazda pickup in a parking lot using only the (foot-operated) parking brake. It works, but only if you're not in a real hurry to get stopped. You can't apply it very firmly - the rear wheels lock up really easily....
My 98 Yukon has rear drums with a foot actuated parking brake. It has self adjusters that do not. Every time I rotate the tires, I give the adjusters a few clicks. The brakes work great and the parking brake works great. It will stop the truck in an emergency. My wife's Saturn L300 has 4 wheel discs and a hand operated parking brake. It also will stop the car.
I park my cars the same way, every time, and it bugs me too when someone's parked my car and let the weight settle without setting the parking brake. It does slightly amuse me, though, they park it by putting it in park, then setting the brake. "I parked it like you!" Uh, no, not really. My old Monte got me in the habit because it had a bent parking pawl, and it seemed like a good habit to stick with, so I did.
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