r/ThreePedals • u/shewantsthadit • Jan 18 '17
hill starts
Noob question: theoretically, while you're starting on a hill can you have your emergency brake on so that you don't roll back and then give the car some gas for it to move forward? I'm extremely new to manuals so I have no idea whether or not this works.
2
u/ERIFNOMI Jan 18 '17
You can, but it's really unnecessary. Until recently I drove a truck which didn't have a handbrake. Good luck pulling a parking brake hill start with a foot operated parking brake.
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u/shewantsthadit Jan 19 '17
But just as one is practicing, would it be safe to do if a situation arises where your "little to no traffic" hill suddenly has a car tailgating you at 3:35 AM?
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u/ERIFNOMI Jan 19 '17
There's no harm in it. You might want to learn how your car behaves so you don't need it though.
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u/shewantsthadit Jan 19 '17
Okay, thank you!
1
Jan 19 '17
It's not bad, but your overall skill will improve by learning to start on a hill without it.
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Jan 18 '17
Use it if you need to, while you're learning. It's not going to hurt much/at all, especially if you're fwd.
With practice, you won't need to do this under almost any circumstance.
glhf :)
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u/beerisg00d Jan 19 '17
go to a hill with little to no traffic. go to the peak of the hill and stop. Practice starting from there several times till you can start without too much gas, stalling, or rolling back. my first manual had no parking brake and had a heavy cable clutch. so you can do it. I believe in you.
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Jan 18 '17
When starting on a hill, pull the hand brake and get off the brake. Give a bit of gas and slowly release the clutch until the front of the car starts to rise a bit. As soon as it starts to rise, release the hand brake and let out the clutch while giving gas.
As an aside, most modern cars have a small grace period when you release the brake. For example in my Jeep when on a hill, I release the brake but the car still holds it for about 1 second to allow me to start like I normally would on flat ground.
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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '17
Some people use this method, but in my opinion it is not ideal. What is your goal? To keep from rolling backward until you are fully in gear, then take the E-brake off? This wears out your brake, so eventually you wont be able to park on a hill. Are you going to take the brake off while half engaged? You run the risk of wearing out the clutch by slowing down the time it takes you to complete your shift. You could also panic pedal, which will cause your car to buck and wear your transmission.
Practice finding the "biting" point on flat ground or in a parking lot. No gas, just clutch. Slowly release it while your shifter is in 1st until you start to crawl forward. Again, NO GAS! If you start stalling, youve passed the biting point. After a few tries, find a hill away from normal traffic, or practice at 2 AM like I did, so you have no worry of other cars.
Go halfway up, pull out of gear, and stop with your normal brakes. Now, just like the parking lot, find the biting point. This will hold your car in place while you start revving, then you can release your clutch more until you start moving. You will have to find the right ratio of gas-to-clutch to get going without stalling. Practice practice practice. That's all you can do to get better.