slick

i got an auto, my last car was an auto and it didnt have the parking brake. when and why would i need to use the parking brake?

Keven97SE

Look in the owners manual. Surprisingly, there's actual INFORMATION on very basic stuff like that.

tomz17

you DIDN'T have a parking brake... odd. i thought all cars had them... Perhaps it was known as the emergency brake (in my buick it was an extra pedal on the left hand side)

I always use it when parking on any kind of slope,, in this order..

#1. Stop car
#2. Apply hand brake
#3. Shift transmission into park
#4. Turn off car
#5. Let go of brake (regular foot brake)

Then when i want to leave I :

#1. Start car
#2. Press and hold brake (regular foor brake)
#3. Shift into drive
#4. Release Parking brake
#5. Release regular brake and go..


Check your drivers manual, because there are also regulations about which way you should turn wheels when parking on certain slopes (ie. with curb, without curb)..

tomz17

Oh 1 more thing... you could use it to make some really tight turns at high speeds... of course, this is an undocumented feature of hand brakes!!!

*** Disclaimer : never use the hand brake when car is moving unless you know exactly what you are doing, or the normal brakes fail to work properly ***

slick

my last car was a '92 mazda 929, it was a rear wheel drive and was scary to drive (slipped too much, even on dry land) but i looked at that car recently and it doesn't seem to have a emergency/parking brake, unless it fell off (lots of things feel off or broke off of this car, its a sh*t box, but it has a nice ride with its 195hp V-6, even with 115k miles.

UMD_MaxSE

iTrader: (1)

hehe....drifting is fun....

CLIMAX

The parking brake is good to use on inclines. If you just put it in park and get out the tranny holds the weight of the car and can become locked when your trying to shift into drive. I you apply the parking brake in neutral and let the brakes absorb the weight of the car then shift into park you avoid this problem

tomz17

Exactly.. which is why I listed the parking brake before shifting out of gear, and then shifting into gear before releasing the brake... (i don't think you have to go into neutral, but it should work EITHER way)

Simple experiment you could do to prove this to yourself, is to shift into park and THEN apply the parking brake... Then open your door, and let go of your regular brake (the foot one), and you'll see that your car still moves a bit..

The other way around, the parking brake is solid, and takes ALL of the work off your tranny..

slick

for the help, i must look like an idiot asking that, but like i said, never had it before, so i didn't know how/when to use it. another thing though, my friend has a 4th gen max (98) and his parking brake has a leather type thing around, makes the lever look better, but mine doesn't, can i get one of those? from where? have any of you considered this?

Botos

Well, you could use it something as banal as say, parking, but in another thread someone linked to a wonderfully obscene picture of another one of its undocumented uses- do a search on "parking brake" or "e-brake".

SCCA Solo2

I guarentee your car had a parking/emergency brake. It's a safety device. It's like selling a car without seatbelts...won't happen. Your madza probably had a foot emergency brake (like 95% of trucks have). You'd set it by pushing it down with your left foot. It would be near the hood release under the dash.

The EB is for Drifting a FWD car, duh!

slick

my 929 wasn't a truck (if thats what you meant by the 95% of all trucks remark) and it was a rear wheel drive car. i just went outside to look for the EB, found nothing, that car is f***ed up.