Today I.....

Handbrake on for me, always, unless it's one of my A2's which is staying in my garage for more than a few days, in which case it it's 1st gear and a brick behind the driver's front wheel. Otherwise 1st or reverse gear in addition to the handbrake, according to the direction of slope, if it's severe enough. My Volvo (auto) has to be left in Park, or it won't let me turn the ignition off.
 
Lowest gear eg 1st is the best as for the car to move a given amount the engine would need to do many more revs than if say in 5th gear

I avoid reverse due to the springs on the gear change being under compression

Leaving the hand brake on will both stretch the cables and the shoes will rust to the drum if any dampness was present when hand brake applied

Paul


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I can't get my head round some of these statements. Why would you not use the handbrake? It's sole purposes are a. To use in emergencies if brakes fail and b. To hold the car at a standstill. It makes no sense to leave it in gear to hold it when you have a device of which the sole purpose is to hold the car still.
 
Kleynie said:
I can't get my head round some of these statements. Why would you not use the handbrake? It's sole purposes are a. To use in emergencies if brakes fail and b. To hold the car at a standstill. It makes no sense to leave it in gear to hold it when you have a device of which the sole purpose is to hold the car still.
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When I leave the handbrake on for a few days or more it sticks on, which I believe is a common issue, so maybe that’s why?
 
Kleynie said:
I can't get my head round some of these statements. Why would you not use the handbrake? It's sole purposes are a. To use in emergencies if brakes fail and b. To hold the car at a standstill. It makes no sense to leave it in gear to hold it when you have a device of which the sole purpose is to hold the car still.
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Why not IF ITS ON A FLAT LEVEL OFF ROAD DRIVE you possibly have not had handbrakes sticking on I have we live in a wet part of Somerset levels many years ago we have had a few probs ..it’s common sense to me but then I am an ex toolmaker aircraft technician ..if it not going anywhere .,why stretch on the handbrake enough said on my part...il zip it ? ?
 
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I think it depends on if it’s used daily or like a lot of the a2s on here not used very often. I normally leave a car in gear if I am going away on holiday or it’s being left for any length of time. If it’s being left overnight then I always just put the hand brake on.
 
greywolfhound said:
Why not IF ITS ON A FLAT LEVEL OFF ROAD DRIVE you possibly have not had handbrakes sticking on I have we live in a wet part of Somerset levels many years ago we have had a few probs ..it’s common sense to me but then I am an ex toolmaker aircraft technician ..if it not going anywhere .,why stretch on the handbrake enough said on my part...
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Could not agree more


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greywolfhound said:
Why not IF ITS ON A FLAT LEVEL OFF ROAD DRIVE you possibly have not had handbrakes sticking on I have we live in a wet part of Somerset levels many years ago we have had a few probs ..it’s common sense to me but then I am an ex toolmaker aircraft technician ..if it not going anywhere .,why stretch on the handbrake enough said on my part...
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I had an advisory on my last MOT concerning a binding rear caliper, but that does not mean I'm going to discontinue using the handbrake. And why would you worry about stretching the cables? They obviously will stretch over time, but they last 120000 miles or more, so is that really a concern? The highway code even states that whenever leaving the vehicle, the handbrake must always be applied in rule 239.
 

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This highway code advice applies to all public roads but obviously not on private driveways. There are potential liabilities in respect of any accidents caused on private land through failing to set the handbrake. I would always recommend it and in general it takes a fair amount of time for the brakes to totally seize on.
 
Darpod14 said:
I think it depends on if it’s used daily or like a lot of the a2s on here not used very often. I normally leave a car in gear if I am going away on holiday or it’s being left for any length of time. If it’s being left overnight then I always just put the hand brake on.
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I think this is a wise approach.
 
On my Macan the electronics will not allow the ignition key to be removed until the parking brake is applied. I know it’s very different as it’s an electric parking brake, but it could still stick.

I remember my Dad always used to leave his car in gear back in the day, but that was just because hand brakes were generally unreliable. Those days are gone now and the hand/parking brake has moved on.

Maybe it’s just a generation thing?

Ian
 
depronman said:
This was the fsi with the turbo on it ?
What went wrong with the engine and was it related to the extra load introduced by the turbo or possible the mixture not be correct (likely lean) when under boost

What a shame as it looked a nice A2 and something a little different

Paul


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I think it was the high compression engine combined with too much boost. I was getting terrible pre ignition knock even after removing the boost controller and running it at manifold pressure. It was also using a litre of coolant every 15 miles. I wonder whether the head had started to lift?!
 
A2Steve said:
I think it was the high compression engine combined with too much boost. I was getting terrible pre ignition knock even after removing the boost controller and running it at manifold pressure. It was also using a litre of coolant every 15 miles. I wonder whether the head had started to lift?!
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I’ve always had my doubt about just booting a turbo to an engine. Normally a turboed engine runs a lower compression ratio to stop pre ignition
A good experiment I guess but no cigar

Paul


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depronman said:
I’ve always had my doubt about just booting a turbo to an engine. Normally a turboed engine runs a lower compression ratio to stop pre ignition
A good experiment I guess but no cigar

Paul


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It all went wrong when I fitted a manual boost controller. I think at manifold pressure the ecu could have kept up with it.
 
Kleynie said:
On my Macan the electronics will not allow the ignition key to be removed until the parking brake is applied. I know it’s very different as it’s an electric parking brake, but it could still stick.

I remember my Dad always used to leave his car in gear back in the day, but that was just because hand brakes were generally unreliable. Those days are gone now and the hand/parking brake has moved on.

Maybe it’s just a generation thing?

Ian
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The Highway Code advises leaving the car in the appropriate gear in addition to applying the handbrake when parking on a slope. Yorkshire Hill experienced the consequence of relying on the handbrake alone a few years ago.
 
Jeff Sutcliffe said:
The Highway Code advises leaving the car in the appropriate gear in addition to applying the handbrake when parking on a slope. Yorkshire Hill experienced the consequence of relying on the handbrake alone a few years ago.
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It does, I'm not debating that, I'm debating leaving a car in gear WITHOUT the handbrake on as well.
 
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