I use the e-brake, then put it in gear for my Z 6MT. I don't want it rolling anywhere. I've done this with every MT car I've owned.

For autos, I do not use the e-brake, just drop it into park. The reason I do them different is the autos I've driven all have the ebrake as a foot pedal, with the release under the left side of the dash. Annoying, clumsy, easy to forget it's on...so I ignore it.

For all the people worried about putting strain on the transmission when leaving it in gear while parked. You realize that when you actually drive the car there is possibly 1000x more load on the transmission compared to just holding it on an incline. There is no possible way, even on the steepest incline that leaving the car in gear when you park it could do any damage to the transmission.

I always leave my car in gear with the E-brake on. ;)

The only disadvantage I could see is if you get hit from behind while you parked in gear.

:iagree: You really have to pull the ebrake all the way for it to work little.

:iagree: ,again. And this also goes for when you park a car when the brakes are hot, the rotors can warp or worse... few years ago I picked up our company loaner car for a business trip. The previous user obviously lived by the slogan "Don't be gentle, it's a rental", as he or she parked the car with glowing hot rear brakes and put the ebrakes on "firmly". When I tried to drive the car a few days later, the brakes were stuck, so I rocked the car back and forth until the brakes "released". However, after driving a few feet I realized that only part of the brakes released, as about half of the brake pad was still stuck to the rotor...


And :iagree: again. I have driven manuals for the past 15+ years and always parked them in 1st gear, never had any problems. I can't imagine that a parked car can put more strain on the gearbox then a 3.7LV6 at WOT...


As Vipor, I'm in for pics, or better yet, a you tube video :icon17:

win! thanks for the info +1!

lol i'll add you to my rep list for tomorrow :tiphat:

No.

I've driven standard transmission cars for 44 years and only use the e-brake when the engine is running and I want to get out of the vehicle for a moment. This idea of straining the transmission seems foolish to me. Side stepping the clutch pedal at 5,000 rpm is the only time to worry about straining your transmission(and clutch, u-joints and differential).

A noob question, but I'm kind of confused... In order to park with the car in gear, you need to shut off the car while having the clutch depressed... so the correct process would be...

neutral, e-brake, depress clutch, back to first, turn off?

or

stay in first, clutch depressed, e-brake, turn off?

I'm guessing either would be ok, or am I completely off base lol

Phelan, awesome Breaking Benjamin quote btw. :rock:

To park in gear:

Come to a stop with the car in 1st and clutch depressed. Turn the car off. Release the clutch. Voila! (You don't need an ebrake to park)

I tested my ebrake yesterday. In neutral, on a hill, my ebrake works just fine even only half engaged. Fully engaged, even on a steep incline, I would feel not leaving it in gear.

However, like others, leaving it in gear doesn't phase me. I park it in 1st every time, hill or not, out of habit.

In my old car, I had a habit of letting out the clutch before the engine was fully off. The dumbass lurch that followed convinced me to park in neutral normally, tossing it in gear when I'm on a steep hill.

lurching is funny, esp when there's a structure in front of you :ugh2:

had some kid pay me to put a remote start on his Ford [can't remember the model] and it was a stick. told him to make sure he parked in neutral every time or it'd be a problem when he went to start it. got his car worked on and the dash replaced (recall, it was peeling away from the frame) and he remote started it. lurched right into a wall, hard enough to deploy the airbags. :facepalm:

I hate to disagree, the same strain or more gets put on it as your driving off in gear.. Personally I think using both is a good safety precaution..

for someone that hates to disagree, you sure handled it without too much discomfort :shakes head:

lol :stirthepot:

i see what you're sayin and it make sense. it's a great safety backup if the ebrake isn't able to cut the mustard

:bowrofl:

I'm on nissan/infiniti vehicle #4 now. And all my e brakes were weak. The e brake needs a tune for drifting.

Hey, the way I see it, the parking brake is under warantee from Nissan for 30,000 miles... If I activate the brake, and my car goes downhill and crashes into something, guess who foots the bill?? (Well, atleast on paper!!)

^Parking brake requires periodic adjustment and adjustments IIRC are only covered for 12 months/12,000 miles. If an adjustment is needed it's up to you to adjust it or take it in - Nissan will not cover anything related to a parking brake failure unless you have a good case, and most likely a good lawyer. (Former consumer affairs employee for another auto maker here).

For my :twocents: I just use the parking brake on level ground. On an incline I also put it in gear and turn my wheels to the curb as taught in drivers ed those many years ago.

Can't believe all this talk about not leaving the car in a gear (preferably 1st gear or reverse) when parking because of stress and strain.

Like others, I've been doing it for over 40 years and never had a problem. I don't even know of anyone who has ever returned from a transmission problem to say, "Yeah, the mechanic told me I'd have to replace "fill-in-the'blank" because I've been leaving the car in gear when I parked". :rolleyes:

For all the people using strain and pressure (etc.) in their comments, are you just repeating what you've heard or could you be a bit more specific? For instance, is it wearing out something? Is it bending something? Is it making the metal more brittle? What...?

And, after reading through the post/thread, I notice no one mentioned (or else my scanning was too quick) using the front wheels as a third tool when parking on an incline where there is a curb available. Turn the wheels toward the curb when facing downhill and the other way when facing uphill. Put it in gear AND put on the parking brake. [edit] LOL and just noticed the last post before mine mentions using the wheels against a curb. :tup:

Having said all that, I don't have any idea if parking on an incline with an automatic tranny (in Park) is a problem or not. Haven't owned an AT since 1976.

I never EVER park my car without leaving it in gear. I personally saw someones car roll down a hill (not even particularly steep at all) when his ebrake cable snapped. Rolled probably 700ish feet right into my friends car, and totaled it out.

I'd also recommend leaving it in reverse not first. Reverse has a lower gear ratio that gives it more holding power.

Not sure what neglectful means here :icon14:, but I have also put my cars in gear for years. The parking brake has been used sparingly, if at all, unless on a very steep grade.

No issues at all.

Never had to replace a stretched parking brake cable either. :tup:

:bowrofl:

Parking brake on plus..................

"I'd also recommend leaving it in reverse not first. Reverse has a lower gear ratio that gives it more holding power."

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree:

An example of our Forum doing good. It educates us without us having to learn the hard way and provides useful information for mods, sources for these mods, etc. :tup: :tup: :tup:

I learned to drive a "standard" transmission (That's what my grandfather called it.) in a 1969 Dodge pickup with "three on the tree". I don't think it even had an e-brake, so I parked it in gear. No particular gear - just the one I was in when I stopped. Later I delivered tires for a summer job in a Chevy 454 dualie. I always parked that truck with the e-brake and in gear because it had a bad habit of popping out of gear.

I've always used both since then. It's just a habit. I have no idea if you can knock a modern MT out of gear just by opening the frakkin' door. ;)

lol done that before.

I was always taught to put it in gear and use the e-brake. I'd rather put a minor strain on my transmission than risk the very tiny chance that my car could roll and hurt someone.

As for the OP - I've had the car roll back a few times when parking in my driveway and just putting the e-brake on. Maybe 2 or 3 times out of the hundreds of times I've parked. It always held fine the second time I put the e-brake on though it did reinforce my inclination to put it in gear too.

Good discussion!

Continuing the interesting discussion...

I've read that if you're parked on a hill facing downward, you should put the car in reverse. If you facing up a hill, you should park in 1st. This way the car won't be able to roll if the hill is steep enough since the gear you selected is opposite the rolling direction. Now I don't know how realistic a car rolling forward in 1st gear is. It's a tall enough gear that it would take one hell of a steep slope to make it roll. But if you park on a hill in 5th, I'd bet the car may roll forward (ebrake not engaged).

that doesn't make any sense. if the car is in an opposing gear and rolls, it will simply turn the engine backwards. its no harder to turn the engine backwards than forwards. and yes, higher gears like 3rd or higher will not hold the car because it is easier for the transmission to rotate the engine due to the torque multiplication.

Actually you'd be wrong. 1st gear is 3.794, reverse is 3.446. 1st wins.

Damn I stand corrected, wonder why reverse is so high.

Not sure, it was that way in the 350 as well, in case you want to do 45mph in reverse I guess.

drum type rear e brakes tend to be pretty easy to adjust. If you were to adjust the e brake at the drum after the first break in period, it should be fine. Also you should check the tension on the lever wire, because that needs adjustment after break in period.

So, are you saying that you *know* this will resolve the issue, or that you *think* this will resolve the issue?

Looking at the service manual, the parking brake warning indicator should illuminate when you pull the lever just ONE notch. I have to go about 4 before my light comes on. So, I definitely need an adjustment.

Rep points waiting for the first person to post a nice DIY with pictures for adjusting the parking brake :).

thats the write-up i wanna see

Fixed!
http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...make-work.html

Yes it sucks.