Some say 1st gear when facing uphill and R when facing downhill. Some say the opposite so the engine won't spin backwards (if handbrake fails). What do you say, and why?
Which Gear When Parking a Manual Car?
skimp on 17/08/2019 - 16:07
Poll Options
- 2161st when facing uphill, R when facing downhill
- 81st when facing downhill, R when facing uphill
- 118Always 1st
- 4Always R
- 43Always leave in neutral
- 6Other gears
Comments
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- 2
I will ask my chauffeur and get back to you.
I was taught to leave it in reverse gear because it is the strongest in the gearbox.
Why would the gear that gets the least use be the strongest?
Most reverse gears are straight cut as noise isn't a concern, which means they are usually stronger too
Straight cut gears arent stronger. Especially not reverse gear. The only reason reverese might be better would be the gear ratio. Usually reverse is a lower ratio than first, but its never by much.
@stumo: Based on my intensive research, including films like fast and the furious, I'm lead to believe reverse gear is about equivalent in ratio to 5th gear ;)
Hopefully this may help. Having owned and driven many cars I have always left the car in a forward gear. The interesting thing now is that I have a 70's Ford American muscle car and to take the key out of the ignition it needs to be in reverse.
Well the Americans are a little backwards
The actual question was meant to be "what gear to leave the car in after it has been parked".
Original Poster was asking about what gear to put in, after turning the motor off, AFTER PARKING.
P.S. Unless your hill is very steep, an automatic would not let you reverse into a spot UNLESS you selected R?
P.P.S. I suspect an electric car would also need reverse mode. Most of them will not freewheel when turned on
No, always put it into reverse when reverse parking, up or down the hill. If facing up the hill, then just keep the clutch engaged. The reverse gear is important in turning on the reverse lights to warn other cars of what you're doing.
Then back to the OP's question…
The reverse camera only works when you're in reverse.
As do reversing sensors.
Normal parking (in your garage or in a parking lot): leave the transmission in the First or Reverse.
Doing so, connects the wheels to the engine and use the latter’s compression to prevent any movement. The First and Reverse have the highest ratios, which make it harder for the wheels (make them turn more times) to spin the engine once.Uphill:First gear ; Downhill: Reverse gear .Always lift the emergency brake lever in both cases.
Engaging to the First or Reverse gear won’t be enough when parking uphill in a car with a manual transmission. The slope could be steep enough to overpower the engine compression and make the car move. It could also be an old or a small engine that simply cannot produce enough compression to hold off a big, heavy car that is parked on the verge of an uphill or downhill slope.
Another reason could be a bad clutch. When it doesn't work properly, there's no way the wheels will attach to the engine even after engaging the right gear. Once a vehicle starts rolling, you can't stop it.
-Mrs JJB
Put it in H!
you never park a manual car, you leave it running for the next generation
Username checks out :D
your username checks out too!
I drive a Saab and you don't get the option. Has to be in Reverse or the key doesn't come out.
One less life decision to make.
Ignoring all the above comments, technically you put put it into whichever gear is the lowest. I won't try to define that but basically 1st or reverse will do. Often 1st is geared lower and hence preferred but it won't be by much. Each car will vary etc.
To any doubters - on level ground put your car in 5th/6th etc with the handbrake off and push it. It will be easy. Then try the same in 1st or reverse……
Bottom line. 1st or reverse will do. If in doubt also make sure you set the front wheels such that if the car were to roll downhill then the front wheels would naturally turn into the curb and have providing a wheel chock so that the vehicle won't move any further. As some have pointed out San Francisco has a local law that states as much and for good reason.
The funniest thing, my cousin just noticed today that my manual car has no "park" like an auto 🤣🤣🤣
People like that are the specific type who shouldn't be behind the wheel.
Wway it was explained to me, park in reverse uphill to stop it rolling if handbrake fails.
Some old timer stuff tho
Always 1st gear regardless uphill or downhill. Try pushing a car when its on a gear lol.. good luck with that.. doesnt matter uphill or downhill just put it in first gear you be fine.. dont listen to these idiots saying putting your wheel towards the curb. Make sure your steering is straight and first gear uphill or downhill..
Yeah I agree here. 1st or reverse shouldn't matter. Turning your wheels is a good idea, but chances are you have to do it while stationary causing extra stress on the power steering.
Either way if the car rolls even a little when the handbrake is engaged its probably a good idea to have it tightened.
causing extra stress on the power steering.
Nothing it wasn't designed to do.
dont listen to these idiots saying putting your wheel towards the curb.
Don't listen to idiots saying this.
If your hand brake and clutch both fail your car will roll away.
It is law in places to turn your wheels to the curb.
I'm not sure if I'm recalling the memory correctly but my father told me back in the day some particular front/rear wheel manual cars had to be parked in a gear because him and his mates would locate one in neutral and could easily pick up the car and park it somewhere else on their nights out to the pub.
Automatic. Thread closed.
Manual. Thread reopened.
Electric Vehicle. New thread.
You should angle your wheels, this was driving 101 when I learnt to park on hills in the early 2000's. If there is gutter your car will roll 20-30cm then stop. If no gutter just leave in forward gear with handbrake… man there is so much incompetence out there with breakfast cereal licenses it seems
Anything is better than leaving in neutral. I left my Kombi parked in neutral once with the hand brake applied properly, got out to check the letter box down a sloping driveway, and missed getting hit by about 1m after the hand brake slipped and the bloody thing rolled back. I was very lucky, makes for a good story now though!
I dont know how to drive manual but i have man part
If you have to tell strangers in an online forum that you "have man part", you're in the wrong thread.
Use the tallest gear, which in many cases will be reverse as that takes the fewest revolutions of the wheels to turn the engine (requires the most torque) and will be hardest for car to move as a result. Side note Rev or 1st doesn't matter to the engine as it always spins the same way.
I always thought the tallest gear was the one for highway use. Shortest gear is 1st, tallest is 4,5,6 or whatever number we are up to now.
You are correct.
Poster also has low ratio and high ratio mixed up. A ratio of 1:1 is a high ratio, like 4th gear is usually 1:1. Whereas 5:1 is a low ratio, 1st gear is usually around this value.
Got confused by the first pet and missed
Rev or 1st doesn’t matter to the engine as it always spins the same way
Umm. No. It always spins the same way when it is running. When it isn’t running it is possible to turn it backwards. This can occur if the car is off, in a forwards gear and rolls backwards (or rolls forwards in reverse gear). It is t recommended to turn the engine backwards - becuase it is designed to run forwards and some of the parts will be out of order in reverse.
I always left my car in 1st gear and never had a problem. I don't think it matters whether it's uphill or downhill: here's why.
I once tried to push start my friend's car down a hill and he didn't know that the driver has to engage second gear to do it, not first. Every time he engaged first gear the car stopped by itself, on a downward slope.
I let my valet driver sort it out
I keep 2 bricks in the boot, chuck them under the tyres in the direction of the slope, can't be too careful!
In gear on a steep slope in case the handbrake fails, otherwise neutral so that if the car is hit it doesn't destroy the transmission aswell.
This was literally an assessment item when I did my licence test. I was asked to park the car and then turn it off and leave it as though it was parked.
If you left it in neutral or didn’t put the handbrake on - you’d fail.
How is this a two page thread?
If you left it in neutral… - you’d fail.
Bullshit. There is nothing in the "NSW Driving Test (Class C) Testing Officers Manual" or "Guide to the Driving Test" that suggests that leaving a car parked and not being in gear would result in a fail.
The "fail" conditions are marked out under Section D of the testing manual. You need to look for D21, section 17 "Not parking to the required standard". That makes absolutely no mention of failing a driver due to not putting the car in gear when parking (nor does it mention a fail for leaving the park brake off either. It's only a possible fail if the testing officer has to intervene.)
It gets a mention in the NSW Road Users Handbook (and also mentioned in the testing manual under Vehicle Control, C24, section 2.6 d.) , Where it states…
Before leaving your parked vehicle you must ensure that:
• The gears are engaged either in first gear for downhill, reverse for uphillWhich as of current count, over 140 voters have gotten it incorrect and only 3 have gotten it correct… But as far as a "fail" on a driving test, absolute rubbish.
How is this a two page thread?
Because of misinformation like yours.
The Aust. Road Rules, 2014, Part 12, Division 10, Rule 213 "Making a Motor Vehicle Secure", Sub-rule (2), it says;
(2) Before leaving the vehicle, the driver must apply the parking brake effectively or, if weather conditions (for example, snow) would prevent the effective operation of the parking brake, effectively restrain the motor vehicle’s movement in another way.
No mention of putting the vehicle in gear when parking.
I love the handful of people saying neutral and coming up with a bad reason for it instead of just admitting they can't be arsed.
came here for the funny comments lolz
The uphill or downhill thing is just dumb. If you want the most "hold", obviously you'd select the gear with the highest ratio (usually 1st). In practice, if you're reversing into a parking spot, you may as well leave the car in R. If you're forwarding in, leave it in 1st. The direction the car is facing on the hill is completely irrelevant.
Sorry if I’m being dumb but why not 2nd on an uphill?
Because of gear ratio. The higher the ratio, the harder it is for the weight of the car to move the wheels and turn the engine over.
For example, a typical 1st gear is 4:1. Engine turns 4 times for every 1 rotation of the output shaft. 5th gear is typically something like 0.8, so it's 1.2 engine rotation for 1 output rotation.
If the output shaft becomes the input (via the wheels driving the engine) the ratio is reversed. 1st gear is now 1:4. This is a huge mechanical advantage to overcome. If the wheels turn the output shaft at 1rpm, the engine will have to turn over 4 times. This isn't easy at that ratio.
If the car is in 5th, the wheels only have to turn the input shaft 0.8 of a turn to turn the engine over once. At almost 1:1, the engine doesn't offer as much resistance to turning.
InB4: "bUt U fOrGoT mAh DiFf RaTiO"… Yep, because I CBF doing that much explaining and maths at this time if the morning and since diff ratio is fixed, it's really irrelevant in this example.
The (profanity) is everyone talking about ? You always leave in neutral on a manual.
Source : grew up in UK, virtually every car is a manual.
So when your handbrake fails and you're facing down a hill what happens? You put it in gear, either R or 1 depending on the incline.
If flat, the direction in which a bunny hop will cause least damage.
The amount of incorrect advice in this thread. Holy shit.
Care to elaborate?
First or reverse depending on the direction of expected departure, I.e whichever gear i expect to use next.
I do so to give an extra means of restraining the vehicle
Bro, do you even shift?
Totally unrelated but my toddler asked me if I could put the car in "R"ace mode this morning cos he didn't want to be late for kinder …and then had a full-blown tanty when I didn't. Threenagers are the worst!
/Rant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ6x21gBb3E
Next time, play co-driving munchkin some very quiet music and everything will be just fine!
:)Screentime limits allowing, yours and his, some other entertainment. This one doubles as comment for here -
Attentive mechanic/careful reverse parkerAn excellent art installation, from a potential MS Painter
Your La Poo song rendition at your son's 21st will likely triumph as your ultimate act of oversharing…
A very early and risky prediction, that, Jar Jar Binks… :)
The boxer one will be a big hit with the kiddos. Thanks :)
p.s: It's called La Caca song . It's French! :p
pps: This is spidey's favourite clip at the moment. He wraps himself in one of those throws with a fringe, rides a broom handle running around the garden and does the 2-step dance every time he gets off Boomie the 'horse'. Hours of fun. 🤣
I'm not quite sure just why you conjured thought of some move to NZ. Possibly lack of sleep. Maybe too much OzBargain.
Possimaybly, both :)"Coco singing, better than singing to Caca"
- Confucius or Boris Johnson, shit knows.Enthusiastic praise and a little happy dance generally sufficient for toddler toilet-training Jar Jar Binks, but extra points for insanity in the cause…
Familiar with the Old Town Road track, unfamiliar with Chris Rock's involvement. Billy Ray may well have gained a little redemption by way of his part in the song, it's pretty good.
Mention of 2-step almost leads me down path of linking 200 2-Step/UK Garage tracks from 20 years ago, but you will have to settle for just two. One above, and maybe this one, because you are a Caca-singing 'ed case…
:)
Today I parked the car in R (facing uphill) on a medium grade slope and released the handbrake to see what would happen. The car continuously crept backwards and stopped, backwards and stopped, about 15cm each time and about 4sec apart. I assume that's the compression in the cylinder building and leaking out. So, the benefit of engaging a gear is much less than I thought. At best, it'll assist the handbrake somewhat but for only as much as the pressure stays in the cylinder (a factor of the condition of piston rings and valves?). At worst, if the handbrake completely fails, the car will roll as quickly as an unpowered engine is able to spin on a certain gradient. So I guess it's still better than neutral, but it can't be relied upon much at all. All the people who voted "Always leave in neutral" isn't too far wrong after all because they are always aware of their handbrake's effectiveness.
What happens when you out it in 1st facing uphill?
That is what most of the advice is saying not R.
1st when facing uphill (or flat), R when facing downhill
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- 2
Since you're starting a new habit, do the second option in the poll. It does the same thing as the first option but is safer for the engine.