strange question..

[bumpdE30 0]

ok the car is a e30 320I AUTO. Does anyone know if pulling up the handbrake whilst in drive and moving does any damage to gearbox,drivetrain etc? or to anything for that matter? say going about 50km/h

and for anyones whos thinking.. no i didnt do this my stupid ass friend did and i just want to know if its done many times what would it damage.

Cheers all.

[bravo 35]

Eventually it will cause damage.

The engine output is via the flexdisk/ringgear which is bolted to the torque converter. The torque converter uses hydraullics (crudely put) to turn the gears in the gearbox. The gearbox turns the driveshaft via a rubber coupling and the driveshaft is supported in the middle by a bearing. The driveshat bolts to the diff input shaft which puts power to your wheels via axles commonly called half-shafts which have CV joints.

When you pull the handbrake a cable pulls on shoes inside the brake drum to stop the wheels turning. When everything is in good condition, the friction of the tyres against the road is the weakest link so the wheels lock up and you slide. also, the hydraulic forces in the torque converter are the weakest link so to speak in the drivetrain and so that is where the force from the sudden stopping of the wheels goes.

As things wear, your brake cable will eventually stretch until it breaks. Your flexible driveshaft coupling will probably be the first to go but before that you will have added wear to the cv's, diff gears, gearbox and torque converter.

Hand brake slides can be fun and even used in a emergency avoidance situation by skilled drivers (ie not me and I very much doubt - you).

But basically overtime it will f**k your car.

[kerrynzl 3]

ok the car is a e30 320I AUTO. Does anyone know if pulling up the handbrake whilst in drive and moving does any damage to gearbox,drivetrain etc? or to anything for that matter? say going about 50km/h

and for anyones whos thinking.. no i didnt do this my stupid ass friend did and i just want to know if its done many times what would it damage.

Cheers all.

STRANGE ANSWER,

The Handbrake is braking the very same Rear Wheels that the Brake pedal operates, So my answer is NO [to the handbrake maybe]

Otherwise you couldn't Slam your brakes on,while driving along the road in drive

[bravo 35]

You don't do that every day though do you? If you did, the answer would be the same - accelerated wear. Plus only 30-40% of the braking is at the rear. It is quite unusual for the rear wheels to lock up under heavy braking unless it is a serious emergency braking situation.

I know what you aer getting at kerry, but I still think my logic is valid.

[kerrynzl 3]

You are right, I just counted! I used my brakes 8 times before,just going to the shops to get some milk. In my Heyday I probably done this many "Handbrakey's & J turns" in 1 year [Haha]

[DCEIVN 0]

When you use your brake pedal you are using the front brakes as well. As these do the majority of the braking, you are putting less braking force on the rear wheels. With the handbrake, all the force is on the rear wheels. Remember, as it is an automatic and a rear wheel drive this means unless you knock the car into neutral you are putting force on the gearbox too.

[conrod 1]

and a rear wheel drive this means unless you knock the car into neutral you are putting force on the gearbox too.

A bit like driving up a hill, or towing a load?

Honestly, this isn't a STRANGE question, it is a STUPID question, with an answer that can't really be quantified! No damage will have been done to the car by pulling on the handbrake, unless of course it locked the rear wheels, causing the car to spin off the road and into a tree!

Edited October 3, 2006 by conrod

[OLLIE 26]

the handbrake lever is the one in the horizontal position.

the upright one with the numbers on it is the gear shifter. Have you been using them the right way round?

[kerrynzl 3]

A bit like driving up a hill, or towing a load?

Honestly, this isn't a STRANGE question, it is a STUPID question, with an answer that can't really be quantified! No damage will have been done to the car by pulling on the handbrake, unless of course it locked the rear wheels, causing the car to spin off the road and into a tree!

YEAH I AGREE CONRAD,

years ago I was doing a 'J' turn in reverse [in my girlfriends mini] I flicked the front 'round and managed to "wipe-out" a crate of Piss & a Bottle of Jim that my mates abandoned on the curb while they were trying to save their own asses

[The Damage was Terrible, it was a sunday afternoon]

[bumpdE30 0]

woooooooooooah calm it down. i just wanted a strait answer like bravomikewhisky gave. i dont care if you think its a stupid question, what do you want me to say to that?? "oh thats GREAT that u think that!"

f**kin everyone ripping on me for just asking a question.

cheers bravomikewhisky

[kerrynzl 3]

woooooooooooah calm it down. i just wanted a strait answer like bravomikewhisky gave. i dont care if you think its a stupid question, what do you want me to say to that?? "oh thats GREAT that u think that!"

f**kin everyone ripping on me for just asking a question.

cheers bravomikewhisky

Hey Mate, my first answer was straight to the point:

No Mechanical Damage, your driveline is engineered to handle numerous wheel lock-ups [eg: slamming on the brakes] over it's lifetime[tyre wear & pad wear being the exception]

Your E30 must have a good handbrake to fight engine torque [unless it's idling at that brief moment,which is similar to engaging the clutch] because most braking loads [under weight transfer] go on the front wheels,the braking loads required to snap the rear wheels loose is minimal [30% to 40% was quoted] [try this on a bicycle]

So apart from the idiot factor there's no damage at all [everything wears out eventually]

If you want to do a 'J' turn, that's a different situation [especially in FWD's on the CV's] the best place to practice is in a paddock

"bloody good fun though" just don't get caught doing it on the streets [unless she's hot,haha!]