Disregard if your an auto :P

[dasoupdude]

Just decided to throw this random question out there, What gear do you guys leave your car in when parked?

I leave mine in second..I guess i was just taught that way..and if on an incline in Reverse.

[raremotive]

Where's neutral?

[aris_unlimited]

^^ agreed. I leave mine in neutral unless on an incline and in snow or on ice (not very often at all). Then I will put it in reverse if pointing down the hill, and any other random gear if I am pointing up the hill.

[BusyBadger]

1st or reverse depending on incline and/or location of any parking chocks / curbs.

[marlin29311]

Always left the car in 1st with the parking brake up.

[mtnhighus]

OMG! i've been dis'ed by dasoup. lolz

[R350Zz33]

i put that **** in p with the e brake ripped

[dasoupdude]

i put that **** in p with the e brake ripped

waowwwwwww look at that P. lol, i wish the 6mt came with that and indiciated what gear you were in.

Where's neutral?

there was no room! i just had to pur P

[R350Zz33]

idk y but i love that pic

[bmike818]

1st gear all the time!

Soupster...the 370Z w/ sport mode will have a gear indicator for the manual transmissions


Modified by bmike818 at 1:07 AM 1/20/2009

[Sentientbydesign]

Ok, seriously. Where's neutral? And why do you all leave your transmission in gear? We have independent rear drum parking brakes for a reason. There's no need to leave it in gear. I get sooooo MAD when my father-in-law or one of the dealer techs leaves my transmission in gear and parks it. I usually will get in, step on the clutch, turn it on, then let the clutch out and do any adjustments or let the car warm up. Can't do the last part when the idiot before me left it in gear.

Actually, I went and got my wheels aligned and the idiot tech left it in 1st while on a decline with a concrete curb in front of it. I let out the clutch after car was on and ran into the curb because of the dip $hit.

[XterraVersa]

I leave it in gear because that was the way I was taught. Same with many of the other idiots who learned to drive a manual transmission.

Because of this, I also put in neutral after starting so I don't look like an idiot when I let go of the clutch to let the car warm up.

I also piss off all the auto drivers at work when I use the e-brake on all the company cars.

[XterraVersa]

i put that **** in p with the e brake ripped

Honestly, are you that starved for attention that you need to reply to a poll for a car you don't have?

[Sentientbydesign]

I leave it in gear because that was the way I was taught. Same with many of the other idiots who learned to drive a manual transmission.

Because of this, I also put in neutral after starting so I don't look like an idiot when I let go of the clutch to let the car warm up.

I also piss off all the auto drivers at work when I use the e-brake on all the company cars.

You Z boys sound like the 240/Altima crowd sometimes.

To everybody,

You're entitled to leave your transmission in whichever gear you want, but there is no reason to leave it in gear if your parking brake is working correctly.

EDIT: If you plan on getting a remote start, get into the habit of leaving it in neutral

[Watermelonwarrior]

You Z boys sound like the 240/Altima crowd sometimes.

To everybody,

You're entitled to leave your transmission in whichever gear you want, but there is no reason to leave it in gear if your parking brake is working correctly.

EDIT: If you plan on getting a remote start, get into the habit of leaving it in neutral

Yes there is. If you go to a track event you are not supposed to leave the parking brake on.

[dasoupdude]

Modified by Dasoupdude at 10:48 PM 12/23/2008

[dasoupdude]

Yes there is. If you go to a track event you are not supposed to leave the parking brake on.

EH?

Actually, I went and got my wheels aligned and the idiot tech left it in 1st while on a decline with a concrete curb in front of it. I let out the clutch after car was on and ran into the curb because of the dip $hit.

in all seriousness though, it takes a 1 second look and a flick of the wrist to just throw it in neutral.

[Sentientbydesign]

in all seriousness though, it takes a 1 second look and a flick of the wrist to just throw it in neutral.

This is true, but there's really no point in it on my car. It's not like I'll be baking my rear rotors with the parking brake engaged. Also, if the tech was really doing it for "safety", he should have put it in reverse, not 1st. The parking lot slanted downward (towards the front of the car).

[evildky]

when I park in my flat garage I put the car in neutral and pull the brake, when it's on the road it's in gear with the ebrake on

and whenever I get into any man trans car, I always check the gear before turnign the key, I guess I'm old and used to starting cars taht don't have neutral saftey switches, but thtas my deal, check gear, clutch in, then turn key

there si actually a good argument against using the parking brake if the car will be parked outside and not driven for an expended period of time never seen it happen on a Z but I've seen other cars sieze or freeze their parkign brakes in the on position

and the parking brake on an auto is useful when the car is in neutral and you are check ing the trans fluid, otherwise useless, the parking pawl in the trans is far more effective than the parking brake,

[C-Kwik]

Yes there is. If you go to a track event you are not supposed to leave the parking brake on.

As someone mentioned before, the Z has a rear drum brake. Since its not the primary rear brake, even if the rotor was hot enough to cause the shoe liners to bake onto the drum surface a bit, the primary brake surface will not be affected. The rule for the parking brake is applicable to drum brakes or discs where the parking brake is integrated into the caliper.

As for parking, I leave it in neutral as long as the ground is relatively level. I actually think techs should do the same as many people don't put their cars in gear. Someone who does this may get into a car after a tech parked it and lurch the car forward or backward if they don't realize where the gear is.

The only time I place it into gear is if I park on an incline. And it's not to hold the car as I expect the parking brake to do that. It's just a failsafe if the parking brake should fail for any reason.

Its also best to put it into the lowest gear possible if you do this. The higher gears will allow the wheel to have more mechanical leverage over the engine.

[marlin29311]

and the parking brake on an auto is useful when the car is in neutral and you are check ing the trans fluid, otherwise useless, the parking pawl in the trans is far more effective than the parking brake,

I've always found that when parking on a steep hill, it's effective to put the parking brake on before putting the car in park, as sometimes the parallel force acting on the pawl while the car is on the hill can make it overly difficult to shift the car out of park. By having the brake take care of most of the force, it makes it easier for the transmission to shift.

Or if you ask Richie, the e-brake is good running around a parking lot looking like an idiot doing "power overs" ....

[R350Zz33]

i dont use the e brake. and putting up the e brake is just a habit i developed. and in the nys driver education text book when parking up hill leave car in a forward gear with tires turned so that if the brake lets go a curb will stop it. and the same for downhill but in a revers gear.

[xjmxstac]

Blah, blah, blah...incline put it in forward gear....blah, blah, blah decline put it in reverse.....You don't have to worry about that. You put yours in P.

[Sentientbydesign]

Blah, blah, blah...incline put it in forward gear....blah, blah, blah decline put it in reverse.....You don't have to worry about that. You put yours in P.

Dude! Shut up!

Marlin,

Power overs don't utilize the e-brake. That's the whole point, to over power the tires until they break loose. That's basically all I did when I was at the last drift event. I didn't want to wear out my e-brake and my clutch wasn't in good enough condition to clutch kick.

Does the Z forum have any decent drifters? Nobody in the G forums drifts and the Z is the closest platform.

[Roadzilla]

Exactly why I leave my car in neutral with the parking brake (when I had a manual truck). Really annoying when my husband would leave the car in 1st and I didn't realize it.

[dasoupdude]

Does the Z forum have any decent drifters?

I would love to try someday, but having a base model with the crappy rear end doesn't help.

Is it even possible with an open?

[BusyBadger]

Its possible, but certainly not preferable.

You'll get a much smoother and more predicatable drift with an LSD. A mechanical diff is what you want if you're looking to drift, not a helical or a vlsd.

[dasoupdude]

I read ya.

So I take, it requires hella tyte skill yo to be able to manage a drift on an open rear end.

[mtnhighus]

dont mean to thread jack, but with all the talk about what gear and e-brake or not, just wondering if ya'll have checked to see if your e-brake is even holding. the reason i ask is, i was slumming on another site and listened to a bunch of z owners complain that their e-brake didn't even hold the car on a slight incline. wheather this is due to improper maintenance or not, i don't know. but i am gonna check mine. oh and just to clear the air, i am the one who voted for the auto. soup put it up as a joke and i voted as a joke. (sorry richie). and yes i drive an auto z. but its still a z. so if i must, i will now go don the fire suit. lolz

[mtnhighus]

waowwwwwww look at that P. lol, i wish the 6mt came with that and indiciated what gear you were in.

there was no room! i just had to pur P

and soup, that gear indicator also works when you're in manual shift mode, (thats real fun) but the auto does need a shift kit, as the shifts are a little sloppy for my taste. since i've driven cars with kits in them.