MT Drivers: What Gear Do you Leave Your Car in When Parked?

[Team Plutonium]

2nd gear.

[SpiralOut]

Have DCT now on my 2013, but on previous MT's I always left it in 1st with P Brake up. Never even though about using R.

[heartcolorgrey]

What everyone says here is true about uphill/downhill.

The only time 1st/reverse is NECESSARY though, is when your e brake is worn down (be it from doing dumb stuff in parking lots, normal wear and tear, etc). Even then I would just get the e brake repaired.

Turning wheels into the curb is always a good idea though.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by peeti

I'm chuckling to myself because regardless of reverse or first, the hill direction won't matter - engine is off, it'll spin whichever way it wants when it finally does actually spin.

I don't think this is right. I can't go out and test at the moment, but I believe if I park uphill I could just leave my car in 1st gear without the parking brake and it will hold as long as the incline isn't insane -- whereas if I'm uphill and leave it in Reverse it will roll more easily.

Originally Posted by Car54

I think I hear some of you suggesting that parking in gear will hurt the transmission? No more than driving it around would. There's a lot more strain using the motor to propel the car vs the car sitting in the gear....all assuming your not on a big incline.

Forces while driving are indeed greater, but they're also of a different nature. When you're driving, all of the forces on the driveline are running in the same "direction", working together to either maintain or increase the car's momentum. When you're parked on a hill, you've got the wheels naturally inclined to move and the engine naturally inclined to resist, so the whole driveline is subjected to tension from those forces acting in opposite directions. I can't actually quantify how much damage that can do in the long run or even if it can do any, but I do know that comparing the strain to the strain of driving isn't valid.

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by heartcolorgrey

What everyone says here is true about uphill/downhill.

The only time 1st/reverse is NECESSARY though, is when your e brake is worn down (be it from doing dumb stuff in parking lots, normal wear and tear, etc). Even then I would just get the e brake repaired.

Turning wheels into the curb is always a good idea though.

Yeah, E-brake + turning wheels so your front tire hits the curb if the brake fails is where it's at. Leaving in gear is an added safeguard against your car rolling away and doing damage.

As for what I do when not on a slope, I always leave it in the gear I plan to use when starting the car next (as some others mentioned). Honestly, this being my first car where 1st and reverse are right next to each other, every once in a while I'll think I'm in reverse when I'm actually in first, or vice versa. Thankfully I tend to ease out of parking spots...

[Mike Benvo]

Originally Posted by jphughan

The 6MT M3 has a gear specifically designed to be used while parking, regardless of incline and direction. It's undocumented, but you put the shifter in the hidden gate directly underneath Reverse.

Seriously though, 1st when pointing uphill, Reverse when pointing downhill, and I'll typically put it in 1st when level just out of habit. I don't think there's much difference between 1st and 2nd except that 1st gives more resistance, with the tradeoff that it could theoretically put more strain on the gearbox.

Leaving it in Neutral definitely will NOT cause any problems with the gearbox (just the opposite in fact, Neutral is the easiest on the gearbox of all options), but if you want maximum hold resistance AND very little strain on the gearbox, when parking on a hill, follow this procedure:

1. Get your car parked and your wheels turned whichever way is appropriate for the direction of your incline.

2. Clutch in, foot on the brake, shift to Neutral.

3. Pull parking brake all the way, release foot brake. The car will roll slightly and rest on the parking brake.

4. Shift into 1st or Reverse as appropriate, turn engine off, clutch out.

That way you put all of the resistance load on the brakes rather than the gearbox, but the gearbox is still engaged to provide a backup source of resistance if the brakes fail somehow. If you park the way most people do when lazy, i.e. turning the engine off with your foot still on the brake and the car in gear, the car will stop rolling sooner after you let off the foot brake because the gearbox catches faster than the parking brake (assuming you even set the parking brake), but then you've got strain on your gearbox.

Note that the above procedure minus the clutch work and shifting to P in the end would deliver the same benefits to a car with DCT or even a slushbox too.

X10

Exactly what I do.

E brake on first and release pedal so car sits on e brake, and the either 1st or reverse depending on direction I'm pointing.

[MMME30W]

Originally Posted by Prince_of_Persia

If my car is pointing uphill = 1st gear + Hand Brake
If my car pointing downhill = Reverse + Hand Brake
Other situations (flat) = Hand Brake only

This.

[MMME30W]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

Oops. Poll didn't work. How do you add a poll after posting?

Uh, generally unless you are a mod, I'm not aware you can add a poll after the thread posts in vBulletin.

[Majdnoon]

Always in second. Don't know why, just a habit I guess

[Megabeast]

Neutral + Handbrake usually... unless on a hill then 1st + Handbrake

[TVMA Doc]

Originally Posted by kchu221

+1 exactly how i do it... its a noob question but is there any damage to the trans or e brake when its only left parked with just the e brake on and not put into ant gear when parked on a flat??

No damage to either, but theoretically the car MAY move more easily if the ebrake fails/the hill is too steep. The thought is that putting it into gear makes the car less likely to roll spontaneously.

Personally, I think that this is pretty insignificant. If the car is going to roll, it is going to roll if it's in gear or in neutral-there's not that much more resistance to change the dynamic. Making sure that your ebrake is engaged and your wheels are turned properly on hills is more important.

[kchu221]

Originally Posted by TVMA Doc

No damage to either, but theoretically the car MAY move more easily if the ebrake fails/the hill is too steep. The thought is that putting it into gear makes the car less likely to roll spontaneously.

Personally, I think that this is pretty insignificant. If the car is going to roll, it is going to roll if it's in gear or in neutral-there's not that much more resistance to change the dynamic. Making sure that your ebrake is engaged and your wheels are turned properly on hills is more important.

Thanks for the helpful tip!