The benefit of an automatic is that you don’t really have to think about it. You put your car into park, (most people don’t even pull the parking brake) and walk away. Easy.
However, while many will find hill starts frustrating, it’s because they find manual driving frustrating. You have to think, to feel, to react, not just hit a button or switch to “D” and hit the accelerator. Personally, I would love a manual in my car, for its many other benefits, but I do understand why automatics are the majority in America. You just let the car do the thinking for you.
Bad for manual or automatic shifting? In my experience, works fine on both, but I know people who are mentally incapable of a proper handbrake start on a hill. They simply do not understand the required timing.
The real issue is when you’re in a truck that doesnt have a handbrake! That’s some tricky foot-work timing and clutch slipping that take people even longer to learn! The parking brake is either a foot pedal or on big commercial trucks- air.
The trick is to actually know what you’re doing and not use the handbrake unless you’re parking the car and exiting it. I don’t know where the handbrake on stops shit comes from but in 20 years of driving manual I never had to do that a single time.
i used to live i a pretty mountainous area, and handbrake starts can be absolutely necessary… on a steep hill where you roll backwards a couple of metres before you can quickly move from the brake to the accelerator and clutch, its just dangerous to do it any other way (not to mention i imagine it’d fuck your clutch plate relatively quickly because it’s have to slip a LOT to arrest your significant backwards momentum)
… and honestly i’m so used to it i just do it on every even slight hill because it’s just… easy? makes you less “quick engage and accelerate” because you don’t have to worry about it: the car is always under control; you’re never rolling; take whatever time you need
I haven’t had issues doing hill starts with air handbrakes, basically the same deal really as a regular handbrake just without feedback through the lever.
Never had to try a hill start with a foot handbrake though, I imagine those could make things harder.
Ya, i could see that setup being similar . But the truck i drove was basically a button, not a lever, lol. so steep hills you just do some good slipping and quick feet!
A foot handbrake wouldnt even be possible, those are pretty much just parking brakes. They are on a ratchet type system, too. The further you push the pedal the harder the brakes grab and the pedal holds that position automatically, the only way to release is either pull the “release” lever with your hand, which requires you to bend way over so you cant see the road. Or re-apply foot pressure to release, depending on the design. You’d need 3 feet, pretty much.
Hill starts on an automatic are nothing. As soon as you let off the brake the torque converter will more-or-less hold the car in place until you get over to the accelerator pedal. There used to be (hell maybe still is) a bad-habit of drivers where they wouldnt use brakes at all while stopped on a hill and just let the transmission “hold” the car in place. This is bad because it causes the transmission to heat up from the excess pressure and it’s unsafe.
If the hill is steep enough, gravity can overcome the transmission and you can roll backwards, but just press on the go pedal and you start going forwards. There’s no stalling, just “slipping” internally in the transmission at the torque converter, which is exactly what it’s designed to do.
What about dct?
There’s no torque converter.
Those are often starting less smooth in my experience.
I once had a VW Transporter with torque converter that always rolled backwards slightly. (Only very slightly) It appeared that it disengaged the whole torque converter while stopped. (The rpm “relaxed” after stopping.) That was a bit weird.
(dontfeedthetrolldontfeedthetrolldont… ah, damnit!)
The torque converter is usually always engaged, always wants to go, while holding the brake. As soon as the brakes are released the car starts rolling forward.
With the VW T4 that didn’t work as on other cars since the torque converter was disengaged while stopping.
So the driver had to change to the accelerator more quickly than usual, if starting uphill.
Otherwise, since the torque converter engaged only a second after releasing the brake, the car would roll approximately 5cm backwards before going forward. (If starting without any accelerator input.)
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The benefit of an automatic is that you don’t really have to think about it. You put your car into park, (most people don’t even pull the parking brake) and walk away. Easy.
However, while many will find hill starts frustrating, it’s because they find manual driving frustrating. You have to think, to feel, to react, not just hit a button or switch to “D” and hit the accelerator. Personally, I would love a manual in my car, for its many other benefits, but I do understand why automatics are the majority in America. You just let the car do the thinking for you.
Bad for manual or automatic shifting? In my experience, works fine on both, but I know people who are mentally incapable of a proper handbrake start on a hill. They simply do not understand the required timing.
The real issue is when you’re in a truck that doesnt have a handbrake! That’s some tricky foot-work timing and clutch slipping that take people even longer to learn! The parking brake is either a foot pedal or on big commercial trucks- air.
The trick is to actually know what you’re doing and not use the handbrake unless you’re parking the car and exiting it. I don’t know where the handbrake on stops shit comes from but in 20 years of driving manual I never had to do that a single time.
i used to live i a pretty mountainous area, and handbrake starts can be absolutely necessary… on a steep hill where you roll backwards a couple of metres before you can quickly move from the brake to the accelerator and clutch, its just dangerous to do it any other way (not to mention i imagine it’d fuck your clutch plate relatively quickly because it’s have to slip a LOT to arrest your significant backwards momentum)
… and honestly i’m so used to it i just do it on every even slight hill because it’s just… easy? makes you less “quick engage and accelerate” because you don’t have to worry about it: the car is always under control; you’re never rolling; take whatever time you need
I also used to live in a mountainous area so I’m no stranger to it either…
I haven’t had issues doing hill starts with air handbrakes, basically the same deal really as a regular handbrake just without feedback through the lever.
Never had to try a hill start with a foot handbrake though, I imagine those could make things harder.
Ya, i could see that setup being similar . But the truck i drove was basically a button, not a lever, lol. so steep hills you just do some good slipping and quick feet!
A foot handbrake wouldnt even be possible, those are pretty much just parking brakes. They are on a ratchet type system, too. The further you push the pedal the harder the brakes grab and the pedal holds that position automatically, the only way to release is either pull the “release” lever with your hand, which requires you to bend way over so you cant see the road. Or re-apply foot pressure to release, depending on the design. You’d need 3 feet, pretty much.
I’ve owned 11 manual cars, never had to do a handbrake start.
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Hill starts on an automatic are nothing. As soon as you let off the brake the torque converter will more-or-less hold the car in place until you get over to the accelerator pedal. There used to be (hell maybe still is) a bad-habit of drivers where they wouldnt use brakes at all while stopped on a hill and just let the transmission “hold” the car in place. This is bad because it causes the transmission to heat up from the excess pressure and it’s unsafe.
If the hill is steep enough, gravity can overcome the transmission and you can roll backwards, but just press on the go pedal and you start going forwards. There’s no stalling, just “slipping” internally in the transmission at the torque converter, which is exactly what it’s designed to do.
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What about dct?
There’s no torque converter.
Those are often starting less smooth in my experience.
I once had a VW Transporter with torque converter that always rolled backwards slightly. (Only very slightly) It appeared that it disengaged the whole torque converter while stopped. (The rpm “relaxed” after stopping.) That was a bit weird.
You know your not supposed to take 10 seconds to move your foot from the brake to the gas pedal, right?
(dontfeedthetrolldontfeedthetrolldont… ah, damnit!)
The torque converter is usually always engaged, always wants to go, while holding the brake. As soon as the brakes are released the car starts rolling forward.
With the VW T4 that didn’t work as on other cars since the torque converter was disengaged while stopping.
So the driver had to change to the accelerator more quickly than usual, if starting uphill.
Otherwise, since the torque converter engaged only a second after releasing the brake, the car would roll approximately 5cm backwards before going forward. (If starting without any accelerator input.)
I’ve barely driven a manual and I’ve no idea what you mean but I assume whatever supposed issue is no longer a thing