[peppericee]

Hello everyone. I am finally going to pick up my new MCS tomorrow! This is going to be my first manual trans car! I have read a lot of the threads about learning to drive a car with a stick-shift but I haven't found the answer to this question:

When you park, do you leave it in neutral and use the handbrake, or do you just leave the car in first gear?

I could just wait until tomorrow morning for the answer from my MA, but I am too anxious to wait until then.

Thanks in advance.

. . . I'm in the home stetch

[stryder]

Quick answer - Leave in 1st (Reverse works too, but best to be consistant, even if you back into a spot) and use the handbrake. They back each other up. Always do this whenever you park.

And don't forget to turn the wheels to the curb as another safety device when you parallel park to prevent rolling.

Congrats on the home stretch!

[nonsequitur]

As always, careful advice from stryder.

Our police department recommends the "consistent" habit concept too. They also encourage turning your wheels to the curb as a theft prevention measure; it justs adds a bit of time and an attention-getting oddity to the process of pulling the car onto a flatbed without your authorization or coorperation!

If you do track days later, remember to NOT use the handbrake! With very hot rotors, you can weld the brakes into an expensive-to-fix unused mass of metal.

[Root Ginger]

Difference of opinion here but really you should get into the habit of leaving in neatral on the handbrake. If on a hill, park close to the kerb, and tun wheels towards it.

The reason neatral is used is so that you don't accidentally start the car in gear. This would result in the car lurching forward or backward, depending on which gear you had selected, and potentially hitting another parked car, pedestrian etc. Some people use first or reverse as a back up for the handbrake, but as long as you put it on pretty hard, it is incredibly unlikely to come off (read impossible unless the car has a fault).

Just my 2 pence worth.

Good advice on not using the handbrake on track days though. At least put in some cooling down laps and leave for a while to cool down before applying. Ideally find somewhere to park where you don't need it!

Oh and also don't sit iin the car with your foot on the brake either. Has the same effect only you're likely to warp both front and rear!

[stryder]

You can't really start the car in gear - there's a clutch interlock. You need to have the clutch at basically the floor for the ignition to work - Which means by good practice you should have your right foot firmly on the brake when starting, so the car can't lurch.

Besides, if you don't have experience driving a stick, if you start good practices now, you'll always just know your car is in first when its parked, so not a big risk there.

[Root Ginger]

I beg to differ Stryder but if you get in the MINI and turn on the ignition and don't depress the clutch when it's in gear. It will jerk forward or backwards I know from accidentally doing it myself

It's only normally auto's which don't allow you to start them when in gear.

[RustyPaint]

Moderin cars have a cluch lock out system (a switch under the cluch pettal) that will not let you run the starter unless the cluch is fully depressed. I leave my current car in reverse since your car will more likely be hit from behind parked on the road rather than from the front. And if your engine trys to start from being pushed (thats if you had a pick up coil and not electronic egnition), it wont because it will be ran backwards. (That and my owners manule tells me to leave my car parked in reverse)

[Root Ginger]

I guess this must be an American difference from UK models then.

I start my car every day without the clutch depressed because my car is always in neutral (that's just how you get taught over here for safety)

If I put in 1st gear, there is nothing to stop me running the ignition! It will try and start and jerk the car forward!

A lot of auto's over here you have to depress the brake pedal to start but you don't need to do it with the clutch on any manual car that I know.

[MINImeat]

Here's an interesting piece of advice from a guy who leaves his manual in neutral when he parks:
Get in the habit of leaving the car in gear.
It's less likely to roll and harder to steal.
I consciously change to in-gear when I park on a hill or on the street downtown.
I'm old and used to drive cars without a clutch switch when I developed my driving habits.

[chiph]

Ginge -

Correct - the US market has a clutch interlock. Cars that have the MFSW w/cruise control may have it too, even in the UK market.

About a year ago there were some incidents of handbrake failure, with some member's cars rolling into the street. Pretty sure MINI has fixed this problem, but to be safe it would be a good idea to park in 1st gear. Plus it makes the car harder to steal.

Chip H.

[Root Ginger]

OK in the light of this information then I would deem it perfectly acceptable (on models with a clutch interlock) to park your car in gear as a safety precaution, handbrake on, steering turned to the kerb and (I forgot to mention earlier) engage the steering lock. Surprising how many people fail to do that.

[Paul]

Quote: Originally Posted by chiph

Cars that have the MFSW w/cruise control may have it too, even in the UK market.

Nope, not in the UK.

[Paul]

I have to park on a very tight street, so I park the car up, and leave it in neutral, and certainly don't turn the wheels. Why not turn the wheels? They could take up valuable passing space for other vehicles! Yes, it really is that tight! But then again, it's dead flat too, and each car is so close the greatest distance you could roll is usually about two foot.

[LordWinslow]

Ahhh all this talk about parking, been a while since I owned a manual (Waiting for my MCS). I used to park in gear, 1st if on flat ground or parking uphill, or in reverse if I am parking downward. Parking break used all the time (even in the winter when my rear pads used to freeze to the drums). One habit I got into right away, not sure where I picked this up, is when I would get into the truck I would do the following:
1. Press the break.
2. Press the clutch, put the truck in neutral and then start the truck.
3. Release the parking break.
4. Put the car in the gear needed and start to drive.

I never had any formal training in how to drive a manual, used the advise from my salesman and what I learned on my 40 mile drive home from the dealer. Never had a problem though, and I owned that truck for 7 years and put on over 130K in milage.

Winslow

(Soon )

[stryder]

Sorry about the clutch Interlock confusion - Someone probably knows the date, but in the US it became a requirement somewhere in the early 90's to have it. I guess they figured for safety logic just like you should depress the brake on an auto car you should do something on a manual.

My '90 VW didn't have it, but my '87 Mazda does, so I'm not sure when it was required - I thought it was more of an international standard, but in any case, its definetly a US standard, so I should have mentioned it.

[jsteine2]

Dad taught me to always put it in 1st... and use the emergency brake... and rotate the wheels into the curb. However... with 16 or 17 inch runflats, I would curb the wheels cautiously. It is however a good idea to always use the emergency brake and always place it in gear.

[Theo]

Heed the advice in the "unofficial manual" and don't pull all the way into an open parking space in a garage. I witnessed my MCS almost getting crashed by a large SUV yesterday. Its owner thought the space was free.

Pull in just enough so that the rear of the MINI is in line with the neighboring cars.

FWIW,

[Surfboy88]

I always park with the gearbox in first and the handbrake on. I used to have a car (Z-28) that had a bad habit of releasing the parking brake on it's own. Got into the habit of using both, just to be sure the car won't drift.

If I'm parking on a hill, I turn the wheels either into the curb or away from it, depending on whether I'm uphill or downhill. Here in San Diego, you'll get a ticket for not curbing your wheels on a hill.

[nonsequitur]

Good advice, Theo.

[Speedd]

I always park in gear but that’s from my watching the ole man(father) doing it when he drives. I asked him once why he done that and I was told that if the brake ever fails then the gear will lock the movement. The in gear habit also makes good for hills.

BUT I've left the my old cars in gear and when my mothers got in and started it .. she never takes it out of gear and THANK god never kept her foot on the gas do the car only slightly nudges forward....the handbrake always kept it safe but she's learned her lesson driving our car.

At the end of the day its personal preference and I always find it that leaving it in gear is safer....

Good luck on collection and have fun, pictures when you have taken the big fun factor.
Only tonight i had a good drive from my parents house and the Mrs was sleeping in the passenger seat so I decided to have some roundabout action(quite fast round then).. well either she was sleeping or just kept her eyes closed.

Have fun what ever you decide