[Poll] Preferred method to start stop on hills
 

As the title says, what's your preferred method of starting from a stop on typical hills (10-40 grade)?

Press gas before even letting the clutch out. Depending on the grade, I might give it 2-2.5k gas and then slowly release clutch. Oh, and I have the e brake on the whole time. When I feel car is trying to move forward, I'll release e brake.

I rev it to 10000 and dump the clutch

Depends on how close cars behind me are. Typically, the only time I use the handbrake is when I'm getting out of my condo, which is about a ~30-40% incline where the automatic door sensor is halfway up the climb.

its all one motion, foot of brake and onto gas while clutch comes out, car doesn't move back more than a 1/4 inch

i'm not sure why anyone would have trouble with this method unless they are new to driving stick. comes natural to me, i've been driving nothing but manual cars for the past 16 years

If nobody behind me, I'll start as normal.

Someone behind me, I add handbrake into the mix, balance footbrake to handbrake, clutch to gas.

You get used to it after some trial and error.

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Hmm lets see.. With very fast foot work I transition from the brake to gently pushing the gas all while easing the clutch out kind of like catching it before it starts to roll backwards by using the gas and clutch in unison. The hard part is having a fast enough and accurate enough right foot to do it without giving it to much gas or just stalling lol

Exactly what I was going to post! Just comes with some experience. :thumbsup:

Also, I think it varies from person to person. I live in the mountains, so I'm used to dealing with steep grades from a stop on a daily basis.

I do both depending on how close the person behind me is or I'm just too tired to coordinate the footwork.

if you can control and "feel" your clutch and move right foot over to gas pedal pretty quickly, ebrake shouldnt be necessary. its all about keeping everything smooth too.

If it's a steep hill .... I use the parking brake method. Much easier on the clutch and safer. Everything else .... the pedal dance.

It all depends on the grade of the hill and if someone is behind me. With most inclines I don't bother with the hand brake.

http://www.42fordgpw.com/images/misc/grade.jpg

5% - Never
15% - Never
30% - Maybe(If someone is really close otherwise no).
45% - More than likely yes, even if no one is behind me.

At that 45% incline I'm more than likely crying that I just smashed in my front lip lol

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The steepest grade road in the world is apparently only 37%. Short of 4x4 off road hill climbing, I'd think it unlikely anyone had driven up a 45% grade, especially a 45% grade road (they likely wouldn't be able to pave it).

There are driveways in TN that are 45% <_<; They suuuuuuuuuuuck. But yeah, Just using visualization tools.

Oh, and I think for people who believe that a 30% grade hill does not seem that steep, it will feel MUCH steeper than the picture indicates. There is a hill near me that's a 22% grade and it feels VERY steep. I was shocked when I found out it was only 22% I certainly wouldn't want to ride my bike up it... The steepest grade in the Tour de France for example is usually about 33%

I grew up with one of those driveways in TN :) no doubt a contributing factor to the fact that I almost never feel the need to use the emergency brake while starting on a hill.

I keep my foot on the brake, and take the clutch in just enough to see the tach dip by about 100rpm, then, it's on to the gas a bit more than normal and clutch in the rest of the way as appropriate.

Wears out the clutch quick but it sure is luxurious, and the car doesn't roll back but an inch.

I live in Florida, and the 86 is my first MT so I haven't had much practice.

On the rare occasion I am stopped on a 30%+ w/ someone brown-nosing me I like to use the hand break until I feel the clutch catch and a slight hunch down.

I also have a habit of letting off the break and rolling back a bit as a car is approaching me stopped on an incline so that they do not try to spoon with me at the light. Not sure if that is rude or not, but I feel it is effective.

I voted for E brake.

Think San Francisco hills, with stop sign top of hill...before the road levels.
Sorry no FRS or BRZ in pic. And only one sporty car in pic.

These days, my observation, SF (The City): Bimmers still rule, but quite a few 86s as well...you compute geeks...well surely !

There's a 30% steep exit from the gym i go to. Not only that but there's a speed bump at the end and a red light. That's usually pretty fun...:burnrubber:

awesome responses guys, keep it up!

The Audi S4 I previously drove could easily get into gear without adding any gas which made hill-starts very easy (This was my first manual car). Once I got the FRS... You could say I'm afraid of rolling into someone since I'm absolutely in love with mine. I use the E-brake in traffic but once I see that there's not a single soul behind me, I always try to do it all in one swift motion, right foot on brakes, left foot in clutch, raise left foot (once at entrance of biting point) I move my right foot onto the gas. Add gas, lift clutch. Feels awesome when done correctly since I'm still a newbie.

TL;DR
Currently: E-brake
Preference: One swift motion//clutch-bite

The handbrake for anything over 5% just like the manual suggests. The ergonomics what with the handbrake so conveniently located make it so easy to utilize this method.

I have lived for over 1 year of my life in Florida and I have a question:
WHERE in the entire state of Fl. is there a hill with a 33% grade? Driveway Maybe....

Granted, I have always lived in Cocoa Beach where the maximum elevation above sea level is about 6 feet :-)

And a question: With all of the incessant "heel toe this & heel toe that" - WHY is there no mention of leaving a hill stop using the heel toe method?

I drove my 914 for many years and had to use my heel to keep the engine from stalling.
Leaving a hill that way is simple.

Was gonna make a crack about the people in Kansas not knowing what a hill was but luckily researched first!

From that interweb thing all the kids are raving about:

"By any measure, Florida takes the prize for the flattest state in the nation because the highest point in the state is only 345 feet above sea level. Then Illinois, North Dakota, Louisiana, Minnesota and Delaware follow. Kansas merely ranks seventh in flatness."

So I went for a drive on lunch break, like always, and was going to take a pic of the "hill" that I practice on on occasion. But once there I realized it was a miniscule ~12% lol. Sure feels a lot different when driving it:iono:.

I agree FL does not have much variance in elevation. The highest point is Britton hill a whooping 345ft above sea lvl, but it is still flat ><. I asked a coworker/car enthusiast where the steepest hill in FL was and he said "space mountain Disney" lol.

But yeah, you would be surprised how many hills there are in northern Florida.

Edit:Great now Flanders is going to rag on me for reposting highest point in FL lol. jk jk. But but I started writing this periodcaly at work hours ago.

Using the emergency brake in this way is pointless and a very bad habit.
Do you stop your car using it too, of course not!
You'd fail every driving test using this method.

Although I disagree with it, in the UK the opposite holds true to their test. Instructors there teach the handbrake method. You will fail your driving exam if you do not use the handbrake method to start a manual on a hill.

I use foot pedals only 99% of the time but occasionally use the E-Brake just to change things up.

I'll bite - heel-toe is only good for a momentary blip of the throttle. Hill starts require a bit more finesse than that.

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So are you saying that when you heel toe you are not operating the brake AND the gas at the same time?
So to leave from a hill start is it not possible to be holding the brake while blipping the throttle?

Then: let clutch out to the bite point while holding the brake, apply gas to begin moving forward, release brake.

I rest my car against the one behind me. That way I can take all the time I need.

For the few hills I've run into I use a variation of the heel toe to get moving. I'd get the clutch to the sweet spot with my right foot still on the brake, and slide over to get some accelerator pedal.

Then again I've been in south Florida for 5 years and the only hills I see now are driveway hills, hills coming out of certain shopping centers, and hills due to roads crossing over highways.

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Nope not gonna do it!
Geez you make one (or 100) poorly worded jokes and ya get a rep.
Seems people read things in the tone they would have written it in so all of a sudden a joke becomes angry because the reader would have wrote it in anger not necessarily the writer.
I am chuckling all the time I write this but angry people will all think I am giving them shit.
Nature of the internet and the users there in.

OK so went looking for a picture of a blue one with rear end damage to make a joke and couldn't find one! Nice work Ultramarine drivers. Now black and white you guys need to be more careful.
While I was looking I came across a jem of a site! The first article is pure comedy. Some may have seen it before but here it is http://brzcrash.com/category/uncategorized/

I don't recall ever using the handbrake even once in my life to take off. What would you do if driving a small pickup with a foot brake?
On a side note, I live in Texas and it is mostly flat around here. Also, I would stall out sometimes when I was first learning.

I don't see the mountains being a problem really. San Francisco looks like a real bitch with her insanely steep hills and city traffic.

My first car had a foot parking break so no handbrake starts for me. I'm surprised we can buy still buy a car without hill assist starts. I always loved the chanlenge of starting on a hill.


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And the big question is: Did the foot brake even work?
Don't know about the areas that don't use salt but up here the foot brake may work for a year or two but then usually seized up solid. Pretty sure most of us "older guys" had one that either would not push down at all or if it did you had to get your toe under it and pull it back up and pray it disengaged.

I almost always use the handbrake. I have been driving manual transmission cars almost every day for 15 years. I feel that the handbrake method is the smoothest way to start moving on an incline and prevents wear to the clutch that doesn't need to happen.