g8rpi said:

How do you know what designers or driving instructors were thinking? Is this just what you think their intentions were?
Maybe portland_bill can give us a first hand instructors reason? An instructors handbrake gets a lot more use than the average car.

Personally I've had to change the handbrake on two cars I've owned, both shortly after purchase. One was a worn ratchet rack the other was a worn pawl.
Both parts were made of steel (probably mild steel but I didn't test it) which does wear. Comparing that to Cast iron or cast steel brake disks and friction pads is just nonsense.

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When first in the motor trade, we used to replace handbrakes often enough for it not to be a rarity. Always due to wear to the ratchet, either the rack or the pawl. At that time it was always recommended to push the button, llift the lever, release the button. They were made of mild steel, with no added lubricant, just the oily film from the pressing.

I think it was the Peugeot 307 that started the trend for not pressing the button, but that was not a cure for that car. With rear disc brakes, if the handbrake operates on the pads, a significantly hot disc can release enough pressure as it cools to allow a car to move. Cars with separate handbrake shoes within the disc do not suffer from this. With a few 307s wandering away on their own, motor manufacurers panicked and changed their recommendations.

As I said before, I see many drivers, new and experienced, that release the lever a little as they release the button, often dropping the ratchet down one tooth. Not pressing the button alleviates that. I prefer to nag my learners incessantly until they adopt a proper technique, and also understand why. Those that struggle will find themselves parking on a lot of hills until they get it right consistently. Great to see a bit of panic as a learning tool.

Having changed a few handbrakes in the past, it is a horrible job. Working both inside and underneath a car makes it difficult to keep dirt out of the car, as well as being fiddly between the seats and above an exhaust. Additionally, as the handbrake is applied without pressing the button the noise is painful to my mechanically sympathetic ears. For these reasons I will resist not pressing the button.

With more emphasis on blaming others when a mistake is made, people look at vehicle manufacturers as culprits if their car runs away. The manufacturers have reacted to peoples' inability to keep pressure as the button is released by recommending the lift without pressing technique. Like so many of the 'driver aids', we are trying to mask poor technique, rather than educate to do it properly. The result is likely to be more people with poor technique.

The flip side of that argument is fairly well explained here

[ame]https://youtu.be/1ePcNfx1UEw[/ame]

Slightly disappointing, his explanations are usually very good.
The comparison with the ratchet wrench was poor. A good ratchet will have oli or grease inside to lubricate the ratchet mechanism. Good supplliers will supply repair kits for them, as they do wear out, but they get used more than a handbrake.

Regardless of any theory, I have seen quite a few worn handbrakes. They did wear, they did need replacing. Mine will last longer than me. Anyone wishing to test the theories and click the ratchet every time they apply their handbrake, their choice. I will still wince every time I hear that awful noise.

Aye? Well I'm not convinced by our American friend. I'll just carry on holding the button in, pulling the lever up, releasing the button and "feeling" the pawl engaging with the ratchet. Been doing it this way for roughly 55 years since being shown by my driving instructor - "old" Mr Scott, as my mother always called him - and never had a problem.

I always press the release button and have never worn a handbrake yet. It also a better way to avoid pulling it on any harder than necessary. My wife learned the hard way when she had to wait for help when she couldn't release the handbrake after yanking it up hard on the ratchet.

FCA Heritage Hub

Great that it is now open..

Sad that I wont be getting there this year..

It's a shame that they don't look at that heritage centre and realise what they've been ignoring in favour of churning out American garbage.

Thought I might have a rear wheel bearing gone.
Found the brake self-adjuster rubbing on the hub. So an easy fix to just push it up the brake show a little.

If it slips again, might have to remove the shoes and file a small notch to locate the adjuster.

As part of a job I'm looking at hopefully getting part of it is doing a presentation to a small group of people. Usual introduction, Health and Safety stuff and things but; according the vocabulary guidelines I'm supposed to say...

"Hello everyone/everybody"

....instead of...

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen/gent's"

....because if someone is having a bad day they could be offended by "good morning" or if anyone of them identify themselves as anything else "ladies and gent's" could also offend.

:bang:

Bloody snowflake tablelamps!

Liquid Knight II said:

As part of a job I'm looking at hopefully getting part of it is doing a presentation to a small group of people. Usual introduction, Health and Safety stuff and things but; according the vocabulary guidelines I'm supposed to say...

"Hello everyone/everybody"

....instead of...

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen/gent's"

....because if someone is having a bad day they could be offended by "good morning" or if anyone of them identify themselves as anything else "ladies and gent's" could also offend.

:bang:

Bloody snowflake tablelamps!

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I must admit, I often see programs from the 1980s and always wonder if life was better then? Whilst the cars back then were relatively dangerous, they were also more interesting, music was better, people weren't in such a hurry to be offended, and we weren't the slaves to technology that we've become today.

puntofan01 said:

I must admit, I often see programs from the 1980s and always wonder if life was better then?

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Nope it wasn’t

puntofan01 said:

Whilst the cars back then were relatively dangerous, they were also more interesting,

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no they weren’t, generally day to day cars where boring and simple. Even supercars of that era are now surpassed by modern day hot hatches. Yes people still want to buy old fords for silly money in some vein attempt to recapture their youth but the cars themselves were pretty terrible, ugly square boxes that spewed unfiltered unburnt petrol fumes.

puntofan01 said:

music was better,

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Disagree but to each their own.

puntofan01 said:

people weren't in such a hurry to be offended,

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Not true they just got offended by other things. People who where a different colour, sexual orientation. No one stood up for anyone who was ‘different’ definitely not a good time if you didn’t fit into what society expected.

puntofan01 said:

and we weren't the slaves to technology that we've become today.

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We would have been. Everyone in the 80s grew up in front of the Tv, much like every kid now is glued to YouTube.

The 80s was nothing to yearn for.

I'm very much old school & although up here we still have a village mentality in a good way, most of the time, but every now & again modern take on things due to political correctness & the lack of common sense just seems to fly out the window. As said, we have become a generation of not being able to think for ourselves & are just waiting to be offended so we can jump on the band wagon & tell everyone how we can be affected/scarred for life because the wrong word/term of explanation was said/used.

In my day things were a bit more flavorsome but you knew where you stood. Obviously back in the 60's/70's certain expressions should be put to rest, but it really is getting beyond a joke, especially for the the likes of myself & people of my generation who have a lot to say but! life's too short & I still like to ruffle feathers.....:devil:

Back in the 1980s we had proper hot hatches like the Pug 205 and Mk1/2 Golf. Citroens still had hydraulic suspension and the BX could leave most "hot" Fords for dead. Today everyone wants a blobby padded cell SUV that looks just like every other SUV on the road.


Today's commercial pop music is largely written by two men so no surprise it all sounds the same. But at least we dont have to put up with Bros or the Cheeky Girls.

But then today we have You Tube so new talent can get a hearing. I'm a fan of Caro Emerald and Joe Bonamassa.

Theres a rich history of "letters to the editor" bemoaning how everything was better in the old days and how technology makes life worse. Societies going to the dogs..e.t.c.

Such classics as how people should not ride on the new fangled steam trains as the human body could not survive at speeds as higher than that of a galloping horse and other wonders.

The thing that links them all..the progress happened regardless. Amusing to read now though

Unfortunately progress today regarding the likes of the tinternet/social media sites & the likes is having a negative effect on some of the young & in some cases the taking of their own life. My wife is a lecturer in child psychology & youth development & she is coming across mental health problems because of the over use of mobile phones & because some are not getting enough "friends" compared to others, or not getting enough thumbs up. It is actually happening all over the UK, but there is quite a high suicide rate in young males up here.

There are other reasons, but it's so easy to keep in touch with sites that are actually helping to have negative thoughts for those who for one reason or another feel alone or neglected. Facewipe/****ter have a lot to answer, A lot of spats have came to light to say the least & in some cases well known "luvvies" who have landed in court & made arses of themselves. I could go on, there are so many negative situations, I know of a couple who lost their jobs over making their views public.

Somehow I can't see people in the future looking back to these events with amusement.

Every tragedy is just that but every era also has it's dark side, as it gets further away it tends to get forgotten and become an idealised thing.

From child working to the famous people, church members, people in positions of influence being able to abuse children without fear of repercussion. It being seen as acceptable to give a child a good hiding with belt...casual racism or abuse of the disabled that made it acceptable for certain members of society to be abused day in day out in much the same way as a Facebook troll would do now for not being normal. Theres any number of examples of the good old days actually being a bit horrible.

This is not to say what happens now is not heartbreaking and I do worry about what if my son wants Facebook/twitter when he is older oh and knife crime...and many other things. But every era has challenges as time moves and views change hopefully we move past them. Measles has made a comeback basically due to stupid people...just ffs..but regardless time will march on this era will pass another will take its place which will have it's own challenges.

I mentioned the "tinternet" & all it entails because that is progress in an inventive way, an invention. Going back in history & cherry picking bad/tragic events is not the same.

None of those are bad or tragic "events" they are systemic failures of society to protect the weakest among us that went on for years or even decades, many in plain sight. Much the same way as cyber bullying is now.

Everything not found in nature is an invention at some point, some are good, some are bad. But the person using it has a huge say in that. A train isn't evil, using one to transport an innocent person against their will is. You need to weigh the good versus the bad if on balance it does more harm than good history says public opinion will turn against it and laws will change.

The internet is too big (and too useful) for society to turn against it. But nothing has been done to manage the damage it causes.

To be fair its not a problem here but a big win would be to require all users on social media to use their own name. When people can be held accountable for what they say, the amount of trolling and deliberate misrepresentation of what others say would be slashed.

The reason I brought up the web is the very fact it just about affects every one one way or another. World wide politically for all the wrong reasons, perverts grooming young children, the list is endless, it's a tool that is used for all the wrong reasons in many cases. So called fake news, in my day it was called bull**** or to be polite propaganda. There hasn't been an invention like the web that affects so many quite so easily.

There was a time when post code lottery could have helped some people to grow up innocently & live a decent life, that's not quite the case now. I'm not saying or suggesting it's all horrible these days, it's just so easy for youngsters to get caught up in all sorts of things never mind what area you grow up in.

Perhaps I had an innocent childhood, even without the rose specs things were good back then, for me anyway. Kids with mental health problems these days is not a good sign in anyones book, as my wife points out, this a modern day happening in such numbers. You can come up with all the cliches you want, but in a modern world this should not be happening to our young.