Leaving car in gear

[Stellios]

Hi, could somebody explain to me how leaving a car in gear will prevent it from moving, where as leaving it in neutral won't?

Your wheels are directly connected to the engine, thus making it harder to move. Thats what i make of it anyways.

 

[Demon]

simple, if it's in gear, then the road wheels are effectively 'locked' to your crankshaft via the gearbox, so in order to turn your wheels you have to also turn the engine over with it, and becuase of the low first gear, the force required s huge, hence the car can hold itself even on a big hill.. In neutral, the engine is not 'connected' to the wheels anymore, and hence it can freewheel so its only your handbrake that stops it rolling away..

 

[Dup]

The gears are rotated by the engine. When in neutral the gears are not engaged so the engine is free from the drivetrain, so the car cannot move.

When the engine is off etc, in neutral the wheels are free to move as it isn't locked in gear.

When I finished my driving test in Blackburn, the examiner gave me a tip to pop it into reverse as I was parked up on a steep hill facing downwards.

This way if the handbrake fails, it can rest on the gears as the gears can only move if the engine is running.

I always leave mine in gear with the handbrake on the first click. I don't force the handbrake further, well bascially it takes brute force to make it go higher if you get what I mean.

 

[NathanE]

Hi, could somebody explain to me how leaving a car in gear will prevent it from moving, where as leaving it in neutral won't?

Same reason you need a starter motor... the engine is incredibly stiff when it is not running and even more so when the oil is cold. So by leaving the car in gear you are 'connecting' the wheels to that stiff engine that does not budge.

 

[Mackass]

Yep, I understood how the wheels and engine are connected, but I didn't know that the engine will prevent the car from rolling. So it's first gear when facing uphill, and reverse gear when facing downhill?

Cheers guys.

 

[NathanE]

It doesn't matter about foward or reverse. As long as the engine is connected to the wheels (in gear) it's going to be providing ample lock for even the steepest of hills.

 

[Mackass]

Alrite cheers.

 

[AS_Platinum]

that's physically impossible.
to illustrate try bump starting a car in 3rd then again in first and see which makes it easier to overcome lack of combustion.
if it rolls in first it'll roll in every other subsequent gear more easily.

Ever tried to bump start a diesal..........

 

[Stonedofmoo]

You have no choice in the matter on my new Saab, unless you put it in reverse you cannot remove the key

 

[Joe T]

I always leave mine in gear. Its good practice. It also means you get in the habit of making sure you check it to neutral before you start the engine. This can prevent embarrasing incidents occuring when someone else last drove the car and left it in gear.

 

[gam3r]

Thank you people for clearing this up. I should start doing this/using this..

 

[rG-tom]

if on a hill i leave mine in gear, but i'm one of the few people i know who always puts it in gear before they start it (obviously always disengage the clutch on start though)

Tom.

 

[atpbx]

I dont leave either the car or van in gear.
I find its easier just to maintain them properly.

 

[Maz]

Handbrake upto 3 clicks, then leave it in either reverse or third.

 

[|-Chris-|]

I always leave it in first because if the car did happen to move it would turn the engine more times in first than it would in a higher gear. i.e. for each engine rotation the car would move further in fifth gear than it would in first gear (more resistance).

It’s a bad idea if you share a car with someone and they don’t know it’s in gear.