So don't park in neutral, park in first??? I park my car in gear with the brake off unless I'm on an incline. A habit I picked up when I was spending a good bit of time at the track. OK, dumb question then. Don't kill me... If I park in first, I have to depress the clutch to start the car, right? Trust me, I've never parked in gear. All I do now is turn the key and press the start button.

And my driveway is 100% level. So if I park in first, I don't need the brake? Yes, you should push the clutch in to start the car. Or pull the car out of gear.
Remember that the Elise has no clutch interlock, so you have to be a bit careful. OK, dumb question then. Don't kill me... If I park in first, I have to depress the clutch to start the car, right? Trust me, I've never parked in gear. All I do now is turn the key and press the start button.

And my driveway is 100% level. So if I park in first, I don't need the brake?
No question is a dumb question.

Yes, you are correct.

.......but parking in gear with the emergency brake on is not a bad habit.

....unless you were driving on the track and your brakes are hot. OK! Not bad; had the car almost a year and I've actually learned how to park it now. By this time next year who knows what I'll be able to do? OK! Not bad; had the car almost a year and I've actually learned how to park it now. By this time next year who knows what I'll be able to do?
Not bad???????? You should be very proud of yourself. I believe it was you who hadn't driven a manual, let alone an Elise 6 speed, one year ago. Remember that the Elise has no clutch interlock, so you have to be a bit careful. And I wouldn't know what a clutch interlock was if it was sitting on my lap. Sigh. When I get her back I'll be careful to park in gear, using brake on any inclines I guess. Pianomaniac, you're almost correct. I hadn't driven a standard in a decade until I drove Lizzie home. Never 6 speed. Never a sports car. So thanks, I feel a bit better! I'm learning. I can keep up on drives without crashing. (A case of the shakes doesn't count) I'll never be the leader, but at least no one will have to go back and look for me. I hope! And I wouldn't know what a clutch interlock was if it was sitting on my lap. Sigh.
Most manual transmission cars now a days have that. It doesn't let you start the car unless the clutch is depressed.

But in the Elise there is NOT such thing. If you start the car on gear without the clutch, the car will start and it will MOVE!

Never, ever start the Elise without depressing the clutch, because is just a matter of time you'll forget to get the car in neutral and it's better to be safe than sorry.

I've done that with other cars after driving a rental, but they had the clutch interlock so they wouldn't start. I actually understood your explanation. Thank you! See? I learn at least one new thing every time I come here! Never, ever start the Elise without depressing the clutch, because is just a matter of time you'll forget to get the car in neutral and it's better to be safe than sorry. 99 times out of 100 I park with just the handbrake on and not in gear. But if I'm on a slope I do both handbrake on and in 1st gear. So even though I don't need to depress the clutch before starting the car, I always do so to avoid that 1 in a 100 occation when I'll forget that the car is in gear.

The only time I don't use the handbrake is if I've come in off a track and the pads/rotors are hot. Then I just put it into first gear.

P.S. For all the Americans reading this just replace the word "handbrake" with "parking brake". I spent too much time in San Francisco. I always park in gear, with brake on. On a hill, I'm careful to "curb" my wheels (in a good way.) As I picked up the car at my dealership last year, the dealer, by way of reminding me the Lotus has no clutch interlock, told me one of the young kids who works there was asked to move someone else's Lotus a few days earlier. The kid forgot the car was parked in first gear, bumped the starter and the car leapt forward across the showroom floor and plowed into the side of a Gallardo. "Does he still work here?' I asked. "Oh, yeah," he replied, "he just doesn't move the cars."

I always park in first gear, no parking brake, unless I'm pointed downhill. I also use the front wheels pointed in or out method (in toward the curb when facing downhill; out away from the curb when facing uphill) in case everything lets go and she starts to roll. If you're pretty tight to the curb, it will stop you. That has come in handy a few times with my ancient Fiat.

As for not using the parking brake on track days, a pro driver kindly explained to me that my rear brake pads, which are activated mechanically by the parking brake, would melt onto the rotors if the rotors were hot enough after a session!

Tom

05 BRP/Touring/Hardtop P.S. For all the Americans reading this just replace the word "handbrake" with "parking brake".
Or, for those of a more "mature" age, it was an "emergency brake". It was used when (not if) your brakes failed. Or, I'm told, for doing doughnuts on a field of wet grass. Or, for those of a more "mature" age, it was an "emergency brake". It was used when (not if) your brakes failed. Or, I'm told, for doing doughnuts on a field of wet grass.
E-Type Jag + big carpark+ 4 Inchs of fresh snow= Priceless
Don. Or, for those of a more "mature" age, it was an "emergency brake". It was used when (not if) your brakes failed. Or, I'm told, for doing doughnuts on a field of wet grass.
Wet grass??? I guess that's what you have to use when you don't get any snow! Most manual transmission cars now a days have that. It doesn't let you start the car unless the clutch is depressed.

But in the Elise there is NOT such thing. If you start the car on gear without the clutch, the car will start and it will MOVE!

Heidi, you won't be able actually to get the engine started in gear, but the cranking starter will be engaged with the transmission and the car will move (lurch) forward in first until you take your finger off the button.
They used to say it was a good way to move your car a few feet in a pinch if your engine died, say on the middle of a railroad track. Now with the interlock in most cars you'd have to get out and push. Ok, with all of this info about the car lurching forward if one forgets to push in the clutch, and the possibilities of rolling without the handbrake on, and clutch interlock and all - why isn't parking in neutral with a handbrake a good idea? Seems it would make it easier to start, avoid rolling, and so on. (In the case of someone like me who would not have overheated brakes from racing.) Heidi, you won't be able actually to get the engine started in gear, but the cranking starter will be engaged with the transmission and the car will move (lurch) forward in first until you take your finger off the button.
I don't know about the Elise. I know other cars most certainly will start in gear. I have firsthand knowledge of a couple.
A buddy drove an '84 GTI without a clutch for a couple days. Amusing, but not good for the gearbox. And quite a spectacle at lights. Ok, with all of this info about the car lurching forward if one forgets to push in the clutch, and the possibilities of rolling without the handbrake on, and clutch interlock and all - why isn't parking in neutral with a handbrake a good idea? Seems it would make it easier to start, avoid rolling, and so on. (In the case of someone like me who would not have overheated brakes from racing.)
Using either just the handbrake or just putting it in gear will work 99.99% of the time. Using both (which I do) is a belt and suspenders solution.

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