Stopping Faster With the Handbrake

Welcome back to Team O'Neil, join us as we step away from the rally school and out on the street, to take a look at winter driving and how to stop more effectively using the handbrake to supplement the standard foot-operated brakes.
Most street-driven production vehicles come from the factory with heavy brake proportioning to the front. This is because under hard braking on pavement , most of the weight of the vehicle transfers onto the front tires, so they are given most of the braking force and the rears are given less to keep the vehicle nice and stable. This formula is wonderful, until you drive the vehicle on gravel, mud, snow, or ice. On more slippery surfaces like these, the vehicle does not transfer as much weight under hard braking, so therefore cannot take advantage of the roughly 70% front and 30% rear brake balance. For these situations, a more even brake balance is required to get the best braking performance from any vehicle; unfortunately this is not an adjustable feature on standard production cars and trucks. This is where the handbrake comes in useful, because the handbrake only operates on the rear wheels of most vehicles, it can be actuated to manually add rear brake while the driver is also operating the foot brake. With a little practice and used in the correct situations, this technique can significantly shorten stopping distances.
Hydraulic Handbrakes: • Hydraulic Handbrakes f...
Winter Driving Tips: • How to Drive in Winter
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