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Help with hill starts

How do I start on a hill with handbrakes and without handbrakes on? How much do I have to rev up to without rolling back on a very steep hill?
Reply 1
Avatar for heirloom
heirloom
14
Have you practised finding your biting point? When I'm doing a hill start I make sure I'm at the biting point before I lift the hand break. I may press the accelerator once the hand break is off as well depending on how steep the hill is
Reply 2
Avatar for Acruzen
Acruzen
10
Well it depends on the hill obviously. But you start as you would on a level road surface but with more power. Bring the clutch up and you will feel the car move forward and then you can release the handbrake.
get used to using the clutch and finding its biting point while braking simultaneously bro

when on a hill just make sure u bring the clutch higher than u usually would on level ground to prevent rolling back as if u roll back on ur test too much the examiner can fail u

good luck brah ! ;D
I'd actually be very careful about being tempted to give the car too much bite; from personal experience, this can cause a stall.

The biting point may however be a little higher. Bring your foot up off the clutch until you can see the front of the car start to rise a little; that's the biting point. From there, it's all about giving the car plenty of gas (even as much as having the gas pedal at the same height as the other foot on the biting point if the hill is really steep). As a general rule, the steeper the hill the more gas you'll need.

I'd always use the handbrake before moving off where possible, but if not the same concept of plenty of gas still applies.
Reply 5
Avatar for advice_guru
advice_guru
Original post by SFeet
How do I start on a hill with handbrakes and without handbrakes on? How much do I have to rev up to without rolling back on a very steep hill?


WITH HANDBRAKE:

1) Apply 2000-3000 RPM depending on the steepness of the hill. The steeper it is the more revs you will need essentially.
2) Bring the clutch up slowly to the biting point, you should feel the car wanting to jerk forward at the bite.
3) Hold the clutch in that position, with the revs also held
4) Release the handbrake
5) Bring the clutch up ever so slowly, when at the same time pushing down on the accelerator ever so slowly.

WITHOUT HANDBRAKE:

This is a lot more dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to a learner.

1) Have you car in first gear, clutch down and foot FIRMLY on the brake.
2) Very quickly transfer your foot from the Brake to the accelerator, while bringing your clutch up to the bite.
3) If you do this quickly enough the car should roll a tad and begin to move forward
4) Too slow and you start to roll. Don't bring the clutch up too fast and make sure you have at least 2000-3000 revs depending on the hill, if not you will STALL and roll if you dont hit the brake.
Reply 6
Avatar for lbsf1
lbsf1
2
Original post by advice_guru
WITH HANDBRAKE:

1) Apply 2000-3000 RPM depending on the steepness of the hill. The steeper it is the more revs you will need essentially.
2) Bring the clutch up slowly to the biting point, you should feel the car wanting to jerk forward at the bite.
3) Hold the clutch in that position, with the revs also held
4) Release the handbrake
5) Bring the clutch up ever so slowly, when at the same time pushing down on the accelerator ever so slowly.

WITHOUT HANDBRAKE:

This is a lot more dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to a learner.

1) Have you car in first gear, clutch down and foot FIRMLY on the brake.
2) Very quickly transfer your foot from the Brake to the accelerator, while bringing your clutch up to the bite.
3) If you do this quickly enough the car should roll a tad and begin to move forward
4) Too slow and you start to roll. Don't bring the clutch up too fast and make sure you have at least 2000-3000 revs depending on the hill, if not you will STALL and roll if you dont hit the brake.


Or the third way without a handbrake of which I tried to do on my first driving lesson (completely forgot about the existance of the handbrake) . Keep your toes on the brake then press your heel on the accelerator and just pivot it off the brake onto the accellerator while at the same time releasing the clutch.

I WOULD NOT advise doing this however it does work. :wink:
Reply 7
Avatar for SFeet
SFeet
OP
16
Original post by advice_guru
WITH HANDBRAKE:

1) Apply 2000-3000 RPM depending on the steepness of the hill. The steeper it is the more revs you will need essentially.
2) Bring the clutch up slowly to the biting point, you should feel the car wanting to jerk forward at the bite.
3) Hold the clutch in that position, with the revs also held
4) Release the handbrake
5) Bring the clutch up ever so slowly, when at the same time pushing down on the accelerator ever so slowly.

WITHOUT HANDBRAKE:

This is a lot more dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to a learner.

1) Have you car in first gear, clutch down and foot FIRMLY on the brake.
2) Very quickly transfer your foot from the Brake to the accelerator, while bringing your clutch up to the bite.
3) If you do this quickly enough the car should roll a tad and begin to move forward
4) Too slow and you start to roll. Don't bring the clutch up too fast and make sure you have at least 2000-3000 revs depending on the hill, if not you will STALL and roll if you dont hit the brake.

Thanks for the detailed reply, loving your pic as well, is that you? :wink:
In my experience I've only ever driven diesel cars. But I always do a hill start with the handbrake up and release it when I have the biting point. Before you move off the car should feel like it's ready to go, it's a completely different feeling (or, even, sound) to when you have the clutch all the way down. The car may even feel like it's trying to lurch forward, at this point you are ready to go. In my experience I've never really needed to use gas to move up on a hill, but it is best to do that. Also, I always recommend using a handbrake no matter what, loads of very experienced drivers do it besides it just seems like so much pressure and work to not use a handbrake!


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 9
Avatar for ss_s95
ss_s95
11
Originally Posted by SFeet
How do I start on a hill with handbrakes and without handbrakes on? How much do I have to rev up to without rolling back on a very steep hill?


WITH HANDBRAKE:

1) Apply 2000-3000 RPM depending on the steepness of the hill. The steeper it is the more revs you will need essentially.
2) Bring the clutch up slowly to the biting point, you should feel the car wanting to jerk forward at the bite.
3) Hold the clutch in that position, with the revs also held
4) Release the handbrake
5) Bring the clutch up ever so slowly, when at the same time pushing down on the accelerator ever so slowly.

WITHOUT HANDBRAKE:

This is a lot more dangerous and I wouldn't recommend it to a learner.

1) Have you car in first gear, clutch down and foot FIRMLY on the brake.
2) Very quickly transfer your foot from the Brake to the accelerator, while bringing your clutch up to the bite.
3) If you do this quickly enough the car should roll a tad and begin to move forward
4) Too slow and you start to roll. Don't bring the clutch up too fast and make sure you have at least 2000-3000 revs depending on the hill, if not you will STALL and roll if you dont hit the brake.


I'm kind of used to doing it without the handbrake - I'd add that you should use your right heel as a 'pivot' as this speeds up the shift between the brake and gas, considerably. But I'd still use the handbrake as the above poster mentioned, much less risk involved...
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by ScarlettFierce
In my experience I've only ever driven diesel cars. But I always do a hill start with the handbrake up and release it when I have the biting point. Before you move off the car should feel like it's ready to go, it's a completely different feeling (or, even, sound) to when you have the clutch all the way down. The car may even feel like it's trying to lurch forward, at this point you are ready to go. In my experience I've never really needed to use gas to move up on a hill, but it is best to do that. Also, I always recommend using a handbrake no matter what, loads of very experienced drivers do it besides it just seems like so much pressure and work to not use a handbrake!


Posted from TSR Mobile


You can move off without using the gas pedal in a diesel car, even on hills. In a petrol however, you have to use gas even when moving off on flat ground.
I tend to treat a hill start just like a normal start, only except that I use plenty of gas to stop the car stalling and rolling backwards.
Reply 12
Avatar for joostan
joostan
13
Clutch at biting point.
Set the gas till you hear the sound.
Handbrake slowly off, bit more gas and you're away :biggrin:
Reply 13
Avatar for heirloom
heirloom
14
Original post by WoodyMKC
You can move off without using the gas pedal in a diesel car, even on hills. In a petrol however, you have to use gas even when moving off on flat ground.

I dont use gas when moving off on a flat surface when driving my car and thats petrol
Original post by heirloom
I dont use gas when moving off on a flat surface when driving my car and thats petrol


I'm talking about full on, lifting the clutch all the way up and properly getting moving at much more than a snails pace. If your car has a fairly large engine then you may be able to generate a fair amount of pace on flat ground with good clutch control. But on a fairly steep hill it won't work.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 15
Avatar for 1992LP
1992LP
17
Some good advice here, but I do not agree with the people here saying to rev the car to 2000, or even 3000 (:eek:) before pulling off. That is an indicator of very poor clutch control, and in your own car will destroy your clutch if you are releasing it with the engine speed as high as that.

In most cars, you never need to go about 1250 - 1500 rpm when moving off with good clutch control.

If you are using the handbrake, then have the handbrake up, car in first, and the clutch fully depressed. When you want to move off, bring the clutch up to the biting point, and simultaneously add a bit of throttle and release the handbrake slowly until you can feel the car moving off.

Without the handbrake, you basically release the footbrake and bring the clutch up to the biting point at the same time while adding a bit of throttle.

Revving up above 1500 or so rpm to move off is excessive. It may still let you pass your driving test, but in the real world it is very poor practice and will shorten the life of your clutch considerably. They are not cheap to replace, so I would thoroughly recommend learning clutch control now rather than later on. You should be able to set off on a flat surface at no more than 1000 rpm. It just takes practice :smile:

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