I have just moved into a new house. Don't ask me why I didn't care before I moved in, but the house is on a hill and the driveway is steep. 50 degrees at the least. If I am sitting at the bottom of my driveway it feels like I am just getting started on a tall roller coaster. The biggest issue is backing out. Should I use reverse or put it in neutral and let it roll down the hill. I am trying to maximize clutch life here. Reverse is kinda tough to keep the speeds down without keeping the clutch in a little. The driveway is short, something like 25 feet.
I heard that rolling the car around in neutral is bad. That is why i am asking.

Thanks.

 

i dont think rolling a car in neutal is bad thats how they suggest you tow a car .

 

I agree. I don't think there's any problem coasting in neutral unless you're going down an extremely long, steep incline (e.g. Pike's Peak). On something extreme, they advise you to use the transmission to control your speed so that you don't overheat your brakes and brake fluid.

 

Alright then. Thanks guys.

 

yeah I have a similiar steep driveway and I usually just let it roll down. When I reach the bottom I'll put it in reverse and take it slow because if I go to fast and straight out, my front will bump on the curb.

 

It may be very steep but I'd be very surprised if it's anywhere near 50 degrees. The world's steepest street is about 37% grade, which equates to about 20 degree angle. I doubt if you'd be able to get up a 50 degree driveway at all without a heck of a running start.

It would be unfortunate if rolling a car in neutral was "bad", since we do this almost everytime we bring the vehicle to a stop.

 

Rolling 25ft in neutral will not hurt the car at all. I'd be more afraid of scraping something at the bottom.

Brake pads are cheaper than clutches!

T.

 

We used to have a pretty steep driveway, maybe 1/3 mile long, and at one point it was 17 degrees (for only 20 feet or so). That was apparently not legal, since I think firetrucks can only take 15 degree inclines. 17 degrees doesn't sound very steep, but when you're standing at the top looking down, it sure feels it.

 

I'll take a picture this weekend and see what you guys think about the grade... As for scraping, there is none. They at least had the good sense to make the bottom of the driveway level out gently.

 

25 ft is about two car lengths, im guessing its a bit longer that that

 

Pushing a car around in neutral with a manual trans is almost NEVER a problem. I regularly shift to neutral to coast downhills.

Automatics on the other hand, shouldn't be pushed around in neutral at high speeds (like towing, or downhill coasting), particularly with the engine off (or even at idle), because auto's require the engine running to operate the auto-trans fluid pump.

No such pump in the manual, so, coast away!