@chines1 posted:As long as it doesn't prove to be problematic it'll be standard on speedsters and coupes moving forward.
Call me Captain Canary
@Stan Galat posted:I've got the umbrella hand-brake. It was a $350-$500 option with IM 15 years ago. It is in no way worth $500. I was hung up on "the tell" of a tunnel-mounted hand-brake - but at this point I don't care who knows it's a replica or what they think about it, and a tunnel-mounted brake is 10x more useful than the umbrella.
Do as you wish. Your mileage may vary.
Stan on my old IM they fastened the hand brake attached to the base of the shifter making it too far forward but Carey is right if you want a working HB, put it between the seats and all other choices are ... well, just choices for whatever Illusion the buyer is on, and the vendor is accomodating that delusion 
After a while you don't care to be period correct, or exactness if it works for you.
@chines1 wrote “wired so that it can only be released while the engine is running”
Does that mean once set, you can’t release the ebrake with the engine off, like when you want to push it or coast in neutral with the engine off because you want or need to for one reason or another?
@IaM-Ray posted:Stan on my old IM they fastened the hand brake attached to the base of the shifter making it too far forward but Carey is right if you want a working HB, put it between the seats and all other choices are ... well, just choices for whatever Illusion the buyer is on, and the vendor is accomodating that delusion
My handbrake is exactly where I need it - between the seats and manually operated.
Even my 2021 Subaru STI has it right there.
@Bob: IM S6 posted:My handbrake is exactly where I need it - between the seats and manually operated.
Even my 2021 Subaru STI has it right there.
What is this “between the seats” you speak of? I had a hard time fishing the cable that operates my thermostat flaps in there. 
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Well, the seats are too wide, or the cabin is too small, or your car has shrunk...
Seriously, why is it so tight in there? Though, those are large seat bolsters.
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@Jon T posted:@chines1 wrote “wired so that it can only be released while the engine is running”
Does that mean once set, you can’t release the ebrake with the engine off, like when you want to push it or coast in neutral with the engine off because you want or need to for one reason or another?
I guess I worded that funny, sorry. When the engine is running it can be released but not engaged. With the engine off you can release and engage it freely.
@Bob: IM S6 dlearl's interior pic is of his spyder, smaller cabin.
I recently installed an electric parking brake made by E-Stopp on my VS. The actuator housing is mounted in the tunnel and the push button is hidden. I was trying to get away from having the standard VW hump mounted handle. I didn’t really entertain an umbrella though as I wasn’t going for the authentic look at the time. All I really wanted to do was clean the interior up a bit.
The system works flawlessly so far. As @chines1 notes it cannot be engaged while driving. It does, however, stay engaged if it’s set and the motor is started. It could be considered a bit of an anti-theft device I guess.
My only major concern is that now I have no “emergency” brake to grab if things go awry while driving. I suppose I could remember to turn off the ignition and push the button in an emergency but I don’t want to have to learn from experience.
After I bought the system I learned that some in the Hot Rod arena developed this system after using a similar set up from a Prius. I’m not familiar with that system, but I imagine any car with a push button parking brake would have the same results. That said, I’d still go with a purpose built specific device.
Kathy's Outback has a push-button e-brake that has a "hill-hold" feature, a separate button from the regular e-brake button.
Once pushed, the "Hill-Hold" does just that - When you come to a stop uphill (foot on brake pedal) you'll hear it engage (zeeuuuoooopp!). When you release the brake pedal, nothing happens until you push on the accelerator and then it releases (zoooouuuueeeepp!) It's still "on", waiting for the next hill to repeat the process.
She never uses it, while I've used it from time to time and it's pretty neat, especially when we're driving in Worcester, the city of seven hills. It's like a very mini San Francisco, with some hills just as steep.
We have a similar feature on our TDI. When stopped on an incline and keeping the clutch pedal to the floor the vehicle doesn’t roll. You can let go of the brake pedal and use the clutch and accelerator; no need to wish for a third foot to manage the pedal work.
Once the forward motion starts the brake releases. I haven’t toyed with it to see what degree of an angle puts the mechanics in action but it works!
It absolutely takes the anxiety out of waiting at an incline in a vehicle with a manual transmission with someone on my rear bumper.
@TheMayoMachine posted:I recently installed an electric parking brake made by E-Stopp on my VS. The actuator housing is mounted in the tunnel and the push button is hidden. I was trying to get away from having the standard VW hump mounted handle. I didn’t really entertain an umbrella though as I wasn’t going for the authentic look at the time. All I really wanted to do was clean the interior up a bit.
The system works flawlessly so far. As @chines1 notes it cannot be engaged while driving. It does, however, stay engaged if it’s set and the motor is started. It could be considered a bit of an anti-theft device I guess.
My only major concern is that now I have no “emergency” brake to grab if things go awry while driving. I suppose I could remember to turn off the ignition and push the button in an emergency but I don’t want to have to learn from experience.
After I bought the system I learned that some in the Hot Rod arena developed this system after using a similar set up from a Prius. I’m not familiar with that system, but I imagine any car with a push button parking brake would have the same results. That said, I’d still go with a purpose built specific device.
Does anyone know anyone that has ever bought to use the "emergency brake" in an emergency when their main braking system failed? Even as a driving instructor for the sheriff's, like Ed was at one time, and being fully versed in emergency vehicle operations this technique has never been taught to me nor have I ever taught anyone to use it. And I don't know anyone who has ever used it in an actual emergency. I think it should be called by it's most common use and that is "parking brake".
I use the hand brake in the snow and in emergencies to make quick turns it is surprisingly efficient .
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I think it's only we wussy safety-first, slow-is-safe Amuricans who call it an 'emergency' brake. It's something a god-fearing man should never need. Like a fire axe in a glass cabinet.
But in lands where driving is more a sport, they call it a hand brake. It's just another tool for staying between the hedgerows and for staying alive in the heat of battle. You're supposed to learn how to use it well.
Like, well, ...like this:
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@chines1 posted:Plus with the standalone pedal in our speedster/coupe, heel-toe is very easy and I can hill assist that way almost as easily.
Heel-toe indeed. I made sure to set the Spyder gas pedal so that would be easy, and it is. Just as easy as in my Cayman.
That's the way my Dad taught me. No "hill-hold" features. Next thing you know, new Speedster owners are gonna want lane departure, automatic braking, and automatic parallel parking.
What's WRONG with you?
Sam, you car looks VERY nice, indeed. ENJOY it!
.Does anyone know anyone that has ever bought to use the "emergency brake" in an emergency when their main braking system failed?
Well yes in HS I had to drive to my after school and did with just the E' Brake for two days until I got paid to be able to replace master cylinder, desperate times.......
@Robert M posted:Does anyone know anyone that has ever bought to use the "emergency brake" in an emergency when their main braking system failed?
When I was going to school, I worked in a carpet store. On the way back from a carpet delivery, in a panel van, the brakes failed. I used the emergency brake to get back to the shop.
Another time in my truck, brakes failed, used emergency brake to get to work, back home, then to the repair shop the next day. In a mountainous area, no less.
So yes.
Normally, I use it for parking while leaving the car in gear. BTW, all of the vehicles in our house are manuals.
When I park my Spyder in the garage I don't use the brake, I just chock a tire. I don't know why, it's just what I do. I also carry a small wood chock in my Spyder behind the seat, just in case.
just chock it up to experience
My dad used the umbrella handle brake in his Chevy II to get home after a hydraulic failure. I used the e-brake to drive the Subaru Legacy I bought in and out of the garage, as that car had no regular brakes and I knew I just needed the engine and electronic gizmos and such.
@DannyP posted:Heel-toe indeed. I made sure to set the Spyder gas pedal so that would be easy, and it is. Just as easy as in my Cayman.
That's the way my Dad taught me. No "hill-hold" features. Next thing you know, new Speedster owners are gonna want lane departure, automatic braking, and automatic parallel parking.
What's WRONG with you?
Sam, you car looks VERY nice, indeed. ENJOY it!
With my new pedal setup, it's nearly impossible to not heel and toe. In fact, I have to be careful when I brake that I don't push in the gas as well.
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@Robert M posted:Does anyone know anyone that has ever bought to use the "emergency brake" in an emergency when their main braking system failed? Even as a driving instructor for the sheriff's, like Ed was at one time, and being fully versed in emergency vehicle operations this technique has never been taught to me nor have I ever taught anyone to use it. And I don't know anyone who has ever used it in an actual emergency. I think it should be called by it's most common use and that is "parking brake".
@Robert M : Agreed. The last vehicle we purchased with an automatic was close to 20 years ago…and ONLY because a manual wasn’t even an option.
In all my driving manual transmissions I have never once grabbed for the brake handle (or foot pedal) to come to a controlled stop during a failure. It’s really more of a crutch in my opinion. In fact, the last TC I had was 20+ years ago in a 1969 el Camino SS396 that had a metering block failure. My instinct then was to try and shift to park after downshifting the automatic. Somehow the drivetrain survived FAR better than the sheet metal. But such is life.
The primary reason I made the change to an electronic brake was to clear up the cabin visually. Not to mention the heater boxes didn’t do squat if I ever needed heat in the cabin. I entertained an umbrella handle but I tend to gravitate towards things out of the norm. Hence the E-Stopp system.
I lean toward the “different” vehicles. That can be seen in our VS and our Suburban who would get SSI if he were human!
Great examples but I didn't see any EMERGENCY use of the e-brake except MAYBE Carlos depending on when he noticed the brakes failing.
I wouldn't have called them emergencies like in women screaming, "we're going to die", oxygen masks deployed, screeching tires, and passers by saying OMG and shielding the eyes of the young ones, but had I not reacted with cat like reflexes, there would have been crushed metal, and maybe a little crying, if it was my truck.
Anyway, if there was someone standing outside at both events, they would not have noticed anything wrong at all.
In most of my cars I use the throttle to throw it around when needed, BUT I have certainly used the hand brake in the snow... mainly because I'm a d!c&around when driving in the snow.
Shop truck blew a brake line in Chicago once and Mike pushed it all the way home on the parking brake, so I have seen it done. With either a dual circuit master or tandem masters, you should be able to stop if you lost a brake in any of our cars and most of our clients would then pull over and call AAA.
I didn't share the situation that happened to me in a snow laden highway where I lost control, I popped the hand brake then I did a 180 and find myself going backward at 60 mph, then popped the hand brake again and did another 180 and found myself going the right way. You know you do foolish things when your 20 something. Maybe it was the fact that I was in a VW rabbit that helped Great cars those Germans make, they out handle any other imports IMO.