Why can a vehicle still accelerate when the emergency brake is engaged?
In: 11
The emergency or parking brake usually just applies enough force to some of the wheels (usually the rear wheels) just to hold the car in place on a moderate slope – so nowhere near as much as when the car is on and your regular brake pressure (via the hydraulic brake cylinder) is acting on it. Since your average car engine is powerful enough to accelerate your car up said slope, it is more powerful than the mediocre braking force that the e/parking brake applies.
Now, whether your engine can outmatch your regular brakes, comes down to how much hps and torques your engine has vs. how good your brakes are.
If your parking brake isn’t cutting it – say you live in San Francisco – you can get that cable tensioned a bit tighter I’m sure.
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