hydraulic handbrake ?

[monsterob]

looking at the iva manual re parking brake it leans heavily towards the use of a cable operated handbrake .

does this mean a hydraulic handbrake is a no no ? are they road legal ?

[monsterob]

google throws up lots of different arguments .

my intention was a locking lever as per the norm and a seperate hydraulic system to another set of calipers ?

but its a bit of a hazy subject i dont like the electronically operated parking brakes as on the citroens etc.....

[Doughnutter]

Theres nothing illigal about a hydraulic handbrake in a road car. I currently have a 3 door Sierra and a 5 door Sierra, both with Hydraulic handbrakes and MOT's so if you want one you should be OK

What you do have to have though is a mechanical parking brake. Its so if you lose hydraulic pressure, say a leak or something overnight, then the cars not going to roll down a hill.

I retain the normal handbrake mechanism in the Sierras and mount vertical hydo's in them. Having 2 handbrakes may not be as clean looking as you want though for a kit / race / custom car though. There are available, from places like Rally Design and Demon Tweeks hydro handbrakes with optional cable mechanisms. Bank on about an extra £60 on top of the hydro for the kit.

Hope this helps. It may be different for you new tests for custom builds but thats what I know from MOT's and road experience

[monsterob]

thanks for the quick reply i think some more thought into rear hub tweeks to incorporate the original handbrake will be needed and cheaper

too late and tired now though .

cheers

[twinturbo]

A hydr will fail iva/mot if there is no mechanical brake.

TT

[Big Vern]

As TT says the parking brake on any road vehicle is required to be a mechanical device acting on either the front or rear wheels.
The hydraulic hand brake - a favourite of the rally boys - is not legal for road use which is why we used to build them with a flyoff hydraulic hand brake but keep the original vehicle system in tact as well.


HTH BV.

[flyerncle]

Make's a bit of a mockery of it all when manufacturers fit EPB systems that fail in the on position, Audi/VW Seat Skoda.

[Bonzo]

Originally Posted by flyerncle

Make's a bit of a mockery of it all when manufacturers fit EPB systems that fail in the on position, Audi/VW Seat Skoda.

You gotta love the early Citroen breaking systems Paul

Oh the joys of the front parking brake & the pump driven hydraulic service brakes ..... Engine fails & once the reserve pressure has gone, brakes no worky very well