Yang1815

well, they probably don't want to spend the extra money to design a hand brake system with different center armrest piece...

carhunter

If M-B was going to do it they'd have done it as part of the 05 refresh.

tyro

It makes it easier on the passenger when she is giving you a bj

GDawgC220

ok, so the throttle by wire...lemme get this straight.

If your on the clutch and slowly let off the brake, it'll electronically engage the gas a little bit to prevent rolling backwards till you hit the gas? Is this right? Or am I totally wrong :p

vadim

Yes, it will open up the throttle a little - although not to prevent rolling backwards, but just to avoid stalling. Contrary to what some are trying to say, this is very bad on the engine - you have to spin it up at least to 1800-2000 rpm before engaging the clutch; if the engine is showing any signs of shuddering - it is underreved. That's why using e-brake in situations where you need to avoid rolling back is a much better option.

GDawgC220

what if you rev it a little too much? Is it better to rev a little higher than have the car shudder when underrevved?

vadim

Then you'll be wearing out the clutch, but yes, it is better for the engine. You can always modulate it with one foot on the gas, the other on the clutch pedal.

Having said all this - there is no real need to do launches off e-brake all the time - just when a situation calls for it.

GDawgC220

right, when I do drive manual and am on a big steep hill, i'll use the ebrake. If there are no cars behind me, I can usually get to the gas quick enough right after the brake and modulate it so that I don't roll back that much...

I usually rev between 2-2.5k RPMs as I'm letting out the clutch...that too much?

vadim

No, 2500 rpm is perfectly fine.

CitronC230K_03

thats about how high i go on a really steep hill.

Yang1815

That's why the car doesn't roll that much even on a hill... I thought the car's just hard to roll haha.