why subaru decided to put the ebrake on the front?

I almost killed myself in the RX tonight...

Yeh. They did it to make high speed handbrake turns (180's 360's) much better at high speeds in reverse (over 40 mph). I love the hill parkin feature too, a mystery how it works though.

Another thing I thought about was ABS . IF it really does work, as its meant to, do you ever actually stop?

i can spin the car around in reverse just fine with my foot brake..

but why the hell not put it on the back where it belongs?

I was only jokin! It sure confused my son, when he first tookmy DL for a spin in a wet field, bein used to drivin an XR2. Hee Hee, it was crazy to watch.

Seriously though, does your RX have the Subaru hill parkin feature, where the handbrake does not release untill you let up the clutch? My old DL had that, and I presumed that was the reason the parkin brake was on the front, because of the two mechanisms bein linked. I think my 95 Legacy has the handbrake on the rear, but I have not looked under it yet.

The hill holder has nothing to do with the parking brake. It's entirely hydraulic. It also doesn't work on the front wheels. IIRC, it works on one front and one back wheel.... or maybe just one wheel period. It was actually invented and first used by studebaker waaaaay back in the day.

 

GD

The Justy has a rear e-brake (That gets well used I might add, ) I feel sorry for all you EA drivers!

Originally posted by urabus1995

Another thing I thought about was ABS . IF it really does work, as its meant to, do you ever actually stop?

 

LOL, that is so true though.

yes, the front ebrake sucks, its so hard to do ebrake turns now. plus i think mine is only locking up 1 wheel.

They both go to the front.. no one knows why..

Well, after driving it today, its ok.. built in line lock, im RWD

the front ebrake may not be so much fun, but it'll stop the car faster than any other ebrake on the market, thats what it was designed for and thats what it does remarkably well, the hill holder is a primative abs, when you push the clutch a plunger in a secondary cylinder holds, like abs, a brake line, i believe its the back left, when the clutch is released the pressure to that line is released and you are on your way.

Hill holder is nothing like ABS.

 

ABS senses wheel lock up and releases pressure before the wheel locks so you don't loose traction.

 

Hill Holder holds constant pressure on the brake line so that you don't roll back while starting out on a hill.

 

--GoatBoy--

yea i know but it was the example, it holds the pressure even when the brake is released,

ABS systems shut themselves off at low speed, so you can eventually lock the wheels.

 

I am trying to figure out how you managed to nearly kill yourself with an E-brake on the front? There might be an enlightening "gee, I guess I won't try that!" out of the story...

me thinks he was working under the car and had set the parking brake assuming that it locked the rear wheels and had the front end jacked up and no chocks. It sucks when a car starts to roll away from you and you're under it! I nearly got crushed AND nearly put my first VW through my grandfather's haus that way! But that's another story. Something someone said towards the beginning of this thread implied we have ABS on our Sub's. That's not the case for the older one's is it? I hope not, I'm just old fashioned enough to prefer non-ABS because I'm going to pump the brakes out of habit. Besides it's hard to do power slides and other fun stuff with ABS.

I asked this question of everyone at Subaru or FHI everytime I run into one. The consensus being that the cable brake is on the front tires, because those are the drive wheels on the older subaru's. Seems to be that way on most cars with any decent bit of technology. Put the ebrake on the drive wheels will slow the vehicle down more effectivly in an emergency. If they were on the back, you had some serious malfunctions, (run away motor, locked in gear, yadayadayada), then you could lock up the front end, effectivly killing the power transfere. It all works well in the theory, the practical application of it kinda sux though.

If you want independant rear brakes, try hydrolic turning brakes. Go to my post on this thread:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/usmb/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11654&highlight=SubSandRail+AND+brake

 

They may not be legal for on-road use (I have not looked into it) but they are a kick in the pants, especially in the sand.

does a hill holder hold when the car is stopped on a DOWNHILL? if not, how can it tell if the car is facing up or down a hill?

The purpose of the hill holder is to help people that are not good with a clutch start out going up a hill without rolling back into the car behind them. Like when you are in conjested city traffic with big hills.

 

My understanding is that it only works when you are pointed uphill, because nobody rolls backwards when they are pointed downhill (unless there was a monsterous wind and you have a giant box or something strapped to your roof)

i had a couch strapped down to my 84 wagon, and it limited its top speed to 55 mph on the highway

I have driven around town with a canoe that is 4' longer than my wagon. It's pointy at the front though, and may cut the air better than your couch. It probably floats better than your couch too, which is good because I use it to catch crabs out on the Puget Sound. Maybe you should sell the couch and get a canoe. (jk)

I think I got way off topic. Sorry. Back to the original subject now.....

lock the drive wheels... good thought..

even though on FT4wd models if you pull the ebrake you can smoke the back tires cuz thats where the center diff sends the power.. .. i just wont use the ebrake for hairpins...

are you saying that when you "almost killed yourself" you were busting out some evasive spy tactical meneuvers? what's the story?

Originally posted by the sucker king

are you saying that when you "almost killed yourself" you were busting out some evasive spy tactical meneuvers? what's the story?

well, truth be told, im a die hard drifter... And when coming into a corner thats not setup correctly, i usually use the ebrake to "Stabilize" and angle my drift coming into the corner. (im not and ebrake drifter - just when its not setup right)

well, i was in a set of corners that required a little "angle adjustment" coming toward a hairpin.. the handbrake locking the front wheels didnt help.. but i was able to keep from crashing.. I need a faster ratio steering rack, understeer is damn dangerous..