Handbrake turns in the snow...

[Schtum]

It's that time of year when the ground is white and a young man's thoughts turn to a twirl of the wheel and a rapid yank on the handbrake.  Well, I was young when I taught myself to do it over 45 years ago.  

 

With lots of time at home I've been musing on what's next for the Yeti. The temptation of even more power and torque courtesy of a turbo and possible injector upgrade might be too much to resist.  However, I'd also been musing on the possibilties of using the handbrake in the current snow and ice.  I did an off road rally course about a year ago which reintroduced me to the the joys of steering with the handbrake and of using a hydraulic one for the first time.  

 

Getting a hydraulic handbrake sytem on the Yeti to be road legal and insurance company friendly might be too much to ask for.  I did find myself considering a switch to disengage the Haldex when using the hanbrake, though.  That would obviate the need to dip the clutch and I could still apply power while helping the car around on the handbrake.  It then occured to me that perhaps I should consult Google.  Everything I've found suggests that such a device is already present in the switch which activates the hanbrake light and also disengages the Haldex at the same time.   Can anyone confirm from personal experience that is correct?   I'm a bit stuck at finding a large open space to go and play on at the moment.  That's in spite of my next door neighbour turning his father's Citroën Picasso in its own length, in the street, just a few hours ago; closely followed by another neighbour failing to get his LWB Transit to successfully complete the same manoeuvre.  

Edited 9 January, 2021 by Schtum

[Nick P]

Paging the fun police. Fun police to the Yeti forum. This is a code red...

 

@Llanigraham

Edited 8 January, 2021 by Nick P

[Bexhillian]

Time for wee Jimmy Crankie to close playgroups in Scotland?

[Ootohere]

@Bexhillian They were the Krankies. 

 Crank on that hand brake.

[J.R.]

Still waiting for snow here but if/when it does come testing your theory of the Haldex being disconnected when the handbrake is operated will be the first thing that I will do.

 

I always try to find the limits of all my new vehicles ASAP on a wide wet greasy roundabout when there is no other traffic both with and without the ASC or whatever todays acrony is, the latter is very important, you need it off to know the vehicles real characteristics and on to appreciate the job that it does and to feel its activation, unless your eyes are on the idiot lights most of the time you are unaware of its intervention and that you had driven (or reacted to a hazard) beyond the vehicles limits.

 

The 4x4 Yeti has so much grip combined with a high C of G that I did not do my usual find the limits testing so I hope that we get some snow.

[Llanigraham]

As numerous rally car owners in the UK have found, fitting a hand brake system that relies totally on hydraulic power is illegal. (*) The Law states that it has to be mechanical, so even the electrical systems, such as on my Niro, the relay only pulls a mechanical linkage. One of the main reasons is that hydraulic systems can "leak back" so slightly releasing the brakes and letting the car roll.

And having done a grass autotest, you can hand brake turn a Yeti, but it doesn't feel very stable doing so.

(*)
To get around it many now fit 2 hand brake levers, one connected to the mechanical system, and one to the hydraulic.

[Ootohere]

& you can have a 'Line Lock' on the hydraulic system as well as a 'fly off'. 

[Parkesie]

Was doing hand brake turns in my yeti just the other day. 2wd win 

[Schtum]

Update: I've been meaning to post this for a while....

 

The recent blanket of snow gave me the opportunity to investigate this.  I can confirm that tugging the handbrake does indeed decouple the Haldex.  At least it does on my 2016 SE L Drive, Manual. 

 

Twirl the steering wheel, tug the handrake at the right time, keep the power on and the Yeti pirouettes very nicely.