i was wondering is it ok to use the ebrake to slow down the car from 30-40mph every once and a while? ive tried to find out through searching but no real answer...i saw one thing that said the drums get rusted in the spots the brake doesnt get touched when only used for parking brake (said that when the rust is gone over by with brake creats a glassy layer that has no friction...im guessing useing the ebrake to stop every once in a while will eliminate the rust?)

 

30-40mph is too fast/dangerous, IMO. e-brakes are on the rear wheels and if the rear wheels brake harder than the front the car can lose stability. I would rather pull the e-brake up half way and drive forward a few yards.

 

I would never do that. Whoever said that didn't know anything about a handbrake. You mentioned "drums" in your post. There are no drums in a Mini. Drums are in rock bands.

 

I think I understand what your saying, your talking about the rear rotors. I would not use the emergency brake like that. That is not the intended use. That rust you see goes away after you've been on the brakes hard. If they aren't going away on the rears, get on the brakes harder, after all, most of the braking is done by the fronts.

 

The next time you wash your Mini, take a look at all four rotors, you will notice a "slight" film of rust on them. A soon as you drive the car, take a look, it will have disappeared.

 

Doesn't the e-brake expand inside of the rear rotor when you pull the lever? That's how my Z3's worked.

 

Did a quick search and found this simple version of 'how it works"

Disc Brakes

If you look at your Mini you will see a cable connected to each of the rear calipers, which activates the emergency brake.

 

im not sure how the Mini's ebrake is setup but for those that are confused about disc brakes and drum ebrakes, some cars that may have 4 wheel disc brakes, have a drum brake inside the rear disc that is used for the ebrake.

 

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Have you been playing PGR3 on Xbox? Ebrake slides are all the rage in the game, but I would not use it while moving.

 

Using the e-brake while negotiating a high-speed turn can be very useful, especially in heavy traffic. It can accomplish two things. It lowers the population and reduces the number of automobiles on the road.

 

Not a good idea to use the e brake for stops. Even if you maintain control, your just wearing out your brakes, rotors, and tires. For what? Surface rust that comes back over night.

 

I was a huge fan of my Ebrake in my 1989 Nissan 240 sx, I think that it was such a fun way to pop out the rear whenever the need came. 180's, 360's, they were just so much fun to do, I did do a couple 70-80 e brake pulls and just make sure that you hold the wheel straight if you plan on doing that, it can be very dangerous. Every once in a while some arseholes would tailgate me and I would rip the E-brake to make them back the f off, and it definitely worked wonders.
P.S. Call me Crazy if you want, but sometimes you just have to have a little too much fun.

 

Does anyone use the Ebrake more than the regular brakes?

I wonder if you can wire it to flash the red lights when you pull the ebrake.

 

Here, this is how you should use the handbrake . . .

http://youtube.com/watch?v=daQNuKjTKv8