Steep incline: Park facing uphill or downhill?

I have a driveway that is about a 35 degree angle down. Is it better
to park it so that the front faces down or back in so the front faces
up?

 

Depends whether you live in a place where snow or ice are factors, and
whether you're a morning person or not. Pulling out of your driveway in
the morning might be safest going forward, for safer entry into traffic.
Backing out of a driveway is illegal in most jurisdictions.

You haven't told us half the info we would need to know. Is your car
sitting on a flat 'pad' or is it on the slope too?

Should have asked on Wednesday....

'Curly'

 

The car sits on the driveway, which is at the angle. Parking is tough
around here but we sure have no rules on pulling out forwards or
backwards.

Those aren't issues and I should have been more specific, I was
concerned that the car might be damaged parked on a hill all the time.
Perhaps the oil all flows forward or back, or the radiator drains, or
transmission fluid pushes up against a seal. Something like that.

 

That is serious steep, are you sure about the angle?

I'm betting forward or back, you'll have brake and/or tranny failures
in short order, much less oil flow problems. But if you *have* to do
that, it is an interesting question.

J.

 

Nope, I'm not sure of the angle. These are small attached houses
(rowhouses are what we call them) and many of them have the garage in
the basement, so there is a fairly steep driveway leading down. Almost
no one uses the garage, that's for storage. Everyone keeps the car in
the driveway. In about twenty feet the driveway drops down nine feet
or so.

I've had my 91 Accord in the driveway for years, facing downhill. The
only noticeable problem was when I had water inside the car after a
flood in a parking lot and made the mistake of pulling into the
driveway. The slight amout of water in the passenger side flowed
forward, hit the wiring harness located by the passenger's feet, and
shorted out the computer. That was about two months ago. With the
advice of folks on this newsgroup I ended up getting a computer at the
junkyard and the car is fine.

But during the two weeks that the car was dead, I started looking for
another car and sort of fell in love with the Fit. And I've ordered
one. So now that I'm starting with a new car I'd like to treat it as
good as possible, and thus the question about which way is better to
park it. I'm sure that the answer is to use the garage, but then where
would the bikes and surfboards go?

 

Park any way your heart desires. Your car's systems don't care.

 

Disclaimer: wedding cakes don't count as "cars' systems."

-- R Flowers

 

LOL

The voice of experience speaking here?

 

Are you sure about that? Aside from the rules of the road, it's a matter
of safety (for yourself and the other motorists on the road.

 

As my wife and I design and deliver Wedding Cakes, I can say (based on
experience) that Wedding Cakes truly don't care what the angle of a driveway
is, as long as the driver uses proper care and control of the vehicle while
negotiating the driveway. {;^)

Brian Smith

Cakes by Darlene
http://www.cakesbydarlene.ca

 

No rule here in Arizona. In Williams there is even diagonal parking on Rt
66, which requires backing out into traffic.

Mike

 

I find that interesting that it's not against the law, just based on the
safety issue.

 

A lot of older sections in cities all over the nation have diagonal
parking. Even here in "progressive" Austin, TX. I avoid it like the plague...

JT

 

I can see reverse in diagonal parking but not drive in parking.
Reversing is one of the major causes of collisions and property/personal
damages at any time.

 

Whenever I pull into a regular parking lot, I always stop so that I
simply pull out. At home, I always back into the parking spot and
simply pull out into traffic. Simpler, safer and easier...

JT

 

Exactly!

 

Wow! I want to live there - for parking anyway. Here in Flagstaff I can do
that about 2/3 of the time (the regular parking lot, that is) while many
times it is hard to find a parking spot at all.

Mike

 

Well, you do have to choose an appropriate time to shop.

Parking lots in Austin are probably the worst designed in the country.
A lot of big box stores have only *one* entrance/exit. Also, many lots
do not offer access to neighboring lots.

Figures when you have a city council more concerned with artsy-fartsy
aesthetics over functionality...

JT

(Who is so happy that he moved fifteen miles outta town...)

 

A friend of mine once worked as a pie delivery man. One day he rounded
a corner too quickly; it was supposedly not a pretty sight.

 

I had a woman driver cut me off one day. I had to return home to have my
wife repair the damage to the icing on the cake (it wasn't pretty either).