Please (someone with actual steering mechanics knowledge) settle an arguement. My wife and I disagree - one states the steering system is strong enough to handle cranking the wheel at a dead stop when trying to make sharp adjustments to park, the other states the car needs to start moving a little first to avoid excessive strain on the steering & tires. We want to teach our 16 year old to do it right, but obviously one of us is wrong…
Moving is better on the tires and the power steering, but the car is designed to handle both.
Control is better when stopped. I think that is more important for everyone, especially a new driver.
Moving The Car Very Slowly, Almost Indiscernibly, Is Best For Control, The Tires, And The Car’s Components. It Doesn’t Have To Move Forward Or Back Much At All To Make A Big Difference.
I can’t stand to watch when somebody sits in one spot and cranks the steering wheel.
Not having ugly black marks on concrete or torn-up asphalt (on a hot day) is a bonus.
CSA
Here’s the real common sense answer.
When it comes to a new driver, turning the wheels when stopped is better. As they gain a better control for the car then they can start turning as they move. Obviously turning the wheel while moving is better, but for new drivers, who are used to looking forward when turning, it’s a little better to do it this way. Thankfully those “ugly black spots” don’t always appear, and those spots where the asphalt is torn are usually on older pavement that is usually in need of repair anyway. I have to say this, the roads aren’t made to be asthetically pleasing, they are meant to ease travel. For now, have your child to drive the simplest way possible. As thier skills improve, you can teach them to do more at once. Just follow the KISS principle for now though. It’s safer for them and your insurance premium.
Here’s The Real, Real Common Sense Answer. It’s Not That Tough To Learn To Do It The Right Way. It’s Not Dangerous. It Helps To Have Kids Drive Something, Anything, During The 16 Years Leading Up To A License.
Lawn mowers, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, etcetera, is what most kids should be familiar with prior to driving a car.
Never mind that, this whole thing is much ado about nothing, the real question that I need the answer to is who is right ("My wife and I disagree - one states the steering system is strong enough to handle cranking the wheel at a dead stop when trying to make sharp adjustments to park, the other states the car needs to start moving a little first to avoid excessive strain on the steering & tires. ") ?
Which one wants to teach the 16 year-old to do it the right way ?
By the way, I’m not just blowing smoke. I have a 16 year-old daughter who knows which way is correct . She also knows how to change the oil in her car and helped me put rear brake rotors, pads, and calipers on it last week-end. She was quite helpful and interested. We saved $200 to $600 depending on which estimate you’d go with. She’s National Honor Society and great at 3 sports with golf being her strong suit.
CSA
If you can move slowly, do it. There’s no sense chewing up your tires for no reason.
Ideally, always have wheel rolling when turning.
“Lawn mowers, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, etcetera, is what most kids should be familiar with prior to driving a car.”
City and suburban kids don’t get to do most, if not all, of that stuff. Yards are too small for lawn tractors, there’s no place to race go-carts, and most can’t afford to play golf. Or don’t want to. My first driving experience was at driver’s education class. My children never drove before driver’s ed, either. And I can’t imagine that turning the steering wheel while the car is stationary could damage it. You’d never be able to parallel park the car.
Like CSA I can’t stand watching the tires get ground up like that, and it is more stress on the steering parts. Its also perfectly possible to do most parallel parking without doing it. And while beninsd might like to think s/he corners “common sense” - like most others “common sense” is a synonym for “what makes sense to me” rather that “what makes sense to anyone.” Personally, I’m not going to be teaching my kids bad habits just because its “easier.”
All of that said, its really not a disaster either way. Its just not that big a deal and I don’t think anyone wins this argument.
“You’d never be able to parallel park the car.”
Not true. I parallel park frequently and would never sit in one place and trurn the wheels. As I said before, the car’s forward or rearward movement needs nearly be almost indiscernible to work.
The beauty of learning to drive on vehicles that have no power steering (the heavier the better) is that one quickly learns how difficult it is to turn the steering wheel while stationary and how easy it becomes when just barely moving. Because of this a reasonable person can figure out that wear and tear on tires, car, and human, are avoided by driving properly.
Even my old 50s Allis Chalmers tractor (armstrong manual steering) is almost impossible to steer while standing still and soooo easy when moving at .000001 (slightly exagerated for emphasis) MPH. Both of my mid-80s Fieros have manual steering. Improper driving technique would make parking these cars a real chore and nearly impossible for somebody without quite a bit of strength.
CSA
I generally roll a little when cranking the wheel,
but living in a crowded urban area I am legendary among those who have traveled with me for getting into incredibly tight parking places,
and that can involve cranking in place.
Of course cars can handle the stress. Just like they can running at near it’s red line. Both should be done infrequently and only when necessary if long term durability and fewer repairs are important. For the person who routinely cranks on a wheel while at rest, wait till the next time your tire is unknowingly jammed against a curb. Your mechanics will tell you then it’s not the best thing to do. One vote for turning while moving when possible.
The REAL REAL REAL Common Sense Answer. Sorry, kids typically don’t get a chance to get familiar with go karts, riding lawn mowers and golf carts. This means that while kids have to start with a car. 90% of kids don’t know how to change thier oil, change a tire, replace brake pads… I know someone who at 25 just learned how to check thier oil. Guess what, common sense answer… You weren’t right this time. Sorry but to make those sort of generalizations is foolish. For most kids who are too busy paying attention to what thier friends are saying or doing, or what radio station they are listening to is… They aren’t paying enough attention to roll the car, turn the wheel and adjust the volume on the stereo. Sorry aint happening. Best thing is, until they can safely drive a car the simple way… don’t complicate things. Follow the KISS principle. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. I’d much rather pay 20 bucks for a tie rod end and 30 for an alignment than pay 500 for an insurance deductible or the repairs to someone else’s car. Screw the "little black marks on the road… That’s what the road is for!
By the way, “slightly exaggerated” is actually very much so. You have to move a vehicle at a minimum of 3 mph to be able to turn the steering wheel on a manual steering vehicle. I know this, I’ve driven many. Most don’t truly become easy to turn until at least 5 mph. By the way, 3 mph is more than enough for a 5,000 car to damage someone else’s and cost you hundreds…
If you want to teach your 16 year old correctly, teach him/her that while the car’s systems will not be hurt by turning the steering wheel while stopped, it’s much easier to turn it while the car is rolling. It’ll take very little practice, very few attempts at parallel parking, for him/her to realize that you’re right. You credibility will be secured.
Of course, depending on the characteristics of your car’s power steering, it may not matter. I remember on my ol’ '64 Fairlane it was “one finger steering” even without rolling.
I guess we all know that it is easier on a car to be moving when steering. But in reality, every time I mention it to my wife who cranks the wheel when stopped all the time, she responds this way. "Sure. I’ll try to remember, but when you take my 4Runner (she has ownership control of all our cars, I have the boats and tractors) off road or tow with it, you’re doing it more harm than I could ever do. Get off my back or you do the shopping today. "
Really, there are many things we do that are a lot harder on the steering mechanism and though it bugs me to no end to see others abusing it by turning this way, hitting a pothole once while turning and accelerating is worth a dozen of those indiscretions.
I am thrifty and consider turning wheels while stopped a waste of tread life. As far as new drivers cranking the wheel before backing out of a parking space sounds like a potential for disaster.
Beninsd Says, “You have to move a vehicle at a minimum of 3 mph to be able to turn the steering wheel on a manual steering vehicle. I know this, I’ve driven many. Most don’t truly become easy to turn until at least 5 mph. By the way, 3 mph is more than enough for a 5,000 car to damage someone else’s and cost you hundreds…”
Where to start ? First, I can turn the steering wheel on a manually steered car while it sits still. Second, a car doesn’t have to move at 5mph or even 3mph to make this easier. The vehicle speed is not really relevant here. It is below miles per hour. The tires only have to rotate slightly while steering.
This applies to manual steering and power steering. The end of our 1/6 asphalt mile road (cul-de-sac) terminates at the base of my driveway. I snowblow this area most winter mornings with a walk-behind blower. A full-size school bus turns around their twice each day (for the past 24 years that we’ve lived here). The bus, if driven properly has just enough of a paved circle to make an arc and do a 3-point turn, but it’s tight. Substitute bus drivers usually need more than 3-points. Sometimes it looks like they’d be better off taking the bus apart to get it out of there.
The regular driver always rolls the bus while turning the steering wheel and you don’t hear the tires grinding and he leaves no marks. He’s not going 3mph, not even 1mph. There is no room than allows speed beyond a slow crawl.
You like KISS. This is really simple. The steering wheel turning and wheels rolling happens simultaneously !
The inexperienced substitutes crank the wheels before rolling and you can hear tires grinding, engine loading, belt squealing, and see spots torn up on the road in warmer weather.
Same thing when I drive my Fieros. I am barely moving the car while turning the steering wheel simultaneously with the fore or aft motion of the car. One need not go 1mph or 3mph or 5mph. No tire grinding, no enormous effort to steer, no marks on the paved driveway or paved road to evidence improper driving technique.
This isn’t rocket science. This doesn’t take a long time to learn. This doesn’t have to be taught/learned in the beginning stages of learning to drive. Some folks never do get it. As Cigroller and I both find this disturbing, I cringe ever time the substitute bus driver stresses the school bus and the tires and the road (actually pops stones out - it’s our basketball court !), thinking there’s not enough room to roll the bus while turning the wheels or that they need be going 3mph.
My old Allis Chalmers tractor will not handle the strain of turning the wheels while stopped. There is a worm gear in the steering gear box that’s attached to the steering shaft and a pin that rides in it. These are well know to wear out or break if one doesn’t know how to move the vehicle while turning the steering wheel at the same time. You see, in the late 40s and early fifties, before power steering, nobody knew how to just crank and grind.
However Ben, the question was about ". . . We want to teach our 16 year old to do it right, but obviously one of us is wrong. . . "
As others have pointed out, there is a right way and a wrong way. Obviously, you are free to continue doing it the way you choose. (And although Cigroller and I “can’t stand watching it” and Dagosa’s not about to start shopping.) Whatever floats your boat. Grind away !
CSA
It probably won’t damage the car’s steering but I will certainly thank you NOT to do this on my newly resurfaced blacktop driveway. And please put a piece of plywood underneath your motorcycle’s sidestand also.