http://www.1stsubarudealer.com/rwd-subaru-transmission/
Driving a Manual Transmission?
I’ve been driving manuals since I first learned to drive, but they were all old rear wheel drive trucks, small front wheel drive cars or in 4×4 (I live in snow country).
Today I test drove a manual 2008 All Wheel Drive Subaru Impreza 2.5i for about 15 minutes. The clutch felt so much different and it was very nerve racking. I couldn’t get it to smoothly shift for me and I felt like an idiot.
Do the clutches feel different in an AWD vs. RWD?
Can anyone give me tips so when I test drive the car again I won’t be so frustrated? Is it normal to be unable to smoothly shift a new car right off the bat?
@ Kevin, Great answer!
The thing that threw me was I found the friction point but I would let the clutch out slowly a little bit more and it would grab again… It was like it had two friction points or one really, really, huge one. What do you think?
Soggy,
AWD versus RWD doesn’t feel significantly different. My last car was AWD, and my current car is RWD, and both are manual transmissions. I had a 4×4 comanche pickup until last year as well. It shifted differently too.
Bottom line – there’s a huge variation in the way different cars and trucks shift. So huge, that you were probably used to one type, maybe a good solid spring and feel, and maybe the subaru had a soft clutch. That’s my guess. It may also have had a very short throw. That’s just something you get used to. I had one like that – very short throw, dual-friction clutch that would grab immediately. It’s common in cars that are “sporty” or performance. Trust me when I say you’d get used to it in a couple of days of driving it around. What you don’t get used to is clutching like a maniac in heavy stop and go traffic or in a super hilly city like Seattle or SF.
Philosophy aside – the way to get used to it is – let the clutch out really slow. When it starts to grab, remember that certain spot. Keep it in mind. Don’t worry about the rest of the throw in the pedal. It’s irrelevant. If it’s a grabby clutch, give it extra gas when you are letting it out. Cars jerk when shifted if the speed in the gears and the clutch don’t match the speed at which the engine is turning. Experiment with it, and you’ll discover the ‘sweet spot’ at which you can shift with no jerking at all, even on the grabbiest clutch.
-Kevin
2002 Chevrolet Astro LS KELLY SUBARU MITSUBISHI
