I'm fairly certain I have zero idea of what I'm doing..

Rizzo03

Rizzo03

Forum Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2013
Messages
104
Location
Romulus, MI, USA
Hey guys,

I have been having a fantastic time in my Baja in the snow as we have gotten a LOT lately.

Here's my situation.

I know how to drive a stick, I pay attention to rev matching during up and down shifting and I never smell clutch...

Until...

Driving in this snow from a dead stop I am having a hard time teaching myself how to balance power and RPM wit the 5 speed manual.

Too many RPM and I slip up hills, to little and I bog way down or stall out...ride the clutch and it stinks.

And slowly reversing without spin in the deep snow or slick is kicking my arse too.

I have great tires, dedicated winter tires, new this year.

Also I need to know how to operate the 5MT if I have a properly rated snatch strap and want to pull a person out of the snow on the side of the road without smoking my clutch.

Any advanced tips or videos I should watch ?


Thank you guys, you rock.
 
Driving in the snow is like driving on eggs....you can drive fast but very fluently.

If you burn your clutch, it means you have enough grip, so you shouldn't rev so much. And if you bog down, just give a little more rev's...and don't stay with the foot on the clutch pedal.
 
I mean more than just driving, I mean my soft road adventures.

Up a 23* snow covered hill, unplowed. Though snow banks... All the fun stuff.

I have no doubt I can operate this car on the streets just fine. I also keep in mind to never get over confident.
 
And the towing thing. Not sure how to get that down right.

Don't wanna jerk the guy and I don't want to stall it or just sit there burning up the clutch and pressure plate..
 
What is the condition of your clutch? almost sounds like it may be a bit worn.

My rule of thumb is get of the clutch as fast as possible, not dropping it but making the smooth transition as fast as possible. Riding the clutch is bad news!
 
Gidday Rizzo

Rizzo03 said:
And the towing thing. Not sure how to get that down right.

Don't wanna jerk the guy and I don't want to stall it or just sit there burning up the clutch and pressure plate..
Click to expand...

Give the person a lift to the nearest farmhouse, and let the farmer use his tractor :biggrin: ... IME, they are usually more than obliging.

Doug86 said:
What is the condition of your clutch? almost sounds like it may be a bit worn.

My rule of thumb is get of the clutch as fast as possible, not dropping it but making the smooth transition as fast as possible. Riding the clutch is bad news!
Click to expand...

Quite right, Doug.
A clutch plate gets to a fearsome temperature very quickly when the clutch is slipped/slipping. Like thousands of degrees Centigrade ... :(
 
Doug86 said:
What is the condition of your clutch? almost sounds like it may be a bit worn.

My rule of thumb is get of the clutch as fast as possible, not dropping it but making the smooth transition as fast as possible. Riding the clutch is bad news!
Click to expand...

Thanks Doug for the most relevant answer.
 
Gidday Rizzo

Rizzo03 said:
And the towing thing. Not sure how to get that down right.

Don't wanna jerk the guy and I don't want to stall it or just sit there burning up the clutch and pressure plate..
Click to expand...

Last night some time my answer to you about recovering vehicles got moved into its own (sticky) thread. It's here:

https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=5181

Hope this info helps.
 
No worries mate. Glad it helped.

They way I learnt clutch control was simple. It was when I was learning to drive and my old man too me to section of dirt road in the hills. He got me to park the car facing up a moderate section of hill and apply the hand brake. He then got me to give the car about 1800-2000 RPM and slowly let the clutch out until I hit the bite point and felt the car trying to move forward. he got me to do this a few times til I got to the point that I could get the clutch to the bite point quickly without stalling (took about 4-5 tries). We then had a break to let the clutch cool (not that it was too hot or even smelling but better safe than sorry).

We then repeated the exercise by this time actually moving off by releasing the hand brake (the classic hill start). The object was to do it quickly and smoothly (getting completely off the clutch) without spinning the wheels, a tall order given the dirt road and the slope. After about 4-5 tries I mastered it. The clutch should either be engaged, not engaged or in the process of moving from one to the other quickly, never resting half way.

This is a procedure that I follow with every new car that I get to learn the bite point of the clutch so that it is like second nature. Might be a good thing to try. I wouldn't try it on snow though as that would be a tall task for even the most seasoned clutch expert (of which I am absolutely not one!)

The final bit of advice I got from the many 4WD courses I have to do for work. There is nothing wrong with stalling out, particularly off road. In most situations it is much safer to stall out than to reach for the clutch. Stall the car, reassess, then move on (or back if needs be).
 
For hills I : Pull parking brake up,keep foot on brake, in neutral.

Off pedal brake at green light

Then clutch out or pedal in, give it a little throttle at same time slowly pull pedal clutch out with hand on parking brake, and then slowly release the parking brake.

This gives me both feet to use and I never roll back..
 
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