Let me just preface this by saying I'm honestly not sure if this is an issue with my manual Clubman or is this just true of all manuals.

I'm finding that when I put it in reverse, my Clubman wants to go faster than I want it to. I know, I can keep the clutch halfway in and kind of feather my way back, but I've been taught that it's not good to leave your clutch partially engaged for a prolonged period. So I take my foot off the clutch. When I do this, the Clubman just wants to speed up. So then I feather the brake, but I feel like the engine will die if I slow down too much.

Does anyone else feel like the natural speed in reverse is too high?

Is this true of all manuals?

Is the proper way to drive SLOWLY in reverse to constantly keep the clutch partially engaged?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

I think it just feels much faster in reverse since in most cases you are maneuvering in tight quarters and among obstacles while looking behind you and twisted in your seat.

You are mostly stuck doing more feathering of the clutch in these conditions and you wont add to the wear in any significant amounts. On level pavement I often dont even need to apply any throttle while backing out of a parking spot, and I control my speed almost exclusively by the clutch. In cases like my long downhill driveway to the garage, when I back up from there I need to give a fair amount of throttle and eventually end up with the clutch fully engaged. It's something one gets used to.

In short, do not fret riding the clutch while backing up. Unless you are trying to scale a 100% grade in reverse every time you head out, you will not wear out your clutch.

 

Awesome, thanks for the assurance.

 

Agreed... this is part of life with a stick.

 

And unless you drive in reverse to work every day the average person only dirve about 3 miles total backwards in a 100,000 miles.

 

All true...unless you're Ferris Bueller

 

You got me there!

 

I don't consider engaging the clutch a bit and then pushing it back to the floor 'riding' it. You're just bumping it to get the momentum you need when you need it.

Am I misinterpreting the word 'riding', perhaps also the word 'feathering'?

 

Very true. We have a manual car and I do find I don't fully release the clutch so that I can better control the speed.

PS - LOVE the Ferris Bueller comment!!

 

You can also drop the clutch and ride the brake...

 

While it's true you want to avoid slipping the clutch, sometimes you can't. Maneuvering in reverse is one of those times, but the effect is negligible in the big picture. Maybe your clutch will wear out in 149,990 miles instead of 150,000 (or whatever clutch life is on these things).