Speed in reverse

[Bowser]

In my 17 MT, when I put it in reverse, let off the clutch and massage the accel, it seems like it starts going quite fast. Instead of continuing to give it gas, I ease off the accel and engage the clutch, essentially coasting backwards.

As you might imagine, I only use reverse to back out of my garage or out of parking spaces. I imagine it may just SEEM like it is going fast, since I'm less comfortable going in reverse than forward, and am usually maneuvering is somewhat tight circumstances. But it sure DOES seem like the car goes a lot faster a lot quicker with minimal throttle in reverse than in 1st.

Anyone else notice this? Some day I'll just play around with it in an empty parking lot, just to see how fast it actually is.

 

[NMGGolf]

That's how I use reverse in my 2018 5 speed as well. I can't imagine ever being in reverse with the clutch fully engaged, it just seems like it would be way too fast for the situations where I would actually use reverse. I'd likely smash into a curb or some other object, LOL. Honestly, every manual car I've ever driven has felt the same to me.

 

[Golfs everyday]

I too engage reverse just enough to get the car rolling backwards. Never fully clutch-out unless I need to go a long distance in reverse.

 

[The Fed]

Trade it in for a DSG. Problem solved.

 

[MSchott]

3.26 reverse gear ratio and 4.77 differential. The car is not going fast, it’s revving fast.

 

[dasauto GTI]

this is to funny; I have that same issue I feather the clutch out, if I release fully the car goes into send mode!!

 

[robmarktoo]

That's every manual car I've ever owned.

 

[Genegenie]

Reckon y'all must have binding brakes or a boot (trunk) full of sand, my car goes like stuff of a shiny shovel in reverse.

Don't get the issue here, as when 1st tought to drive a manual, you slightly & gently slip the clutch til it's fully out (home) then apply a touch of throttle / gas, stop, declutch & select a forward gear and away you go, no different to selecting 1st or 2nd and creeping along in traffic controlling speed via the throttle / gas pedal. Each time you slip the clutch a little you are wearing and heating it up it a little: slip the clutch as quickly and gently as possible til it's fully home / out when setting off and it will last a lot longer; typically 70,000miles or so. The extreme opposite version of above is those folk who don't bother to select neutral when stopped and leave the car in gear, controlling the car being stationary by riding / slipping the clutch all the time, something to consider when buying used....

 

[Gibberoni]

Always feathered the clutch in reverse in all my cars. The backup camera shuts off if I ever fully depress the clutch!

 

[greens]

That's every manual car I've ever owned.

^^

 

[Genegenie]

Always feathered the clutch in reverse in all my cars. The backup camera shuts off if I ever fully depress the clutch!

Interesting, never knew that. On the one hand it could exaplain my mate's wife slamming into a post, on the other it don't because she admitted she wasn't paying attention....

 

[GTI Jake]

If you go fast enough in reverse the camera turns off lol, that’s when you’ve hit full send

 

[Strange Mud]

on topic: so why don't mfrs put in a granny gear in reverse? IE you have to get rpms up to go more than something like 2 mph?


99.9% of the time you are just backing up <25' there has only been one time in my life I needed speed backing up when the UPS truck i was behind realized they had gone past the entrance to a factory and stopped/put it in reverse (me 1 or 2 car lengths behind) and then backed up several hundred feet with me not exactly following the entire distance. I was too busy to hit the horn. I was glad that was my automatic Tacoma.

 

[Genegenie]

That ^^ almost happnened to me, 'cept it was a bus. I told the driver he could thank me as I'd potentially just saved his life. He said, grinning, that he wouldn't have died if we'd had a collision. I replied "who said anything about dying the possible collision ?!", the colour drained from his face. A bit of black humour is good for folk who almost cause an accident but don't really care....