I own a Subaru STI V-Limited 2003 JDM Spec,. in the mornings when the car is cold it is extremely difficult to engage 1st and 2nd gear but once its warm after approx 15mins it goes through the gears with no problems,. Is this common and am i right in thinking it is my clutch and what would be the best clutch plate for a 6 speed box as i will be going for an increase in power at some point so may as well get a clutch up to the job,. I have had paddle clutches in my old Escort RS Turbos that bit very well i am looking for something with a good bite and capable of up to 400bhp when funds permit the power increases cheers

 

mine does the same, i put it down to cold oil in the box

 

would changing the gearbox oil make a difference do you think, i could wrap it in a blanket lol might help

 

My WRX is the same. No option but to drive it until the oil gets up to working temperature. I dont think changing the oil would help this issue.

 

my 96 sti does the same!

 

My Bugeye wrx does the same too. i can only put it in first and second easily when car is almost completely stationary when cold (unless i put a bit of force into it).

I've always put it down to cold oil...?

Ben

 

Surely if its such a common problem there must be a solution.

 

agree with above it used to happen alot to mine in cold weather.
if it does feel a bit crunchy even in warmer weather get the oil changed in it, made a noticable improvement on mine.- but if its just in cold temps.wouldnt bother.

 

ive only ownes my subaru 10 months on a 54 plate and it was imported from Japan with low mileage of 14.000miles and on 24.000 miles currently. not sure if the mileage is genuine with being an import but the condition of the car certainly denotes to be low mileage,.and it did not suffer from this problem of engaging the lower gears in the cold when i bought it but come to think of it this was before the big freeze it has been doing it ever since then! a bit annoying how my car is such low mileage and that a bit of snow or cold weather causes my gearbox or clutch to seem its failing,.not quite the best 15k i have spent,. a little dissapointed in Subaru,. the amount of problems i have had with it in a 10 month period reminds me of my Escort RS Turbo series 1 custom days lol.

 

it will be temperature related - clutch will be OK

My wifes BMW X type jeep thingy diesel is murder to select 1st when sub zero temp. OK when warmed up.

tempereature affects the oil viscosity

 

My 10 year old classic and my 09 wrxd suffer the same along
with the 350z it's just the cold weather that's all