Colder climates...

[Purrfectangel]

Ok, for everyone who has to go through winter with there P5 (this being my first) have you had any issuses with a groggy or semi frozen clutch...this morning it's -22C and with the windchill who the hell knows but it's f***ing cold, anyways the girl had a hard time starting this morning, after the third roll she caught, clutch was groggy...no doubt from the cold since it's never done it before...just wondering if anyone else has encountered this...and is there anything I can do to make the clutch less stiff for the colder days?

[newprot5fan]

hey I hear ya with the sluggish clutch....This morning it was -33 with the wind here in Hali. I just let the car warm up really good and byt he time I was driving for about 5 minutes, everything seemd back to normal. Mine goes into second pretty hard when not warmed up..it hits something:(

WHat I don;t understand is that this tank of gas I have only gotten 375km!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEs, it is winter..yes, it is all city driving...yes, it is alot of short short trips...but 375??? That is like 19 MPG...Have you noticed awful gas mileage like this??

At least friday it will be 7 degrees.....(rain of course, but better than this nonsense:P)

[ho bag]

Ya im in hali too and my clutch was semi frozen as well today. Didnt want to start but gave it a little gas and it started to work. My suspension is perty much frozen solid as well.

I think im gonna see if i got a block heater tonight and plug it in. Wont help the clutch any but will help the motor.

PS: Im gonna bleed my clutch on the next nice day. We must have some moisture in the line for it to freeze up like that.

[fonzinator]

I haven't noticed your described clutch issues here in Minnesota, but I have noticed a really weak OEM battery when starting the car. My car is a 2003, so it's hard to believe the battery is already going. It just doesn't seem to have the cold cranking amps I need for this climate. I'm going to replace it soon before I get stranded somewhere.

[redpr5]

I haven't noticed your described clutch issues here in Minnesota, but I have noticed a really weak OEM battery when starting the car. My car is a 2003, so it's hard to believe the battery is already going. It just doesn't seem to have the cold cranking amps I need for this climate. I'm going to replace it soon before I get stranded somewhere.
(werd) on the battery. mine wont start in the cold as well and this is a farely new battery. but i also have subs in my car that draw a lot of power so that doesnt help. the cold is killin everyones cars.

[bvan]

I'm in Cowtown where we've been -20ish the last little while. I definitely have trouble getting it to turn over and the gas milage is crap right now. I think this tank will get me about 425km when I normally get about 600km. It's really windy too, and I know that has a lot to do with it...

[Kansei]

Ya im in hali too and my clutch was semi frozen as well today. Didnt want to start but gave it a little gas and it started to work. My suspension is perty much frozen solid as well.

I think im gonna see if i got a block heater tonight and plug it in. Wont help the clutch any but will help the motor.

PS: Im gonna bleed my clutch on the next nice day. We must have some moisture in the line for it to freeze up like that.

engine block heater is QUITE nice to have. It's very NOT FUN to install though. like take off your intake, battery, strut tower brace, upper and lower intake manifold just to get to where it installs.. not fun if you haven't done it before.

[Peter5]

im from bathurst n-b and last night it was -39 with the windshield.
my car almost ddnt start and i dont think i have a block heater ... my clutch is like jello and the whole car is an ice cube

[Kansei]

you'd know if you have a block heater.. you'd have a plug hanging out your front grille to plug into an electrical outlet on your house :)

http://www.thefordsource.com/store/car_accessories/images/cv/large/6D008_block_heater_LG.jpg

the actual heater looks like this.. it's really small

http://hallmarkaccessories.com/Tiburon/EngineBlockHeater_2.jpg

it's just a heating element (like a toaster but with a much thicker coil) that sits in a coolant passage (in a freeze plug on the back side of the engine) and keeps things warm. it's like 500W so it definitely keeps stuff warm. my entire engine block stays quite warm to the touch with the block heater going.

[Peter5]

yea i know ... but some people dont want to have it hanging so they put it somewhere in the engin bay but ill put in on the hoise at the job and instal one today in a frost plug or in the radiator hose
Peter

[ho bag]

In all honesty i havent looked to see if i have one yet. I will after work though. Was it a factory option on canadian models?

[Purrfectangel]

im from bathurst n-b and last night it was -39 with the windshield.
my car almost ddnt start and i dont think i have a block heater ... my clutch is like jello and the whole car is an ice cube

no we don't have one unless the previous owner installed one :(

I miss my block heater that the old baby had (sad2)...

Jello? haha that's exactly it...I was like WTF! then I was like oh oh lol...


hey I hear ya with the sluggish clutch....This morning it was -33 with the wind here in Hali. I just let the car warm up really good and byt he time I was driving for about 5 minutes, everything seemd back to normal. Mine goes into second pretty hard when not warmed up..it hits something:(

WHat I don;t understand is that this tank of gas I have only gotten 375km!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEs, it is winter..yes, it is all city driving...yes, it is alot of short short trips...but 375??? That is like 19 MPG...Have you noticed awful gas mileage like this??

At least friday it will be 7 degrees.....(rain of course, but better than this nonsense:P)


No I haven't noticed bad gas mileage at all, infact the complete opposite. But you burn way more gas in the winter anyways, just don't let your tank go below half, helps with the winter mileage ;) the more space there is in the tank the faster it burns, oh and dump a bottle of injector fluid in there everytime you fill up that helps too :D

Bring on the 7 degrees..all that warm weather we've be having has made me soft lol

I'm just wondering if there is a clutch fluid we can get specifically for colder temps?

[FlyinMSP]

In Montreal it was the same this morning. The car struggled a bit to start. Since I've switched to GM Synchomesh gear oil (AC Delco in Canada), the clutch is much better when it's really cold, it doesn't compare to before

[Bala]

It's SNOWING here in SoCal this morning. I wanted to wear an electric blanket walking out to my car ....

[DaleK]

In Atlanta I don't need to worry about that crap any more!! In Cowtown I had the same thing - cold weather makes things, well, cold. I don't work so shit hot in -30 either. I imagine any cars sold in Canada outside of the lower mainland should have a block heater added by default by the dealer. Very helpful.

I agree on the hard second gear and the slow/heavy clutch when it's really cold out. I have had mine grind into second on really cold days, and I have no other issues.

One thing I do like about the P5 is that is gets up to operating temperature faster than any other car I have owned.

Cheers,
Dale.

[Purrfectangel]

In Atlanta I don't need to worry about that crap any more!! In Cowtown I had the same thing - cold weather makes things, well, cold. I don't work so shit hot in -30 either. I imagine any cars sold in Canada outside of the lower mainland should have a block heater added by default by the dealer. Very helpful.

I agree on the hard second gear and the slow/heavy clutch when it's really cold out. I have had mine grind into second on really cold days, and I have no other issues.

One thing I do like about the P5 is that is gets up to operating temperature faster than any other car I have owned.

Cheers,
Dale.

I love that about the P5 too...I've never been in a car either that warms up faster than this one, not even a brand new one.

I have to give her credit also, even with a jello clutch this morning she shifted like a trooper...and second well, it has issues...warm weather or cold but cold in particular lol

I can't stop boosting with praise about this car what a (first) *Trooper*

For a small tank lol it give's me that same feeling that SUV/truck drivers have known as *Invincible feeling* or as I like to say *Move the hell over I'm coming through* in Monday nights storm everyone was getting stuck going up the steep hills and my friends like "we aren't going up there are we" and I said "Oh were going....now whether we get there in one piece well....LOL" she didn't think that was funny *Innicent look* even she was impressed as we passed car after car after car :D

[clicknext]

Well I parked it outside in Vancouver where it was only like -5 and the clutch already felt like it was suspended in caramel. The shifter felt the same. Good thing I can keep it in a garage most of the time...

[Sveivo]

Mine goes into second pretty hard when not warmed up..it hits something:(

You can say that again! Man, it was crazy cold here this past week, and my transmission isn't liking it. Nuh uh.

As far as the clutch feel, the brake fluid is so thick at low temps. I was topping off oil this morning and my Mobil1 10W30 barely made its way out of the bottle (ughdance). It was like frozen honey or something...

[ho bag]

In Montreal it was the same this morning. The car struggled a bit to start. Since I've switched to GM Synchomesh gear oil (AC Delco in Canada), the clutch is much better when it's really cold, it doesn't compare to before
I hear that! i switched to syncromesh in the old dsm and it worked wonders. Havent tried it in the mazda yet. But once it gets nicer out im replacing all the clutch fluid/break fluid/tranny oil and motor oil with all new synthetic stuff.