Im new to driving a 5spd
 

Any experienced wrx drivers wanna drive with me sometime and give me some pointers?

This is my first car with an manual tranny, not to mention my first awd car, and my first turbo car...

Call me crazy, but its easier to drive these wrx's fast than it is to drive them slow.

I also owned my first 5spd with my WRX.

I had a little learning on a taurus but mostly on the WRX.

I find that in WRX 5spd the hardest smoothe shift is between 1st and 2nd. I like to get up around 4 grand before I shift then I try to be really smoothe. You can jerk the car around a lot of with AWD if you are not at least a little smoothe.

The biggest help is an exhaust when you can hear your revs it's much easier to feather the clutch while not glancing at the tach.

Try to get good at creeping forward with about 900rpms easy in/ easy out clutch.

Keep in the back of your mind that the WRX is not a bulletproof case, but it's not the glass factory some people say it is. So be gentle on the gears.


Or you could do a Takumi Initial-D style learing curve. Put a glass almost full of water in your cup holder above your stereo and drive around making sure not to spill any.

What Tyson said.

Except that the part about AWD being harder to drive is a myth. If you can shift a 2WD vehicle without chirping tires, it's no harder in a Subaru. ;) Basically, like he said, practice letting out the clutch at idle until you can smoothly let it out all the way with no gas pedal. Once you have a good feel for the clutch, you'll jsut sorta learn how to play the two pedals against each other to bring on the throttle as you reduce clutch spin from a stop, so you can take off very smoothly without taking all day. Then just get to know the shift points of your car. Sucks for you WRX guys up here; I can shift my RS at 2500 rpm or lower all day long. I think when Scott and Nick have driven my car, they never got below 3000 RPM because they were used to their turbo cars. :lol:

Anyway, once you have the basics down, it's just seat time. The more you drive, the smoother you'll get.

I disagree, going from a two wheel drive vehicle, to an awd vehicle, is a bit different, the awd drive has two more drive wheels, axles, and another differential, to get spinning, where as the two wheel drive vehicle does not (I know that they both have four wheels) , therefore, It takes a little bit more finesse to dirve it smoothly, and not ride the clutch.

What bru said...

All the additional rotating mass of the AWD system means you can get a *lot* of bucking going on if you're not smooth w/ the clutch. Just driving around in 1st gear, can actually really get rough if you let off the throttle too quickly.

What really helped me (my WRX was the 1st 5-speed I've owned as well) was sitting in an empty parking lot at idle, then letting the clutch out till the car started to creep forward. Once you get used to the contact point, you should be able to let the pedal out to that point quickly, then wait there while everything syncs, then let it out all the way. After a while it becomes second nature... but don't let Deede hear me say that, since she thinks I suck at being smooth w/ the clutch. :lol:

Yeah, you guys are right on the point about being easier to "buck" an AWD car.

hahaha, just do the Takumi style filling up the water above your stereo... once the car starts to buck back and fourth when you're letting off the clutch.. you wont have to worry about spilling the water ever again! ;)

the cup will be 3/4 empty!

I have the basics down
 

Ok... I can start smooth and get around town (hell I can even pull up steep hills from a stop), its the 1st to 2nd problem im working on...
Plus I would like to be able to take off from a stop a little faster...

I haven't decided where a good rev is to let out the clutch for a faster takeoff.
The engagement point it not very distinguishable to me so i probably ride the clutch more than necessary.

And for all you suggesting the water above the stereo, Its an 05 the cup holders are in the center console.

I have no advice for you about where to start- I've never driven a re;latively stock WRX around town. I would imagine you can use less revs than you think though, once you get the clutch engagement point committed to muscle memory and not trying to think about where it is. I have to driv emy RS like that; the Exedy clutch and flywheel combo I have doesn't like small amounts of slip, and my clutch is fubared (I think clutch judder borked my slave cylinder :() so I basically just "know" where the clutch needs to be when I'm slipping it. Feel is very poor.

Makes me want to have one of you guys drive my L to see if everything seems together, as I can get a lot of shudder if I try.....or just going from positive power to negative.....AWD has lots of opportunity for excess play, I would imagine. In 4WD vehicles though, you just expect it.

Launch, and 1st-2nd are the hardest for everyone learning. They are the highest torque, and require the most delicate left foot.

Try stepping up the parking lot practice. See how quickly yet smoothly you can let out the clutch without stalling at idle. being smooth in that trasition is what you are trying to learn. Anybody can do it super slow without stalling, but you don't want to do that at a stop light, or on the first to second shift.

You can bring the RPMs up a couple hundred to start with to build confidence, but doing it as quick and smooth at idle without stalling is the key. Turning on the AC/defrost may bump the idle by 200RPM or so without you having to do it with your right foot.

By the way, once you learn all this, you will have to teach your left foot a whole new lesson if you want to learn to left foot brake... :( That is much harder IMHO.

I still haven't made the effort to left foot brake. I should though, since I drive about 1700 miles a week now. shouldn't take me long. :p

Oh, Scotty, the clutch judder is very common with Imprezas unfortunately. Pretty much the only way to solve it is with the TSB clutch part numbers. However, giving it some extra slip to put some heat in it usually solves the problem in the short term.