yeah, like tyson said... he wont be shifting much longer if he is launching bouncing off redline. His tranny will be royally sh*TTed as well. As far as 4500 goes, thats about right. although a little high for the wrx... remember, the wrx supposedly has a "questionable" tranny. I'm suprised your friend hasn't left his on the ground yet. Anyway, 4500 rpms is about the optimal launching rpm for the wrx... (i could be wrong)
A solution to the launching problem could be an RA geared tranny, and an excedy twin plate clutch w/the lightened flywheel.
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