Hey guys,
Im getting my WRX tommorow and it will be a 5sp.
I have never had a stick before.
Any tips or suggestions about driving the WRX in particular or any tips on using a manual tranny would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

floor it :D

1. Don't rest your foot on the clutch
2. Avoid accelerating until the clutch is fully released (slip in 1st necessary, of course)
3.Baby the first gear syncro - double clutch when downshifting into first if moving at all
4.Have a great time!

-Z

why buy a $24k car and learn to drive a stick on it...try and find an old truck or something and learn on that...dont mess up a new transmission....especially a wrx....im tired of maual noobs messin their trannies up in their wrx's...

It's probably not a great car to learn stick on, but if you do keep these things in mind.

1) Don't ever sidestep (drop) the clutch. Remember all four wheels have tractoin and the shock will just go to the poor 1st and 2nd gears in your tranny. (Yeah don't bang a 1-2 shift this way either.)

2) The car's clutch is grabby so giving too light throttle will cause the car to shudder.

3) Try not to downshift into 1st while moving. This is not a good idea on any car, but Subby's don't have good 1st gear synchros, probably on purpose since, well, you shouldn't downshift into first over 5 mph!! If you need, do a double clutch like Zornoph said.

What's a double clutch?!? :)

Car in gear, clutch once to get into neutral . . release clutch still in neutral.
Rev engine to match rpms, clutch in a second time and shift into lower gear. This add MILES to any transmission. :D

Couple of mistakes I did.. wrx is my first stick as well.

1) when you park the car, put the car in 1st gear or reverse when you are on an incline. But REMEBER to put the gear back to N when you start the car! I seriously stalled and messed up my reverse gear because I forgot to put the gear in N when the car started. I left my foot off the clutch while the engine is running and the gear in, stalled the car and banged up my reverse gear. Laugh away if you want.

2) don't drop the gear and launch the car at 4-5k rpm thinking that the transmission is unbreakable. WRX transmission is not that strong to hold up to constant drops. Lots of people destroyed their transmission this way, and blamed it on the transmission being weak. :rolleyes:

Beware of some squeaks and rattles. But other then that, everything is good. :D