New WRX, and new to Manuals. Need some advice

[M3ndoza]

So just got my WRX last week that I had ordered a month ago. DGM, short throw, SPT exhaust, homelink.

This is my first time with a manual car. I got the hang of it pretty well, didnt stall once in my first ride around town. But my hands were sweating everytime I was at a red light waiting for green thinking i would stall.


I go for another ride later in the afternoon. This time as im approaching a red and slowing down, im in neutral now, I havent come to a complete stop yet 5mph and the light turns green. And Im not entirely sure what I did. But I put it in gear and the car starts jumping back and forth hard and I stall I Dont even know if I put in 2nd or 4th, could 2nd cause this? Or did I accidentally put in 4th and bog down the engine?

Question- When slowing down to make a turn, lets say im in 4th. Do you downshift to 3 then 2 depending how slow you are going. Or do you throw it neutral, and then put it back in gear when you have to accelerate again. Which I failed at that time.


Also some people say only put in 1st if you are at a complete stop, and 2nd is fine for very slow speeds? true?

[wrxtreme06]

Welcome. If you were going very slow and put it in 4th gear the car would've reacted. I don't see why 2nd gear would've caused it.

For your other question it depends. If I know a turn is coming up and there's no traffic I will start downshifting in to 3rd, then 2nd. If its a quick/last minute turn I will slow down enough to where I can go right from 4th to 2nd. Sorry, hope this makes sense. It's hard to type out driving habits lol

Most subarus have a safety lockout to where you cannot put the car in 1st gear unless you are completely stopped or going 5mph or so. In my 06 wrx, sometimes I can put it in 1st while rolling to a stop around 10mph. Sometimes it won't let me unless I'm completely stopped. It's hit or miss.

[Drews]

I drive it awesome. You should do the same.

[Rambo]

Welcome!

[Calvinball]

Welcome!

It's hard to say why you stalled out. Could've been in the wrong gear, or you could have stalled out from not enough gas, or just missing the timing with the clutch engagement point...who knows!

Point being, it'll just take some time to get used to driving a manual, don't sweat it too much. You'll get used to it.

As far as taking turns and such, you can really do it however it feels comfortable. Sometimes I'll go into neutral and re-engage in 2nd, sometimes I'll stay in gear through the turn, all depends. Again, that's sort of something you'll get a feel for the more you drive.

Have fun!

[ethanesmay]

most likely tryed to start in to high a gear. takes time to work out. down shift if the rpm's are not to high i do it at no higher than 3k but try to do around 2k if posible. you will get it an dont stress your self been doing it for years i still have a bad shift hear an there. it happens

[hindude]

Also some people say only put in 1st if you are at a complete stop, and 2nd is fine for very slow speeds? true?

If the car is rolling a little bit, you should not force the trans into 1st if it's not sliding in easily (believe it even says so in the manual). If I'm rolling at ~5mph I'll either throw it into 2nd to get going or I'll double clutch (shift to neutral, clutch out, gas it (to spin up the layshaft), clutch in, shift to 1st) to get into 1st gear.

Either technique will work. It is situational and you will find what works best for you the more you drive. I used to shift to 2nd more often in my old civic. In my WRX I tend to mostly double clutch into 1st because it puts less stress on the clutch. There's a bunch of videos on youtube that will better explain double clutching than I can do in words here. I suggest checking them out.

[rockstar4l]

before i bought my 2013 wrx 2 months ago i had never driven stick either. The best way to learn is just to drive. I tryed searching the net relenlessly trying to find good advice on how to handle different situations. But in the end of it all the car will tell you what it wants by the way it reacts. I put mine in 1st if im going under5mph and its never an issue. I try not to roll into second as much because i dont want to put constant strain on the gear. but im sure every car will respond somewhat differently. So good luck and enjoy

[CZDeaver]

You should never go through a turn in nuetral!

Get into the right gear before you enter a turn and all will be well with the world haha.

Have fun learning. Once you get a couple days under your belt the learning curve goes away and you will really start getting the feel for it and being able to try things without worrying about stalling, stop signs, and lights.

[Soobvirgin]

You should never go through a turn in nuetral!

+1.

In 2nd gear at 5mph, the engine is pretty much at tick-over RPMs. That's way too low for 2nd gear. So my guess is you found 2nd gear - although it could have been 4th - but, either way, the car is gonna shudder when the engine is put under too much load at low RPMs. I have the same problem when down changing at low speeds. In 2nd, the car will shudder and complain but it's very difficult to get into 1st at anything more than a standstill. Much more so than almost anything else I've driven.

[BlackOnBlack]

Yeah bro! I'm pretty much still there, but getting better everyday..My biggest problem is rev matching 2nd at 32ishMPH.. That's pretty much the only gear to down-shift BEFORE making a turn...She's so ferocious in 2nd at such high RPMs...I ain't trying to do that everywhere. OR you can drop it in 3rd with no gas around but it'll bog down like a bitch and you feel gay. Sadly I suck and still rock neutral around corners and rev match 2nd at like 20MPH..I know it's not right, but I feel like its the least stress on the engine. 35MPH AROUND CORNERS IN 3RD IS SO DAMN FUN.

Regards,
2013 WRX Limited

[PBallen]

M3ndoza: To 'rev match' try just blipping the throttle with the clutch in before down shifting. you'll get the hang of it.but damn - learning on a new car - BALLSY!

BlackonBlack: you can go a lot faster than that on a 270deg off ramp!

[11blackwrx]

yeah im impressed you're learning on this car, there is no way i would wanna do that or teach someone on my car, i have older cars to do that on

[M3ndoza]

Ill be honest, and in the 3 weeks Ive had the car i havent once tried to rev match.

Why?? idk

Depending on how fast im going I just slowly let of the clutch. For example If im in neutral and im at 20mph or under I just put in 2nd and slowly let of the clutch. The car feels fine, just a slow deceleration as the engine goes up about 500rpm. Over 20 mph I just put in 3rd.

Question about rev matching, do you hold you foot on the gas at the estimated RPMs you think the engine will be at a lower gear, or do you give it a little kick to raise the RPMs and foot of gas, then let go of clutch??

[Jonney Knuckles]

It will take time and practice getting used to this car. I've drove many cars over the years and this car is in its own class.. As you get to know the car, the car will start to talk to you. You can feel how she responds with each driving experience. When slowing down for a red light or stop sign or coming to a sharp corner I use my gears along with my brakes to help slow me down. Not saying while going 50 mph to drop it in 2nd. But allowing the car to slow itself down with the gears you will find where she is the most responsive and comfortable RPM range. I like having higher RPM's on my side, just incase I have to quickly accelerate or dodge a moronic driver. As for putting the car in neutral going through a corner, I would never suggest that.. You could mis shift coming out of the corner into a lower gear and bad things could happen as result. Like I said it will come to you with time, just keep practicing and if its a new car and you break something its under warrenty and you now have the expereince of what not to do in that situation next time..
Cheers