[campbell]

I never even gave this any thought, I dismissed it as being horrid for the car! But my buddy who knows a thing or two more about cars than I do says its better as long as theres no grinding cause there is no clutchwear. So what does it do to the tranny and clutch?

 

[MisterX]

Synchros. It's bad for the synchros.

misterx

 

[PlatinumWRX]

Why would you want to invite trouble with the already weakest link in the WRX?

Can it be done? Yes.
Does is make your car shifter faster? I'd say probably not.

I can clutch, upshift, declutch in a spilt second. It just takes practice. My dad always uses the clutch on his bikes and his friends don't, yet he can out shift them because he used to drag race.

If you want to learn how to bang gears, get a "rock crusher" aka a Munci Four Speed. I wouldn't try it in your WRX unless you just hate that silly powertrain warranty.

If you want to learn to shift the right way, spend a lot of time at your local 1/4 mile.

-Jim

 

[GV27]

Actually it downshifts clutchless a lot quicker and easier than upshift. To do it you really have to get the 'box synched up in neutral anyway, so it won't hurt the synchros - it's probably easier on them..........IF! IF you get it right! That's the trick. Getting it wrong, of course, is very hard on the 'box.

 

[campbell]

Thanks for all the info guys. I don't do it, I was just wondering about it. I've always looked at it as why would they give you a clutch if you weren't supposed to use it?

 

[02WRX82]

i used to be able to to the clutchless shift when i had my el camino, it had a 4-spd and TONS of slop in the gears. the wrx is a lot more precise so i can't do it, but i don't try because it's not that hard to push in the clutch

 

[tan]

timing is critical or.....CRUNCH!!!!

 

[campbell]

So what part of the drivetrain is clutchless shifting affecting? And it is not that hard to do on our cars? As soon as the RPMs drop to what they should be for the next gear the shifter just slips right into gear.

 

[MainFrame]

I actually tried it last night to see how hard it would be. It would come out of gear just fine, but it wouldn't want to go into the next gear, it would just kinda stick in neutral, then I'd wiggle it around and it'd slip into the next gear.. I hope I didn't hurt anything.. it didn't grind at all, and I never put too much pressure on the shifter, so I don't think it did.. but I started worrying as soon as I did it. Would I know if there's something wrong with my tranny?

 

[GV27]

Yes. If you had missed it it wouldn't have slid right in, but rather it would've given you a violent grind. Then it would be giving obvious problems if something actually broke.

Chris

 

[MainFrame]

okay.. I'm really paranoid about my transmission. I'm not used to driving a MT, the transmission is apparently the weakest link in this car, plus I got it used with 6,600 miles on it so I don't really know what the previous owner did to it.

After my clutchless shifting escapade the other night it also seemes to be a little more rigid in the shifting(less rubbery) especially when down shifting into 2nd and 1st. Although my clutchless shifting was from 2nd to 3rd, then 3rd to 4th. It's probably just all in my head. I did some moderately hard launches later that night with the windows down and didn't hear anything abnormal.. any input on this?

 

[02WRX82]

unless you hear any unusual sounds, you're probably just paranoid and trying to find something wrong.

 

[GV27]

Paranoid. Anything you would have done would not have resulted in the "symptoms" you're describing.

Clutchless probably isn't a great idea for you if you're paranoid about a tranny you're not used to.

I say it's relatively easy, but I have a ton of experience including trannys with no synchros at all.

C

 

[02WRX82]

go josh its my birthday! j/k I figured out the trick to shifting without the clutch! i can do 2-3, 3-4, 4-5. 1-2 is to tight. i can also go 5-4, 4-3. i don't want to try 3-2, 2-1, i think the ratios are to tight to avoid grinding and i don't want to prove myself right.

 

[campbell]

So what part of the tranny would be at stake of getting damaged with clutchless shifting?

 

[02WRX82]

well if you missed or bumped the throttle to much, the gears would make that grinding noise and you might end up buying a new set

 

[campbell]

so what Im picking up from this is that if you do it properly clutchless shifting isn't bad for the car? Cause if thats the case wouldn't it be better since it would in theory increase the lifespan of your clutch?

 

[02WRX82]

i think, technically, if done right, yes there would be less wear on the clutch. Then again if use the clutch and rpm match or double clutch there is virtually no wear either.

 

[GV27]

Well, technically yeah. The problem is you have to get it right every time, or risk long term tranny damage or possibly even instant, catastrophic failure. But technically, clutchless shifting limits the clutch use to starts only, extending its life. Of course, if you want to be technical, if you could always get a downhill rolling start, you wouldn't need a clutch at all.

Use your clutch, Your tranny will thank you for it.

 

[twinz]

Well, technically yeah. The problem is you have to get it right every time, or risk long term tranny damage or possibly even instant, catastrophic failure. But technically, clutchless shifting limits the clutch use to starts only, extending its life. Of course, if you want to be technical, if you could always get a downhill rolling start, you wouldn't need a clutch at all.

Use your clutch, Your tranny will thank you for it.

good advice. I would heed it. Unless your a racer and can afford to rebuild or replace trannys often, it just isnt worth it. This tranny is delicate and you miss a couple of clutchless shifts and you can kiss your synchros goodby. It is a blast to drive a car with a tranny that you can do clutchless shifts in..its amazing how quick you can shift when its done right, but I wouldnt even consider trying it with the WRX...maybe once I put in a Chalak gearset or the sti 6speed...