yes.

 

I'm not making excuses for Subaru, but if you want/need to downshift into first from a roll do the following:

clutch in, shift to neutral
clutch out, rev engine to the appropriate rpm for 1st gear at your road speed, maybe rev it a little bit higher than you think you should
clutch in and gently push towards first gear.

If you got it right, the gear shifter will feel almost like it got sucked into the first gear gate.

Again, not making excuses, you should not have to do this on a fully syncronized tranny. However, this works and is useful to learn.
FWIW, my buddy's 2001 S4 shifts into first from a roll with minimal effort compared to my WRX.

 

I dont think the tranny is fully syncronized. Reverse is a straight cut gear, no synchros. the tranny is a pile, 12 year old design. I wonder if 12 years ago there was 227 HP going to the trans? NO ! I have a real hard time with 1st and reverse (plus this is the 2nd trans...1st one blew, and thats a whole other story) the dumbasses at the dealership said "oh, these transmissions are a little funny" and then looked at me like I should accept that moronic remark. when it takes 4-6 trys to shift into reverse while doing a 3-point turn in the middle of the street, there is definately a safety concern. I still am shocked and amazed that an auto manufacturer has ignored this problem for so long without suffering some serious recourse. I for one am going to small claims court for this transmission mess, and know of 2 class action law suits in effect against subaru for poorly manufactured transmissions. I guarantee you that the 6spd will replace this tired old 5mt pretty soon.

 

dont get me wrong, I love this car and I would never trade it for anything else, it's one of the funnest cars I have ever driven. For the price, it cant be beat. But I think that Subaru should seriously consider a few design/manufacturing changes when it comes to this transmission.

 

I'm going to try Neo, to fix the first gear problem. I've just got the oil, but I'm not sure if I should simply drain the factory gear oil, and put in the Neo? Or if I should buy some kind of chemical flush for the gear box and use that first, before I add the Neo?

Any Suggestions.

 

I still have some problems shifting into 1st and R. But since my Dealership replaced the clutch assembly on my 02', shifting into 1st at 20mph is possible now. I do rev match, but it works. I find that the tranny shifts most easily when I use a light touch, especially for reverse.

-Kevin

 

I put the Neo in yesterday. I can't believe the difference. It's like night and day.

I have an '02 WRX with 16700 km (approx. 10400 miles) on it. It was litterally instantaneously better. I took it out on the freeway and really worked each gear. Then I can back and started down shifting. No word of a lie, at three different corners I was about to down shift into 1st at 30km/h (18.6 mph) I have been able to get into 1st until almost 0 almost since I got it. Until I starting reading this forum I thought it was not only normal, but that there was nothing that could be done.

It cost me a small fortune to get just one gallon of Neo up here, but it was worth it. I only wish I could find some in Canada, so I didn't have to pay those f'ing brokerage fees they stick you with when it gets to the door. It's like a knife in the back everytime. I paid as much in brokerage fees as I did for the product itself (almost).

But still, WORTH EVERY PENNY.