"as far as this car being my first stick, come on pal!!" can be rephrased as: in regard to the assumption that i had no experience with manual transmission, i would like to debunk by listing the extensive list of cars that i've owned.

comprehensive reading skills come in handy in life.

 

I agree... I have experienced the same thing in my 04 and it is always when I am shifting at high rpms, and quickly. I think I am too quickly off the gas and too slow on the clutch. It's me and not the car.

 

Exactly. It is a common trait in manual transmission cars and even more pronounced with AWD. That is why I asked him if it was his first manual car... Anyway he can take it to the dealer if it makes him happier, his time he's wasting, not mine. He just has to learn how to be more smooth coming off the throttle.

 

Yea it does buckle, enjoy ur scooby and all the "special" things it does. LoL

 

this thread is bs. somebody posts a question and basically gets flamed for not reading his owner's manual?! are you guys for real? your going to flame a guy for not reading his owner's manual.

anyways, read here about the stock by-pass valve if you're interested. no the wrx does not come with a blow-off valve.. they work entirely differently.

I don't really care much, but it is frustrating to see so much misinformation floating around i-club. especially when people who don't know what they are talking about are discrediting people who do

 

I have an 02 WRX wagon. It bucks in second sometimes. It generally seem to occur when you are back on the gas after the change.

I don't think this is just a more pronounced behaviour of a manual gear box enhanced by the AWD. I have been driving manual gear boxes for 20+ year and while it's behaviour is some what like a beginner trying to pull off in first it never feels to me like a poor shift. It alwasy seem more like the engine is just not ready.

It may have to do with some anomalies in the engine management program. I've read somewhere that tuning can "smooth" it out. The factory tune is designed to provide a tradeoff between performance and emissions and has some idiosyncrasies as a result.

Also since the engine management "adapts" to different gas, changing gas brands may make it more pronounced.

Just theories. I don't have any basis to back this up. But you might want to do some searches on tuning here and on NASOIC.

Tim

 

I don't have any angst for anyone. I drive a non subaru stick everyday. I had to get used to the WRX, AWD, i don't know, but it was very different. Took some time. I have approx 5000 mi on my 04' since Nov. I still learn new things about it every time I drive it. I do think that if your under 1000 mi you should keep the rev's down but i got on mine alittle too before the break in and no trouble yet(knock on wood). It is a Subaru have fun with it. I also believe that if you feel that there is something wrong take it in.

 

Dang you should probably take it easy while breaking in the car, and at least put a couple thousand miles on it before going over 6000rpm. But what you're experiencing doesn't seem normal... though it may be normal and you're not used to the car yet. A stock WRX will bounce forward if you hit the gas too hard in any gear, but the power comes on smooth if the gas is pressed in slowly and/or smoothly. Try to replicate the problem a few times and bring it to a dealership, tell them the exact problem you're experiencing and they will test the car to see if it feels normal.

oh btw what's with all the haters in this thread? he's asking for advice, not an insult

 

i have the same car... i noticed the same thing. i hate that feeling. and i hate that my car feeels like it's going to break when i shift fast (im a decent shifter). whatever.

you should also feel that in 1st. let off the gas @ about 3k and you'll still feel that.

 

That sounds like the behaviour but being "smooth with your throttle" is a bit vague as to how to avoid it. When I've experiences it I think I've been smooth with the throttle which is why I wonder if it's not a foible of the engine managment program.

I think when I've noticed this when trying to push the car harder when changing up to 2nd. You don't mention the clutch but I've only noticed it immedaitely after changing up to 2nd.

I imagine the usual cause for the herky jerkies, often experienced by stick shift beginners in first gear, is coming off the clutch too quickly with just enough power to not stall but not enough power to take the shock. The engine oscillates between running and stalling.

Perhaps, the WRX 2nd gear behaviour is similar. ie coming off the clutch too quickly or perhaps at the wrong time which may happen if you try to shift more quickly than the engine wants you to. If the revs have fallen out of the power band, quickly releasing the clutch may throw the engine into a stall from which it immediately recovers due to forward momentum. The oscillates causing the lurching feeling until the engine settle down .

I haven't experienced this enough to really say how to avoid it but I suspect it is a combination of trying to shift too fast and an undesirable but normal behavior of the car.

 

I went home on friday and tried for hours to duplicate what i think that CODE RED is talking about and i had no luck. Every thing was just a zippy as usual and very smooth. I had no herky jerky gears and no trouble shifting agressively or easy. I think you may want to take it in.