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Learning Stick


tophsubie

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Congrats top on getting the GT! I got mine a couple of weeks back, and love it. If you have the car by the 29th and you have time that night, drop by the Publix at the St. Johns Towncenter after 8pm. The Jacksonville Mod Squad hangs out there. I drove up last month to see what was going on and they are a pretty nice group! I'll be there, and I would love to see the wagon there to help support the LGTs :)
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Tophsubie congrats on the wagon. I have a sedan but I think the wagons are very hot. I sometime wish I got the wagon. The wagon is the ultimate sleeper IMHO.

Just be patient when getting use to the clutch. Also, it might be a good idea not to have the radio too loud (or off) when you first start driving so you can hear the engine/exhaust (exhaust probably stock). You want to try to keep the RPMs between 1,000 - 1500 when taking off in 1st gear. There is more information on this just keep reading the threads (go to search) on clutchs/transmissions and you'll be fine.

 

Just a little warning, LegacyGT.com is very addictive but in a good way!!

I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3.:p
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Congrats BTW, there are days when I wish I had the balls to buy a wagon.

 

careful, the wagon owners here might take offense to that statement, they dont like owning a wagon to be equated to be being closeted homosexuals or something and 'coming out as a wagon owner' is some act of courage :lol:

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I took all of your advice and I bought a black 05 gt manual wagon and it should get here in 2 weeks. I'll probably ask more questions as I am learning but geez I am almost too excited to type! Thanks again..

 

Congrats on the purchase! I'm still working on getting my own GT.

 

After nearly 12 years of driving auto's, I learned stick for the first time less than 6 months ago. My current daily driver is stick, and will continue to be so until I'm physically incapable or completely irritated by it.

 

Otherwise, I'm not looking back! My commute = lots of smiles / gallon now.

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No one personally taught me stick... it was stalling a few times on my first experience in a stick car that got me doing some research... i actually read up online simply by searching "how to drive a manual" on google. i have to say it answered a lot of questions i had on how to do things..

 

Then my second experience was on a 2000 civic si mildly built with stage 2 clutch... i didn't even stall... most performance clutches have a very small friction point.. beyond that point is all grabbing... so if you're not paying attention, you will stall. i took it real eassyyy... slowly lift off the clutch.. u feel the clutch grabbing.. steadily add little more gas.. then lift off the clutch... I think its when you try to get ahead of yourself is when you start stalling...

 

My buddy used to stall all the time... it's easy to panic, for instances, when you're on a hill and the instant you lift off the brake the car is rolling back fast... or when your car is out on front at a red, traffic is behind you and you start to worry about stalling...

 

Good luck... I would recommend having someone sit with you that is more experienced... not just someone who is going to say do this and this... but someone that will give you nice learning steps, how and why to do things that way, and answer all your questions with explanations.

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I took all of your advice and I bought a black 05 gt manual wagon and it should get here in 2 weeks. I'll probably ask more questions as I am learning but geez I am almost too excited to type! Thanks again..

 

Thats going to be a HOT ride! Good for you gor getting the manual, plus extra bonus points for going the wagon route. They really are cooler than the sedans.

 

I learned how to drive stick when I was 16 years old on my dad's M5 at the time... that was a little intimidating but if you are a driving enthusiast who has a grasp on what the fundamentals are before you get in to the car, you'll be fine.

 

It's like snowboarding, you'll have the basics down in a day or two... then you just keep getting better and better and smoother and smoother over time.

Pretty soon you'll be the master of throttle blip down shifts and heel/ toe. You'll love it. Driving a manual car is a very engaging experience.

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  • 6 months later...
:lol: exactly what I did. Somehow I managed to get it off the dealers lot without stalling, but proceeded to stall it 3 times attempting to turn into the paking lot at work.

 

 

lol sounds like me almost.. test driving the LGT about 2 years ago.. I drove the car 20 miles back to the dealership... never stalled it once in stop and go traffic but like 2 miles from the dealership at a stop light I stalled it because my revs were a bit low.. around 1500 rpms lol I felt like an idiot..

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yeah.. what i noticed it was not as notchy at the impreza.

 

haha but I remember the first time backing the car out the car would keep popping out of reverse for some reason.. and I was hearing some odd beeping sound.. later I found out it has the senors in the back and I never figured out what was up with the shifter but it was like I could not drive stick.

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Other than that, the GT is very easy to drive. Even for someone learning to drive stick.

 

I learn how to drive a stick on FWD and RWD cars, LGT is my first Subaru and AWD car. I thought the LGT was harder to drive smoothly than the other sticks I have driven. I have heard other people with Subaru's saying that it also took them a while to get used to the Subaru manual. It might be a AWD thing. :confused:

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My First performance car, I learned how to drive stick the day I picked it up, Definetely worth it! Manual wagons are really really hard to come by, so if you find one snatch it up. The legacy is a much nicer car than the wrx. I don't know if that is important to you or not, but it is a sweet car! Don't settle for anything less than what you want, otherwise you will regret it for a LONG time!!!!
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I learn how to drive a stick on FWD and RWD cars, LGT is my first Subaru and AWD car. I thought the LGT was harder to drive smoothly than the other sticks I have driven. I have heard other people with Subaru's saying that it also took them a while to get used to the Subaru manual. It might be a AWD thing. :confused:

 

I concur with the experience, but disagree with attributing it to the drivetrain.

 

It's the manufacturer, Subaru's, factor. In order to get all the features to be shoved into a car worth $20K, some (many?) corners will need to be cut.

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I learned to drive stick on a Camaro Z28 and although it was very easy, I learned some really bad habits.

 

For example, I never learned the concept of stepping on the gas while releasing the clutch because the car was nearly impossible to stall. I could drop the clutch on an uphill incline and the car would continue chugging forward. Mind you, the clutch was so heavy that I'd have to pull on the steering wheel to start the car but that was beside the point.

 

When I switched to a Civic, I was impressed at how light the clutch was but I kept on stalling the car for the first few weeks. I was absolutely terrified of stop and go traffic up huge inclines. :lol:

 

The Legacy took about a week to get used to because of the drive by wire system but I'm glad to say that I've almost mastered it. I just need a short throw shifter and I'll be happy.

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Ive got some bad habits too.

 

For example: I always coast downhills or to stop signs/lights. I never use the engine to brake the car. Dunno why I do it, but I won't ever change.

 

Personally I think that's a good habit. The way I look at it, brake pads are a lot cheaper than clutch or transmission replacement.

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