I have an 11 Ralliart with a stage 1 93 cobb tune. I normally drive it in normal mode and rarely drive it in sport mode. my question is does anyone know at what rpms to shift at while in sport mode? I also have the Super-Sport mode but I have yet to try and use it because I barely have any idea how to use the standard sport mode. so if anyone has a ralliart with Super-Sport mode also, would the rpm shift points be different and if so, what are they? theres a "stock" wrx that wants to run me in my town and one of these days id like to show him up since I'm stockish

thanks everyone!

 

I assume you mean "Sport/Manual".


Upshift whenever. Depends on if you want fuel economy or power.


Downshift:
1. When RPMs begin to drop below 2K. By keeping RPMs at or above 2K you avoid 'lugging' the engine which puts stress on the connecting rods and bearings. That "Normal/Auto" let RPMs go down to ~800 is just poor engineering and too great a focus on fuel economy THIS is why I DO NOT drive in Normal/auto (and cringe because my Lovely Bride does...). You will learn to anticipate times to downshift (i.e. now climbing a hill).
2. Preparing to pass/accelerate. Downshift so that RPMs are now at ~3K - 4K. THEN floor the gas. Try driving at 55 and quickly drop down two gears - See? Now right where RPMs should be to have boost.
3. As you come to a stop - but the tranny will already downshift on its own. You can't stall it
4. To slow down. Anticipate the curve and be down one or two gears so you can smartly accelerate out of the curve (at 3K or 4K rpms).


Just practice. The skill will come quickly and you will wonder why you ever drove in normal/auto mode as the car is now so much more responsive and you are more engaged in driving. You will become a driver.


S-Sport only increases clutch pressure. Use the exact same shifting strategy (as above).
You will just notice snappier shifts - you may even start driving S-Sport manual all the time




To beat that WRX:
1. At stop - select/hold until S-Sport appears. Turn traction control off (takes 5 sec.s of holding the button).
2. Put in AUTO (it will shift quicker than you can and lets you focus on driving)
3. Just before launch (and not too soon before launch ) Mash the brakes HARD and hold. Floor the gas (goes right to 5K rpms).
4. Release brakes/keep gas pedal floored. :O You didn't know this car could accelerate like that!


You may shout "^%^$##! Mitsu" if you get a 'trans (fluid) over heat' warning and power is immediately pulled by the computer. It is very twitchy. You didn't hurt anything - the tranny protects itself.


Practice once or twice before actually calling out the WRX. It takes finesse to get it all 'correct' and repeatable. You should not do an S-Sport Launch very often and certainly not back-to-back so you allow the tranny to cool. This launch-control sequence shortens tranny life and should only be used when really needed.


Good luck and lets us know how you did.

 

Good advice, I'm am one of those people who always drives in S-Sport/Manual mode.

 

all that sounds really informative and exciting,especially about the s-sport launch. I've been too scared to try it though. so you're saying i can do an s-sport launch while in "automatic" mode?i tried using regular sport mode while in the "automatic" mode. i noticed that the car would change gears at around 4-6k rpm and the engine would sound louder and more under stress so to say. its my first doing this so i didn't know if it was doing what it is supposed to or not. i wanted to try doing the same in s-sport mode but i thought it'd be best to do a little more research before i go ahead and try it. i also noticed that i would hit higher boost way faster and with less effort as i would while in normal "automatic" mode even when i would be pushing it. i would like to actually start to really drive my car and see what its capable of but i want to do it knowing what I'm doing and not mess anything up trying to figure out. thanks for your help though! its greatly appreciated!
'

 

Dont forget that this only happens when the engine is under a lot of boost. No stress if no or very low boost is present.
5th and 6th all the most dangerous gears that you should avoid heavy engine loads on low RPMs.

 

Agreed. Flooring it in 6th gear in manual/sport is the worst.

To the OP: to be clear - I don't mean coasting to a stop (no load) and the RPMs dip below 1K.
But if you accelerate from below 1K (in any gear), the compression stress load on the connecting rods goes up exponentially as the piston is resisted by the crank force. You hear/feel the engine load until 2K RPMs or so... and it goes away after 3K RPMs boost (and torque) begins to build. You must listen/feel for it and avoid it.


The normal/auto will downshift if it is at 1K RPMs and you floor it (in second gear or higher). If you are in manual/sport you can floor it at 1k RPMs and really load the engine. This is what I am cautioning the OP about...

 

I've done that before by accident, forgot I was in manual mode had it nearly floored and was barely moving, then realized what I did.