My friend drives a wrx... and he keeps bragging that the car is so good, he can shift gears without ever pushing the clutch down... I've seen him do it, but you can do that on any car can't you? and how smart is that? seems to me like it's not too healthy for the car!!!

 

You just have to learn to rev match it.. takes some practice to do.

Check this thread for more detailed info.
http://forums.caranddriver.com/ubb/u...c&f=4&t=001014

 

Cool thread... but is it bad to do so for the car?

 

Common sense leads me to believe that shifting w/o using the clutch = bad.

Yeah you can rev match so when you shift up or down you're not redlining all of a sudden, but you know they put those clutches in there for a reason...

 

It shouldn't be that bad if you do it right I'm sure, the main reason for a clutch is that it makes it easier for people who can't do it to shift. Things aren't always put in because its better, its just to prevent stupid ppl from breaking stuff

 

Let me say this coming from the muscle car stand point flat shifting isn't something you really want to be doing in your EVO. The transmission is far to delicate for that type of abuse. In the olden days guys would puposely grind every other tooth away on synchos to help them get quicker shifting out of their cars. If you ever driven a SS 454 or Hemi car you know what a 3000lb pressure plate feels like with mechanical linkage. So the idea to not use the clutch meant less work and faster ET's. However there is this thing in drag racing thats changed everything. It's made cars faster, more consistent and has made cars more reliable. Maybe you've heard of it. You know the AUTOMATIC transmission. They do wonders for your ET's if drag racing is your thing. It's not mine anymore since I've found road racing. In road racing there is no room for automatic transmissions, but that's not to say they haven't been used. eeh heemm IS300 (1st gen). Our wonderful EVO falls in this category as a road racing type of car. So, a word to the wise if you want your car to perform to it's fullest potental try turning the wheel too instead of going straight. Lastly, if you want your trans to last rev matching or not use the pedal on the far left it was put there for a reason. If your fast enough you'll be faster than the morons in the scoobies.

 

There is no benefit to shifting without the clutch when your clutch is working fine.

If you are stuck on the side of the road and you can't get your clutch to disengage, then by all means, try it.

The fastest way down a 1/4mi track is to shift using the clutch, but don't let up on the gas. Again, not something I would recommend doing often.

 

Being able to shift without a clutch does not prove how good the car is. You can do that in any car. But it does show that your friend can rev match pretty well. And rev matching is very easy when you drive a car that has an engine that doesn't drop revs very quickly between gears.

So if anything, your friend in the WRX is proving that the heavy rotating parts in his WRX transmission make it easy to rev match.

SC~

 

I can do it in my old 91 camry. Its alot harder to do in my old Eclipse GSX and I can't/won't do it in the evo. Yes, it could be done but for normal people and normal use......DONT!

 

I rarely use the clutch when shifting between 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear on my old corolla, and occasionally go clutchless between 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of my S2000. It's not a superhuman feat, I don't even have a tach on the Corolla and it's pretty easy. It really isn't that hard on the car if you do it smoothly (correctly), but I wouldn't recommend doing it between 1-2 or 2-3. There's a reason why low gears have double and triple synchro cones.