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2016 WRX STI vague gearshift (5th back to 4th or 6th)
My last (and first!) post on here was shortly after I took delivery of my new WRX STI in Nov 16. I haven’t posted since as I’ve been too busy enjoying the car and being new, and under warranty, nothing has troubled me. I haven’t really had the urge to mod, aside from a straight pipe fitted to the exhaust for some extra resonance, so again haven’t needed to tap into your collective expertise …
Until now ...
I’m increasingly finding the gearshift, particularly from 5th back to 4th or 6th, something of a lottery. My previous car was a Honda S2000 so I was probably spoilt with its rifle-bolt precision, and it would be wrong to expect the same from the WRX, but the WRX's imprecision is frustrating at times.
I took my car to the Ring at the end of May and managed nine, incident-free laps with a best bridge to gantry time of 9’18”. (Apparently gantry to bridge is one mile and I’m sure I could have averaged 120+mph along the straight so I reckon I’d have been good for a sub 10 minute full lap, which I’ll settle for on my first visit)
Look out for the “crunches” at 5’00” and 6’35”. Who knows what I was trying to do at 4’30” before Adenauer Bridge …
Had no insurance whatsoever for the Ring itself and when you’ve seen all the YouTube prang clips, you can really feel a sense of actual jeopardy. That said, I watch my footage back with some shame realising how much harder I could have safely pushed. Some decent g readings though …
When I bought the car, I enquired about the OEM short shift kit and was talked out of it by the sales manager. Both the dealer and Subaru UK have since confirmed that this part is no longer available, so I want to know what options I have.
I don’t expect a short shift kit will address my particular problem but I would imagine it will give the gearshift a new “feel” and right now, that is what I want.
Can anyone, ideally with a similar aged car, comment on how the short shift kit affects the gear change? Are there any aftermarket kits that I could fit that might help? Any specific solutions to my 5th to 4th or 6th issue?
13 July 2018, 03:52 PM
2016 WRX STI vague gearshift (5th back to 4th or 6th)
