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Well having an RS is nice.. however I've always been wanting something else out of my car... i could always grab an STi TMIC and a turbo and get some more juice but the limp wristed 4 speed AT would probably cry.. alot... so i got to thinking.... i dont really need an STi.. the nonslip diff... the brembos (damn i would like em tho) and i dont really need a manual (im in a fairly steep uphill traffic jam nearly every day.. )

what i want is something.. different from any stock or slightly modified subaru out there.. then while watching a rally vid it sorta dawned on me...paddle shifters..with the exception of the WRC cars very few subarus have them... and it'd give me a chance to do a little engine upgrade withough worrying about putting that much stuff on a stock AT... and i wouldnt feel so silly modding a automatic transmissios

has anyone ever heard of this being done to a street subaru? this isnt going to happen anytime soon.. but the thought is tempting... obviously extensive modifications would be needed.. but im just curious if anyone has heard of such an operation being done?

ooh. unpopular thread..

lol, we were all at the AutoX class

I've never seen them done on at AT, but it's always fun to be the first! Zak might have more input on this since he knows trannies so well.

well i figure if i do this im going to have to rip out my stock tranny and put in something else... although i mean...who knows maybe i can rework the stock.. i have no clue... lol Zak! help!

If you took your Auto RS to a paddle shift standard, I think you would be quite unique, and very poor.

If you are worried about the auto tranny, you can get the torque converter upgraded and keep the auto functionality for a city driver with a corresponding bump in engine output.

To get a good shifter system going, you will need a standard tranny, new engine ECU & wiring for the different tranny, and a shifting kit.

You could go cheap and go with an air shifter like bikes use (you would have to make sure that you keep the air or CO2 filled up) and some tie in to the ECU to cut a few cycles of the cyls firing. This quick shifting would be like flat foot shifting which is very rough on your exhaust, and transmission systems.

If for some reason you get a bunch of money, you could blow tens of thousands of dollars in getting a proffesional paddle shift setup. The new setup would be worth more than your whole car and a waste unless you have an engine to go with it.

Help any>?

Told you Zak could help, er, tell you what it would take

It definitely would be very cool though

sabre wrote:Zak might have more input on this since he knows trannies so well.

Sorry Zak, but Julian said it here first.

I think Steve said it best:

Now I realize that if you're serious about driving, really serious, you own a manual. there's just no way around it.

not trying to rain on your parade. you can have a lot of fun in an AT and I understand why people get them for city driving, but if you're really serious about performance driving you will get eventually get a manual transmission.

that said, everybody who drove the AT Cobalt at the AutoX class seemed to have a LOT of fun.

The auto is fun, easy, and good off the line straight acceleration, but it has problems when you want to push it outside the envelope of city commuter driving.

left foot braking FTW!1!

lol, ya, the auto was great fun to drive Actually, not having ABS turned out to have lot of advantages!

oh im usualy a manual guy myself.. however... i must say... i have ALOT of respect for the subaru AT in my car. while i still have the ease of AT...i have that ability to lock out gears... so i can downshift in bends to rocket out the other side. the only major things i miss is that feeling of total control and he fact that noone really takes ATs seriously