Revs high, goes no where!!

I have a 2006 lgt spec b and my car has been acting very odd. I was recently rear ended (september 3rd) and have not noticed this problem before the accident. I was driving down the road in 4th gear about 45-50 mph and came to a car that was going slower so I tried to speed up to pass this car and I hit the gas and my car just revs real high and doesn't speed up, like it would be if you tried to hit the gas if you're in neutral. This issue only happens when I am trying to accelerate quick. If I drive like a grandma I have no issues.

 

Anyone having similar problems? Help!

Sounds to me like your clutch is slipping. When you are at a complete stop trying taking off quickly and see how the car responds. If it just revs high and you barely move I'd think it would be the clutch. My .02

Yeah what he said. Without any check engine lights, its the most probable answer.

 

All the more to just get a ACT with either stock WRX or ACT streetlite Flywheel..

I say get a Spec clutch and wxr flywheel.

 

Check out the transmission forum for more info. I have a Spec 2+ with around 60,000 miles on and love it. You know you have a clutch in the car, not a weak pos like the stock one was. The 2+ has a nice light pedal but lot's of grab.

Clutches fail in the higher gears first. A clutch that won't hold in 4th will still do ok at WOT in first.

 

Another vote for an aftermarket clutch with WRX flywheel.

+10001010101 on the clutch same thing happened with my last car.

clutch!!!

 

or transmission

Clutches fail in the higher gears first. A clutch that won't hold in 4th will still do ok at WOT in first.

 

I've noticed a lot of comments around that... just curious, why? Seems the opposite would be true, overcoming more inertia at low speeds.... Something to do with transmission revs v engine revs???

 

Just curious, and it doesn't seem too OT....

Pray to your deity it's just the clutch.

 

I had similar issues and after a new...

 

Clutch/flywheel

slave cylinder/hydraulic hose

Bearings

....

Then after a stupid dealer a new...

Driveshaft and Rear Axle

...

The car is hopefully fixed. I'll let you know tomorrow

Most likely a toasted clutch... like so many of us here have had.

 

Get up to 40mph in 5th gear and put the gas pedal to the floor. If it revs to redline and goes nowhere, you'll know it's the clutch.

 

+7 on the ACT street clutch and WRX flywheel replacement. Much better than the OEM Legacy clutch.

I've noticed a lot of comments around that... just curious, why? Seems the opposite would be true, overcoming more inertia at low speeds.... Something to do with transmission revs v engine revs???

 

Just curious, and it doesn't seem too OT....

 

It has to do with the way torque is multiplied or loaded through the driveline. I'm no engineer, but I know most driveshafts that break in a drag race car, break in top gears, not 1st gear.

ALso get the TSK kit for your trans when you do. I get a little chatter with the streetlite FW but the quick revs are worth it.

I've noticed a lot of comments around that... just curious, why? Seems the opposite would be true, overcoming more inertia at low speeds.... Something to do with transmission revs v engine revs???

 

Just curious, and it doesn't seem too OT....

 

Think of trying to drive away from a stop in 4th gear -- it ain't gonna happen. The engine doesn't have enough mechanical advantage to do it. Give it first gear and it can do it at idle speed.

 

It works the same way while you're cruising. Asking it to accelerate, even slightly, in 4th or 5th gear means the engine works much more than it would if you were to downshift. This puts more stress on the clutch which normally handles it with no problem. If it's starting to wear out, this is when it'll slip first - especially when the engine is cold.

 

This is also why you don't do a low rpm WOT pull in high gear. It puts more stress on engine and drivetrain components than just about anything else you can do to it.

How many miles are on the car? It is definitely a slipping clutch, probably just at the end of it's life.

 

I've noticed a lot of comments around that... just curious, why? Seems the opposite would be true, overcoming more inertia at low speeds.... Something to do with transmission revs v engine revs???

 

Just curious, and it doesn't seem too OT....

 

The higher a gear you are in, the closer you get to a 1:1 ratio between the engine and transmission. Higher gears load down the engine way more than the lower gears because the physical gears themselves are smaller and take more torque to turn. First gear is typically much larger and geared to be at least a 3:1 ratio. So if you are in 2nd gear at 30 mph, it takes relatively no effort to turn the gears. But if you are in 4th gear at 40 mph, you are loading down the engine and require much more torque to turn the transmission and connected differentials. That's kind of a quick and dirty explanation of it.

 

Adding to what I said there, back to the OP, the best way to tell if your clutch is going is to get into 5th or 6th at about 50 mph and drop the gas pedal to the floor. If the car just sits and revs, time for a new clutch.

 

I am going to make a different suggestion for you though. If you are at stock power levels or Stage 2 at the most, I would recommend going with the OEM 07+ Legacy clutch and flywheel (same as WRX flywheel). I say the 07+ setup because it has a single mass flywheel, which is a good setup if you decide to upgrade your clutch in the future, and the actual clutch and flywheel together are less expensive than the OEM dual mass flywheel is by itself. Clutches are a difficult thing to choose, and the last thing you want to do is buy more clutch than you need. An ACT is a decent performance clutch, but there is no way it will last as long as an OEM clutch (the most I ever got out of an ACT clutch on any car was 40k, and I just changed my stock LGT clutch at 62k), and I hope you like a stiff pedal if you go that route. I know I will have people arguing and defending this til they are blue in the face, but I have owned 3 cars with ACT clutches on them, and I am sick of how stiff the pedal is with an ACT HD pressure plate. I personally chose to do the stock 07+ setup so I would have OEM driveability. I am currently running stage 2.5 (uppipe, downpipe, and upgraded intercooler), and havent had slipping issues with this clutch even in high gears. Sure, I can't launch the piss out of it from a stoplight, but it holds fine in every gear. Plus, the more a clutch slips on high power levels, the better it protects the rest of your transmission--something has to take the shock of a hard launch. There is no reason to get an upgraded clutch unless you plan on upgrading your turbo itself in the near future, otherwise, stay stock, stay happy.

 

I would also recommend against any sort of lightweight flywheel. They suck, no matter what anyone else says (somebody somewhere on the internet always has some dyno sheet to prove something). Trust me, I have used lightweight flywheels on many a car. They don't make your car any faster and they make it annoying to drive off the line because the revs drop more. Stay stock, stay happy.