getting a WRX for my 1st car and have some Qs!

[Cmaj7th]

long time lurker and new time member, soon Im about to take the plunge into subie-land.

this is my first car but I've driven for about a year I reckon and got a lot of the lead out of my foot. my one concern is the tranny on WRXs. I'm fixing to buy an 02 with 88k on it for ten grand (seemed like a good deal to me). everyone on here refers to the stock tranny as "glass".

how breakable is it? I don't plan on racing it stock. (I dont drag) but I do a lot of driving at nights because I like the empty highways and will go 70-80 mph if I'm all alone on the road. will doing that reguarly wear on the tranny? also can a stock tranny handle the cobb stage 2? thanks for your help!

[SD_GR]

Welcome!

everyone on here refers to the stock tranny as "glass".

We do?

how breakable is it?

It'd probably take me a couple days to break one, depending on what shape the clutch and motor are in.

will doing that reguarly wear on the tranny?

Yes. Any use induces wear. However, ideally the gearbox will outlast the motor and at least two clutch assemblies (but this doesn't mean people don't have failures within months either).

also can a stock tranny handle the cobb stage 2?

It's not as dependent on the gearbox as it is on the user sometimes; other times it's purely mechanical. That's why experiences will vary and why it is highly unlikely a definitive answer will result from this thread or any thread like it IMO.

Have a look at the links in my signature, there's lots of threads with info you may find interesting. Welcome again!

[Cmaj7th]

thanks for the reply. and yeah between this site and wrxtuners I keep hearing people talk about how weak the tranny is and it's making me wary of buying the car.

with the AWD, safety features, turbo, and raw sexiness it's my top choice for used cars in the 10k range. but I need this car to last me atleast a good 5+ years. I have plans to do an sti tranny swap at some point but that wont be for another year or two.

so I guess what I want to ask is if the tranny in an 02 could last me a good while without driving like an idiot? I dont drag, powershift, launch or anything. Im just looking for a speedy DD thatll get me through the winter in one piece!

also can a stock tranny handle an autox course or is that a bad idea? sorry for all the questions but I'm very new to manual transmissions let alone subaru

[SD_GR]

I know exactly what you're asking and I understand why you're asking. I simply have no definitive answer -- and I'd question whether anyone does. Some gearboxes have done well; others have not. My assumption is that most gearboxes have done well, but then again most owners aren't online and are not interested in motorsports to the same extent as many of the owners on these or other fora.

BTW, although the STi gearbox swap is popular and it's a very useful, very resilient gearbox, even assuming you do all the work yourself in your spare time -- and place a value of $0 on your time, plus assume you have all the tools -- your bill may still exceed $4K, and by next year the car may be worth $9K or so. I'd not spend ~40% of the value of a used car on any part, but that's just me.

EDIT: To be clear, I'm confident my WRX would have no problems getting through winter. Whether the car you buy will do the same and/or get through autox are not things I could predict though.

[oguitar]

I have been driving my 02 for about 8 years now. My tranny is doing fine. You need to know how to drive a manual transmission though.

People who blow up their trannies are normally modded way over 300whp. I don't think the transmission is made out of glass. It all depends on your mods and how you drive.

I learned how to drive a manual transmission on a 76 Plymouth though so I learned the hard way. My car is so much easier to drive.

[Cmaj7th]

haha yeah I know it isn't made out of glass I've just noticed a bunch of people call it that in jest (or disgust) of their tranny blowing on them. and thanks for letting me know it all depends. I'm having a mechanic look over the car so hopefully he can point out any issues.

if I get it I'll post some pics. she's a beaut! steered me away from those dang SRT-4s...

[Dark WRX]

welcome

[poly_poly-man]

regularly doing 85 mph won't hurt you...

regularly getting there in a few seconds from 0 will.

[Cmaj7th]

not much of a racer so it shouldnt be hard to keep the stupidity down, I learned to drive on automatic suvs. there are some pretty cool auto x courses around here that I'd love to try after I get the wrx but I think Im going to hold off until I fix her up a little bit.

[viperuws]

On another note, I didn't like the 5 speed. The 6 speed is not only stronger, but shifts better in my experience.

[Cmaj7th]

I've been practicing driving manual on my sisters camry which was fairly easy. so my buddy let me take his bugeye wagon out and I stalled the hell out of it

is a wrx a bad car to learn to drive stick on? I thought Id do fine since I barely stalled on the toyota but I was not doing hot on the wagon. he said "I feel bad for the car you get"

[viperuws]

I've been practicing driving manual on my sisters camry which was fairly easy. so my buddy let me take his bugeye wagon out and I stalled the hell out of it

is a wrx a bad car to learn to drive stick on? I thought Id do fine since I barely stalled on the toyota but I was not doing hot on the wagon. he said "I feel bad for the car you get"

My gf has played around with stick a bit on her mom's si and a few other crap manual cars. Then she tried mine, She had so much trouble.

What other stock cars out there are as hard to drive as a wrx/sti? Are the EVO's the same? Are vipers and vets harder due to a probably stiffer clutch?

And I am not talking about some 30 year old car that was hard cause something was broken on it. I have heard stories of people trying to drive a stick without a clutch.

[oguitar]

I've been practicing driving manual on my sisters camry which was fairly easy. so my buddy let me take his bugeye wagon out and I stalled the hell out of it

is a wrx a bad car to learn to drive stick on? I thought Id do fine since I barely stalled on the toyota but I was not doing hot on the wagon. he said "I feel bad for the car you get"

I don't think the WRX is a great car to learn how to drive a manual transmission especially for a young driver. The transmission are finicky and don't like to be abused. It is really not that hard once you know what you are doing. Maybe buy an old beat up car to learn how to drive a manual transmission and once you are really good you can upgrade to the WRX. I just hate to hear people blow up their transmissions and then blame Subaru.

[PurpleMongoose]

is a wrx a bad car to learn to drive stick on?

Nope. Great car for learning on...

It's bad for the car to learn to drive stick on it, though.

As an AWD, there's less driveline slop to compensate for, shall we say, rookie mistakes...