ok im looking back to 98-01RS's again, and i was talking at a honda dealer...yes a honda dealer (not ricing anything, just commuter car lol) and the guy was telling me about how subbie transmissions will burn out on u and blah blah blah...now the manager was very straight forward and a non-BS guy....so i wanted to ask this here, is this true or is this model/year specific the transmissions may not be the best? im not looking to race/ralley the car...just drive it. thanks :)

You can burn and destroy any cars tranny. Most people usually fry their trannies because A: they launch the hell out off every light. B: they run much power and the tranny just can't take it. Or just general gear grinding.

Subies has what's known as the glass tranny, its not that strong but if aslong as you don't go nuts all the time then you should be fine.

so let me get this right...you were at a honda dealer...and you said youre interested in a subaru...and he said some stuff about how the trannies break...i bet he then said...ever think about buying a civic...very non-bias if you asked me ;)

well he did surprise me when he said he really liked lincolns...it was like he was reading my mind! lol because i was thinking of the lincoln LS and he mentioned it first...but im definently going w\this 01 2.5RS 5spd RPB 4dr...i wish it was a 2dr but i cant be pickey w\out a car ! :D

AWD cars are more susceptible to abuse. If you launch hard and drop the clutch the tranny gets the shock instead of wheels spinning like a two wheel drive Honda. I would say the trannies have comparable strength, maybe even stronger for the suby, but the extra shock from AWD is the problem. If you don't launch and change fluid regularly, shift smoothly, rev match on downshift you will be just fine.
It makes buying a used car more of an issue. Make sure it has records for maintenance and take a very careful test drive paying close attention to the shifting and clutch action. Best to have a mechanic take it out too.
Honda's make next to no torque so their trannys live long and happy lives.

haha, Yah honda's and torque, theres 2 words you'll never see in a sentence together

Subaru did make some strong trannies though. The STI's tranny is very strong, and the type RA's trannies are strong too. Just a little info about trannies.

ty
:)

you can destroy your tranny, if you turbo your car since there lots of torque going through the gears, but in my opinion the weak point of subaru transmissions are not the gears themselves, but the actual cases...that's just me ofcourse

its more likely the syncros go first.

please.... i bought my car new and beat the hell out of it for 110,000 miles

Thats when it finally went. After rally-x, auto-x, track days, everyday billy driving.
Ask most of the guys in the Tri-State and some that have posted in this thread already.

most of the ppl that blow these trannies in a hurry are typically the ones that dont know how to drive. I havent heard of anyone blowing up their RS tranny but more along the lines of the ppl with WRX tranny goin.

g/l

_billy

you can destroy your tranny, if you turbo your car since there lots of torque going through the gears, but in my opinion the weak point of subaru transmissions are not the gears themselves, but the actual cases...that's just me ofcourse It's not just you. The reason the gears strip is usually because the case flexes. Unfortunately we're running an old case design that's made with two halves bolted together to form the shell. The 6 speed's case is made out of heavily reinforced rings that bolt end to end to form the case. The '05 Legacy tranny is basically using the same old 5 speed design, but with a reinforced case to withstand the extra torque.

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That said, the RS doesn't exactly have the torque to stress the case out.. even with aggressive driving.