Best 5spd Manual Trans?

[Redlined]

Giving up on my 4EAT. Sunk $2600 into it last summer and its already gone to hell.

I cant afford to pony up for a STI 6 speed.

So whats the next BEST trans? Need something thats gonna hold against some serious horse. Lets say 350BHP.
What do I look for? WRX? Outback? 2nd gen Legacy? Need some help fro, someone that has a clue on these.

[SILINC3R]

staying tuned

[cj91legss]

As far as i have read/heard... the wrx 5mt isnt as great as people would like to believe. maybe a little bit stronger than turbo legacy, who knows.

[evolutionmovement]

From what I understand, the problem is the ancient case design developed when they made cars that put out under 100 hp, which restricts the size of the gears that can be put in it, leaving the maximum size still marginal. That's why I'm just going to go rwd. It seems the only tough or bulletproof AWD options are STI 6-speeds or custom built 5-speeds.

[speedmaxx]

isnt the old school out back trans supousdly stronger then the wrx trans? maybe the shorter gearing reduces the load on the gears.

[cj91legss]

i personally haven't heard that, but i also haven't really sourced info on a stron transmission. I just assume sti is the way to go, or if you really want to go all out and spend alittle more you can go with straight cut gears.

[93forestpearl]

Steve hit the nail on the head. Gear size and tooth profile is what limits the 5mt. There is not a real way around that.


PPG's in a 5mt, or a 6mt takes care of most situations. Or a built 4eat...

[92turbooooo]

Dont forget the 05+ legacy Gt 5 speeds. Ive read/heard there the best 5 speed.

[TurnNburn]

Although i bought this car with a newly rebuilt 4eat, which runs fine, having an automatic is killing me emotionaly and quiet frankly is kind of embarrassing.

If one were to go this route with the legacy GT trans, would it be an easier swap then the WRX? Or would have similar issues? I dont have any plans on running 350hp through this car but im on the market for something.

[TBFK]

i personally haven't heard that, but i also haven't really sourced info on a stron transmission. I just assume sti is the way to go, or if you really want to go all out and spend alittle more you can go with straight cut gears.

The Straight Cut gears are the strongest ones you can get, however the only downside to them, is they are really loud!! I'm sure you've all heard the transmission whine while your backing up...well that's because your reverse gear is a Straight Cut gear.

So imagine that sound, all the time. It'll gget annoying really quick. They put those in the transmissions to begin with, and decided not to use the Straight Cut because of how loud they are. The way they fixed that was by upgrading from Straight Cut, to Helical Gears, which eliminates the noise.

Just a little bit of history/information for you guys:)

[TurnNburn]

Iv never actually been in a car that has had gears like this. But judging by this video i can only imagine how long i could stand it in a daily driven car.

straight cut gears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmJH84FnQa8

[evolutionmovement]

It's extremely annoying and makes the car sound like it's about to blow up to the lay person to top it off. Phil (BAC5.2) used to make the things and had a fairly high tolerance of a lack of comfort, but even he gave up on driving one on the street. I priced a helical cut syncro unit and it was over $4k with his discount—way too much to spend on this car.

[93forestpearl]

There is nothing wrong with a 4eat if you do it right and make enough power. They are quite fun when you get there.


Otherwise, all stock 5mt's are subject to the same driver failure. Plenty of people rock them for a long time with 300+ whp. If you can't do that, take a look at your driving style.

[kimokalihi]

he just blew my tweeters
RogerHerhard 1 month ago 7

Haha.

[x2hawt4ux]

you can get certain gears straight cut. l looked in to it once and it seemed like the best option was 1st 2nd and 3rd straight and the 4th and 5th normal. it would have been $3200 for me to remove and send my trany to the place and get it done and shipped back. lifetime warranty on the straight cut gears. but i cant afford it right now. how ever my car is rwd and i destroyed 2nd gear in my trany a couple months ago so if you have any power going to rwd wont do much in saving your trany. also i have read up on wrx tranys and there is a small difference in the strength.

[evolutionmovement]

If you want to go rwd, it makes sense to go with the Toyota option.

[BoostedSubie]

I'm in the same boat. My car started out as a na so the 5 spd in it is just a ticking bomb waiting to explode under the new found torque and power. I can't afford an sti 6 spd or straight cuts so i was going to go with a newer forester tranny or 00-01 rs impreza. I want to stick with my 4.11 final drive and the impreza rs in those years also had rear lsd.