Correct me if I am wrong but didnt they carry over the SAME 5 speed transmission fron the previous generation? Isint that the weakest part of the previous generation wrx's? If so I am concerned about the same tranny and how it will handle the new found power. Dont get me wrong I am not bashing on subies, I think its great that all the auto makers are stepping up the competition. That means my NEXT generation MS3 might be a 400hp AWD beast LOL I keep praying LOL
I hope the new tranny has been beefed up some, the last gen tranny was made of popsicle sticks and elmer's glue.
the problem isnt the tranny is week its the tranny wasnt made to do repeated 6,000 rpm clutch drops and as far as the wrx lools bad we have basicly the same look as them small things here and there. and the subbie has had a soft suspension for a reason. they are rally inspired. softer suspension lack of antiroll bars are advantages in off road applications beacuse it can keep all 4 wheels on the surface and the awd can sort everything out. subbie would get some better # if they came to the track w better shoes on the car unfortunantly they went w a harder less grippy tire w good wear life. beacuse this time around they were trying to sell there car on a broder base.
All i want to know is if either of you have ever owned a wrx and had tranny failure on it?
personally i have beat mine ( lol!!) pretty hard over the past year and have had 0 problems at all with the car or the trans. The whole glass trans. thing is blown way out of proportion. you have to pay to play ~
As it sits the 08wrx is quite weak when compared to the ms3, I mean its seriously getting its ass kicked in all performance parameters (0-60, 1/4mile, skid pad, slalom, lap times, etc) Sure in certain environments it would excel but most of us will never be running though a rally course on our way to work. Also, you got to be kidding yourself if you dont think that adding more power, suspension upgrades, etc arent going to have any bearing on the price of a vehicle. When its all said and done and Subaru actually goes through with a 265hp wrx with various upgrades (tires, suspension, etc, etc.) its going to cost significantly more than a 23k ms3.
Them making the price the same or slightly higher is not out of the ? ....the new 09 forrestor ( which was completely redesigned from the ground up ) has a lower price msrp than prior years. They can make changes and not make them reflect in the price tag.
So all it's going to take is a "slight" engine retune for the wrx to make an extra 40+hp?
I highly doubt it's going to be a retune --- they need to keep the car reliable to OEM standards which = pig rich.
Of course this is all speculation....Looks like they are making an announcement in 2 weeks and we'll all know the details then.