If you upgrade to the 18G i would start building a budget for some type of transmision upgrade. It's not if it will break.......it is when it will break.

You have a couple of options with you having a 02

1)Upgrade to 04 and up gears- a little bit stronger than the 02-03 models.
2)Upgrade to the RA's gear set-- stronger than the 04-05 gear sets but not bulletproof.
3)PPG's--they will never break..... but will cost you as almost as much as your car is worth.


Ra's is what i would recommend for your setup

 

Both very true. But i know a guy with a VF34 and hes pushing a little over 300awhp and he says his tranny is still really smooth. Also know another guy with a 18g setup that he says is pushing 500 but im thinking maybe he is exaggerating the truth. Id give it about 400 maybe 450, but he is also using the stock tranny on the same model year. I think it all depends on the tune and how hard you drive it. I really only get on my car maybe once a week.

 

That's the difference right there, your driving style.

Problem is, you can't adjust your driving style at the dragstrip, or launching, or shifting hard. You can baby your car as much as you want, but like Family Wagon stated, the question of "if" isn't really relevant, it's "when". You can get away with it for awhile, just when it does go, your car will be down for a good month because you were unprepared and have to pay the tow fee... Ask me how I know, I've been through this... .

FWIW I had the 20g on the car when a shift rail broke. But honestly it could of been the t25, I didn't even shift hard. I got on it 2nd, let off and eased it into 3rd to slow down. Next thing I knew 3rd was gone, the shifter linkage was limp. I thought the worst, had to call a flatbed, pull the front bumper off, and fmic to even get it on the bed because of how low it is. Sent it to Shep and took a hit because I had goals of continuing to mod further. I bought the best tranny he offered minus the welded diff. Turned out, only thing broken was the shift rail, which could of been repaired locally for next to nothing. The car was down for like a month and half because I was caught off guard and had to tow it to a friends house in roanoke who let me use his garage. I was worried I couldn't get the car in my garage at home. It was kind of a bad time with school and work full time and no car. So just keep that mind if this is your daily.

I ended up going stroker, larger turbo, etc etc... so the upgraded tranny was a necessity. The boost bug bit me hard though, I always wanted more. I went through SO many stages of upgrading and setups.

 

When i had my VF-34 setup i was making 321awhp with meth. At that time i had my stock tranny but every time i made a pull i just prayed that the tranny was not going to let go.

With a 18G you can expect any where between 320-360awhp. Most of all the setups i have seen have put around 340ish. I can promise you if you make that kind of power with the 02 gears you ARE going to eat through your transmission. The real concern i have with the RA type gears is that they still cost thousands and they can and will break as well. There are some lucky people out there that swear by them but for every person that has had no problems with them, there is just as many people that have broken them as well.

If you are really serious about keeping your car for the long run i would recommend the PPG straight cut gears. YOU CAN NOT BREAK THEM. The only downside of these gearsets is that they are very very loud and annoying, but you will never have to worry about it. I can give you a ride in my car if you want to see what they sound like.

Overall it really depends on how much of a investment you want to put into your car. Car modding is really a disease that once you start you cant stop.....and then when you have done everything possible to your car...........you pick another project car and start all over agian.

Good luck.

 

They're not annoying!I thought they sounded great when we were cruising around that night.Your right,it's definatly a disease.For some reason nothing is ever fast enough for me.Maybe i need rehab?...Or a faster car

 

^^^ I agree....... it is a uphill battle that you will never win. I have a good friend who has a really tricked out gsxr 1000. It is so fast i cant even explain it.....He says he wants more He said it doesnt seem fast to him anymore.

 

VF34, APS FMIC, TurboXS downpipe, Bosal cat-back, Hydra engine management, STi injectors, probably some more stuff I can't remember. Plus cosmetic stuff.

I'm sure I have some pics somewhere, but I'm not sure where. If you saw a yellow one running around here, chances are it was mine. Mine was the only yellow one in this area.

 

Oh, and just FYI... the gears are not the real issue. It's the transmission case. It's in two parts, and flexes under high power, which allows the mesh to change, which lets the gears break. You don't have that problem with the STi gearbox because that transmission is one piece.

At least, that was the way it was back when I was into Subarus. Things may be different now...

 

Well........a little bit.......the main reason is gear tooth separation due to shaft flex. the Imput shaft happends to be very very thin in the Wrx models as well.

but i agree with you........bad case ....bad gears.....just BAD. You can blow up a Wrx transmission stock from just one bad shift.

 

Well with my case of finance its either a tranny or the new setup, i really couldnt handle both. So i may just get a tune with what ive got now and leave it at that. I do plan on maybe purchasing an STi but the more i think about it i think id much rather have a built WRX then a STi. Just think it would be too common to have an STi with just minor upgrades. So for now i think im just sticking to a tune, cause your right this is my DD, and if something like a tranny breaks, im screwed. But im just so blah with my stock turbo.